I'm looking to repot my Meyer Lemon tree to encourage better draining. I've read a lot of posts and am thinking of going the route of 1 part peatmoss, 5 part coconut husk chip. I've read that this mixture drains so well that it is better to water the plant from the bottom via soaking water up to ensure the root ball is getting hydrated. The problem with this is: My Meyer is currently in a thermo planter to ensure my rootball is kept at an adequate temperature... I live in NJ and can't keep it outside year round. The thermo planter has a heating plate on the bottom of their proprietary pot which would prevent me from submerging within a basin of water. I'm looking for recommendations here on what medium I should use for proper drainage while still allowing me to water from the top. Also, my meyer is currently potted in Miracle Grow Cactus and Citrus mix. I know this is quite possibly the worst potting mix to have citrus in, so I'm very eager to repot in a better medium. Thanks in advance!!
I put together my own root heating system. I put a pot within a pot, with a seedling heating pad in the larger pot. I also drilled a hole in the larger pot to run out the power cord. It does not have thermostatic control but it does keep the root temp around 80 and I can take the plant out and soak it for heavy watering.
birkenseed, if you want to plant your tree in a CHC peat medium, I would recommend that your ratio be a 4 parts CHC and 2 part peat moss. The tree's root system will receive a more even distribution of water, and when fertilizing a more even distribution of nutrition. - Millet (1,234-)
Futura, very innovative! Millet, thanks for the exact ratio. I do want to move to a better medium, but my fear is that I will not be able to water it correctly with the thermoplanter pot. I will not be able to submerge the pot in water to soak the root ball via the bottom of the pot. Any recommendations?
Hi Berkenseed, I am the person who developed the Thermoplanter so I thought I would try and help you with your question. If you are needing to submerge the pot for watering you can do that with your Thermoplanter. The heater was made for running fully submerged and has passed all the UL 499 tests for doing so as well as all the CE requirments in canada. You can add a few holes in the bottom of the outer black pot with a small 1/4 inch drill to help the water get into the pot quicker. These holes will not effect how the pot operates, just stay clear of the electric cord when drilling. (unplug it before you attempt it) You will have to submerge it a little deeper than a regular pot because the inner pot is on short legs so you will have to put it under about 2 inches. I am not sure if you are aware of exactly how the Thermoplanter functions so let me explain it quick. You will find the drenching method will work quite well with the pot because of the way the heater is designed. The pot functions by creating an evaporitive lift of moisture that will take that water and move it up the soil media. This happens because the heater gets quite hot, evaporating the water in an upward flow. the purpose of this is to give heat with out drying out the soil to quickly. As the water lifts up it pulls air in from the bottom of the pot allowing the soil to breath. The shape of the inner pot allows soil to heat evenly. That is the basic difference between the Thermoplanter and heat tapes or mats which will dry a pot out quickly. Let me know if you have any more questions and good luck with your plant. Mark Prescott
Mark, I am an administrator of an Internet Citrus Growers Forum of 1000+ members. Do you mind if I copy and print your answer on our forum. I have already written a link on the Citrus Growers Forum advising our membership that the Thermo Planter is a product that is available to maintain winter elevated root zone temperatures for containerized citrus trees. -Millet (1,230-)
Hi Millet, Yes Feel free to post to your members and thank you for not getting upset with me replying to the post from Berkenseed. I was not looking for a cheap advertisment for my product but saw the question and felt it should be answerd. My company is very tiny, (Just Me) so I am still more of a hobbiest grower and not some large corporation. I have had a lot of fun growining citrus in the last year but I am still new to it, so much to learn so little time. Citrus plants do love warm feet, I can get great growth even in winter using the pot and just a T5 grow light. Thanks Mark
Mark, if you wish to view the ThermoPlanter posting on The Citrus Growers Forum, click on the link below. - Millet (1,229-) http://citrus.forumup.org/viewtopic.php?p=32787&mforum=citrus#32787
Mark, thanks for the great writeup! I am definitely going to drill some new holes into the outer black pot. What potting mediums have you had success with for your citrus in thermoplanters?
Hi Birkenseed, With Citrus I just blend in some sand with a little compost and a basic grow blend like pro-mix in about a 1/3 ratio. It seams to work fine, my first citrus trees I bought from Byron at Logee's at one of his open houses they were in 2 inch pots and just cuttings. I purchased them in October and I had the Ponderosa lemon flowering in February and fruit is almost ready now. you can see the plant on my black river nursery web site, the pic with the 1200 Thermoplanter is that plant. I had it under a T5 light on the north side of the house so it recieved no natural light to speak of. I also have a key lime that grew great and is quite large now, it started flowering several weeks ago and has a dozen or so little limes on it now. As far as the soil mixes I just try and adjust the mix to the plant I am growing. The Thermoplanter does not need as much perlite or amendments as other pots because it breathes from the action of the heater, I do use a little just to keep it lighter though. I have grown, papaya, hibiscus, Neem, citrus, Miracle fruit (the pot works really well for this plant) tomatoes, and all kinds of other vegatables. In the case of the papaya and hibiscus I experimented with growing them in one of my cold frames that was kept at a 35 degree low temp for Feb, March, and April. the plants grew fine and I had no stress or root issues with holding them at those temps. On sunny day the house would climb to the mid 70s and low 80s but many over cast days the house stayed in the 40s. Holding a warm root zone allows sensitive plants to deal with very low temps and can save considerably on greenhouse heat. Overall its been quite fun playing around with this. thanks Mark