Holiday months are busy times for most, so if you bought a plant or tree or planning on doing so and find you might not have time to plant or you are concerned about protect it during a freeze dont worry. There isnt any rush to have to plant right away and if you wish you can wait for many months before planting in most cases. Trees at the nursery have been in containers for most or all of their lives and will continue to be in containers till sold at which time you can plant it or continue to keep them in containers. If you are planting now or within the next 6 months just leave it in the container you purchased it in. If it will be longer or if you choose to container grow it for longer you will want to eventually repot it into a larger and or nicer container. A perfect mix for tropical plants grown in containers has three major characteristics: 1) Good drainage. 2) Good water holding capacity. 3) High organic content (which makes soil acidic). Adding at least 10-15% of perlite provides both moisture retantion and drainage. Pine bark (up to 50%) improves drainage even better. Most of potting mixes are based on peat moss which provides organics and reduces soil pH down to 6-6.5 or lower. You can buy pre mixed potting soils or you can mix your own by using 15% Perlite, 15% Fine Canadian Peat Moss or similar, and 50% Aged Pine Bark as a soil conditioner. I also recommend adding 20% Coconut Coir: it is beneficial for root system as coconut fiber does not rot and breaks down very slowly while retaining moisture. All the items can be purchased at most garden centers except the coconut coir which might be harder to find, but we do carry it at the nursery in compressed blocks.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 21:45:37 +0000
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