Can anyone tell me how to approximate one (or all) of the following soil types?: Coarse loamy soil over sandy, mixed, mesic, vitrandic xerochrept Coarse loamy soil over mixed, mesic, dystric xerochrept Loamy-skeletal soil, mixed, mesic, vitrandic xerochrept I have no idea how to make any of them. Heck, I don't even know what most of the words MEAN.... Thanks for any suggestions!
Don't have a clue. Perhaps putting what you want the soil for would prompt people to help. Why do you want to make these soils?
Sure... The soil is going to used to pot an arbutus seedling. Apparently, these are the soil types that the trees do best in when growing in the wild - according to http://soilslab.cfr.washington.edu/madrone/ch18_ad.pdf. So, since arbutus are notoriously fussy, I'd like to do my best to duplicate their favourite soil mix. Thx!
Gotch'a. The problem is that soil in the ground and soil in a container are TOTALLY different things. I don't know the cultural requirements of arbutus trees, what you will need to find is a soil mix for containers. There is a lot of stuff on the web dealing with just that. Perhaps some one here knows how to grow a arbutus in a container. My mix for trees is bark chunks, mushroom manure and LOTS of perite. The ratios vary depending on container size, or acid loving plants get peat instead of mushroom manure. some food for though... m.
fern-I have a few going in pots right now, and like was mentioned, container soil works different than in the ground. Mostly, you need to get a lot more drainage going in a pot than you would have in the ground. I think my mix would be soil and peat moss, to make sure it is acidic like the arbutus needs. Growing bark is also good if you have it...it apparently helps to control root pathogens. Then mix in perlite until you think there's enough, then add a bit more. The drainage is what will kill these babies, root rots appear if there is ever stagnant water in the bottom of the pot...so far so good with mine. I would stay away from mushroom manure because of the high salt content...something an arbutus would definitely complain about. Glen
Thanks! Ok, so just to be clear: regular potting soil + peat moss + "growing bark" (?? - would something like Doug Fir bark mulch work?) + lots o' perlite (or grit?). Right? And maybe some pebbles or something near the bottom of the pot to provide even more drainage? And a handful of home-made compost (instead of fertiliser) to give it extra 'start-up' nutrients? Sorry to be so dense but I'm not a very experienced gardener (& definitely not a good container grower) and I just want to be 100% sure that I get this right. I've already forced this poor tree to spend one year in bad soil, so I'd rather not screw up its next 'home' too... Thanks for all your help growest & globalist1789. I really appreciate the suggestions!
You can forget about the rocks in the bottom of the pot. They don't really help drainage, but people have done it for years anyway. Other than that, you're fine. Fur would work great. Let us know how it goes! M.
I just asked about the various ingredients at a local nursery and was told to avoid peat moss because it holds waaaaay too much moisture - a problem for dry-loving arbutus. So instead I think I'm going to use a bit of fine fir bark or needle mulch to increase the soil's acidity without affecting the drainage. Thanks again! And I'll let you know if the transfer goes well & the seedling 'takes' to its new pot :)
Good luck with them, fern. I have a few that are doing fine in pots now without much fussing. I was actually thinking of topsoil, rather than "potting soil", since the potting soil will probably be peat based, or perhaps some bark as well, already. I like topsoil occasionally for more sensitive plants because of it's buffering ability...tho it can contain root pathogens as well! Anyway, a well draining mix, on the acidic side, should do fine. Happy growing... Glen
I'll let you know how it goes, although I'm going to wait to repot until I can make a quick trip to the Gulf Islands to collect some healthy-arbutoid soil... (next week??) Thanks again!!
