Beginner Gardening: Good Growing Practices - an Overview for Beginners, 1 by tapla

tapla wrote:
It's important that bulbs have excellent drainage. And BTW, "drainage layers" don't improve drainage, they simply raise the saturated layer of soil higher in the container. Ask if you want that explained in detail. Either of the soiuls I use wouyld be very good for bulbs.

I use either the gritty mix or the 5:1:1 mix for all my plants. The way I decide which to use depends on my answer to the question, "Will this plant be in the same soil for more than a single growth cycle. If the answer is 'YES', I opt for the gritty mix. If the answer is 'NO', the 5:1:1 mix is the soil of choice. I grow all my veggies and the mixed display containers that are scattered around the gardens & decks in the 5:1:1 mix because they are only going to be around for a summer. Everything else, including all my houseplants and all the trees that either ARE bonsai or are being grown on as potential bonsai.

I should note though, that I'm probably a little more particular about guarding against the collapse (breakdown) of soils. Just because I usually only keep plants in the 5:1:1 bark-based soil for 1 year, doesn't mean that that particular soil breaks down quickly. In fact, on a size for size basis, conifer bark breaks down at about 1/4 the rate of peat's breakdown. When you add in the fact that the particles are larger to begin with, you can easily see that the bark based soils will remain serviceable for MANY times (5-8?) times longer than soils based on fine organic particulates like peat/coir/compost. In virtually every case, root-bound conditions becomes a primary limiting factor long before soil collapse could/would.

Moving way back to the top of the thread, I mentioned how important regular root work is to keeping your plants healthy and growing well. 'Potting up' won't do it - repotting and its accompanying root pruning and changing of the soil will. I'm not sure why you never read about this in plant books, but you only need to look to bonsai trees to see the validity in what I'm saying. Bonsai trees are often maintained in tip top health for many hundreds of years, while most of us have great difficulty keeping plants healthy for just a few years. Since many of the trees we grow as bonsai are the same trees we might grow as houseplants, an answer is begged to the question, "Why the difference?" The difference is in the root work.

In nature, plants' larger roots serve only as anchors so the plant doesn't blow over, and as conductive plumbing. The plant really doesn't need them because all they really do is take up space that COULD be occupied by the fine roots that do all the work. I'm getting away from your question now, so I'll leave you with the reminder that after you get the soil right, regular rootwork is a very important part of maintaining your long term plantings, like houseplants.

Al