GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

[email protected] · 27-02-2009, 12:55 PM posted to rec.gardens

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:34:42 -0500, wrote:

Zone 7 - darn it's cold here in Maryland

I'm rooting several azalea's and need to transfer them to larger pots..... so
require a good potting mixture. Looking at filling 24 - 1 gallon containers.

The plants will be kept in these pots for another year or two, before
being planted in ground..

Am I better off buying a few bags (scotts) or is mixing this soil something
a gardner should know how to ?? What type of ingredients are necessary ??

I have plenty of composted soil and leaf mold on hand also some top soil
and acid based fertilizer ( there are several other acid based plants in the landscape).
Also might have some peat left over from last season.

So, would you buy, or would you make your own? What would be the
best mix if you mixed it yourself.

A thought just occurred to me. I have a border of concrete blocks circling
a tree. These blocks have holes in them..... would it be a good idea to
fill the holes with dirt and keep the plants in them ?? This would be something
that gets watered frequently, gets direct morning sun October to May and gets
shade from June to the October leaf fall. I think the concrete blocks would
wick away excess heat during the summer better than plastic pots would.
(If this is workable.... I have a lot of spare hosta's which would thrive under
those conditions... instead of the azalea's)

Thanks in advance for your advice !!

Peter

Thanks Persephone and Stephen - your advice was exceedingly helpful
providing guidance as to a proper mixture. Azaleas tend to have a surface
root system, my thoughts were that it would be important to give them something
to hold onto on the surface levels, rather than providing a mixture deeper down
where the roots could penetrate and grow. Your points in drainage versus
watering habits are well taken.

David Ross covered the components which add acidity to the soil in another
post. .

Avast ??? You're being hoisted on a Petard ??? All because you used an " i" instead of
an " e " (with only 5 main vowels to choose from). Stephen you're being a hard task
master.... I didn't get that treatment even in Catholic grade school when flubbing a
word on a paper.

btw the trademark " Scotts " is spelled without an apostrophe.. check it out the next
time you're in the garden center. Thanks to corporate america, possessive's now
become plurals and plurals become misspelled. My bad.

Peter