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Potting Soil Mixture for Azalea's
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25-02-2009, 02:17 PM posted to rec.gardens
Stephen Henning
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jul 2006
Posts: 176
Potting Soil Mixture for Azalea's
wrote:
Yo, Peter!
How come you put an apostrophe in azalia's but not in scotts?
Gentle hint -- it's a plural, not a possessive...
Yo, Persephone!
Why do you put an i in azalea. Gentle hint, you misspelled it
Now, to business. If you have all that wonderful home-made planting
mix on hand, why would you consider store-bought stuff?
My "formula" is about half & half regular soil and compost,
with a goodly helping of vermiculite or pearlite to lighten the mix.
I also throw in about 1/5 to 1/4 worm castings. Pure gold.
Sounds good. The most important attribute of a soil mix for azaleas is
drainage. The second is the correct pH. So the correct soil mix
depends upon your watering habits. If you water frequently like
commercial nurseries, you need a special mix such as bark dust that
drains quickly. If you are like me and only water when a plant looks
like it needed watering a couple days ago, then the soil mixes are good.
I like a mixture of top soil and composted peat with some vermiculite or
pearlite. I find it is hard to get a plant that has been grown in bark
dust to adapt to soil.
--
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Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA Zone 6
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