Hi libbyliz,

Yes, I do exactly that. Once I've removed the original plants there is usually some space for additional soil so I just top them off w/fresh when re-planting in spring. I've been doing this for a few yrs. now w/no problems.

Thanks for the quick reply!

I'll leave the "soil" in the pot then & I'm glad I don't have to buy another huge bag & fill the pot in by the "spoonfulls"!

I haven't changed the soil in my hanging pots or very large container pots for 5 yrs. I do like Juicylucy does. I have plastic pots and leave them out in a back garden all winter on the ground. When I put plants in during the spring, I actually find worms in the soil! LOL!! I do dig in the soil and loosen it up before planting. Some people do change it every year, but I have too many pots and it would cost too much to do this every year. I spend enough on plants. :) My container plants grow find and get a really good root system.

Kat

I've never been able to figure this out. All of my containerized plants grow such thick and big root systems over the course of a growing season, that I've NEVER been able to separate the potting mix from the roots. I pick up the old annuals by the stems and UP comes the entire root mass all in one big, heavy tangled ball. I literally have no choice but to compost the whole thing (or discard it).

Doesn't anyone else find this to be true with their potting soil? Anyway, I wouldn't use it again, regardless. Typical potting mediums break down too quickly and lose their coarse texture. Texture is the most important quality in a potting medium.

Mine still has good texture. I mixed Soil Pep into the nursery mix.

When I pulled the annuals out of the pot few roots were left behind. But I took my "snake tongue" weeder & broke them up, mixing them into the rest of the potting mix.

I have had the entire mass come out in smaller pots and don't bother w/them, just compost the whole shebang. Should have mentioned that the containers I am reusing soil in are pretty large. If I can't get the plants out of the pot (purple fountain grass is a bit*h btw :~) I cut them out w/a big serrated knife and also break up/cut up the roots, leaving them to decay in the pot.

I've not noticed any problems w/texture but as mentioned I top off w/fresh potting mix each season, maybe that helps? I also change my pots out frequently (spring, summer, winter) so they are getting a pretty steady supply of fresh soil mixed in w/the old.

Usually the plants with the biggest root systems are my coleus, especially in the big pots. I still have plenty of soil left after taking them out. I leave small roots in the pots and mix them in. I've added a little soil mix over the years, but when I put the new plants in, they usually fill it up. I've never had a problem with the texture either.

Kat

I'm with rhizo. When I take my plants out of their containers, it's like taking a piece of porcelain out of the mold. It has the shape of the pot and the roots are a tangled mass. If you have lots of loose soil when you remove your pots, you're using pots that are too big for the plant. That can lead to sour soil and possibly plant diseases.

The pot I used this past spring is this:

http://www.amazon.com/Duraco-MAYAN21TC-3945-Plant-Container/dp/B00004RAZW

I think you posted images of that container earlier, didn't you? What did you end up planting in it? And did you take any pictures???

My situation is not a matter of container size, but of the ingredients of my potting mix. With all of the added bark, Turface, and perlite it is loaded with those oxygen filled pore spaces that are extremely conducive to root development. Before I started using this kind of mix, I could re-use my peat based potting medium from season to season. It's just a matter of preference and personal experience.

I think you posted images of that container earlier, didn't you? What did you end up planting in it? And did you take any pictures???

I did post an image of the container, but I didn't take photos of it planted. I had a red spike in the top center surrounded by blackie & margarita sweet potato vine & nasturtium. The nasturtium was barely hanging on by mid-summer. Next level down was ivy geraniums, & lemon & orange African daisy. The daisies died about halfway through the summer. Then on the bottom level was alyssum & lobelia. The lobelia bit the dust halfway through the summer too.

The failure rate had to be a matter of using plants with differing needs.

Next year I'll stick with the spike in the top center & everything else being different colors & sizes of petunias, since they all need to be kept moist. I want a fireworks & Americana theme planter. Maybe I'll throw in some alyssum in between the petunias. Who knows!

I got another one of these planters this summer. Someone just gave it to me.

So one planter will be in the front of the house & the other will be in the back. The one with the red spike will go in the back because that part of the house has vanilla-colored siding. The one with the green spike will go in the front because that part of the house has brick facing in differing shades of red.

No, I compost the entire contents of the pot in the fall. I use the potting soil with the time-release fertilizer, and prefer to have fresh soil every spring.

The reason for the varying answers to reusing potting soil I believe is due to the fact that there is no one "potting soil" recipe. I buy mine from the landscape suppliers who also supply the nurseries. It is made of ground bark,referred to as "forest products", sand and volcanic rock,(similar to perlite). A fertilizer is also included with about a three month life. It does not contain peat and does not become hydrophobic and shrink in the pot. Only the ground bark and the added fertilizer is consumed in this mix. Much of my use of potting mix is for my propagation and I only use new mix for that. When I pot up to three or five gallon containers I do use my salvaged potting mix with the addition of one third compost and time release fertilizer. If a pot is grossly root bound the whole thing goes into the compost pile. Al

Very good response, Al. I could reuse mine and be happy about it if it did not become completely entangled with roots by the end of a growing season. Years ago, when I was in the wholesale nursery business, I used a container mix much like the one you describe. That's where I became acquainted with such a medium, as a matter of fact! It had no peat moss at all. Then, once I began to be involved in bonsai culture, I was introduced to that kind of growing medium. My (the Dorie version) potting medium is a happy marriage between a nursery medium for woody ornamentals and a bonsai mix!

It's a bit different each time I mix up a batch, but I surely have been pleased over these many years. A dear friend has introduced me to some other ingredients (grit, for example), and so it continues to evolve.

I also use chicken grit but only for some seed starting and alpine plants such as lewisia. Our local landscape supply has 10 nursery mixes available by the yard. We have in this area several specialty nurseries. This supplier will sell in small quantities if you will pick it up. Some will only sell in 20 yard deliveries and will not let you pick up at their yard. Al

I just dump all my pots out on top of my planting beds and leave on top for the winter. I then till it in the following spring. I have noticed that after dumping these root balls if a I wait about a week of dry weather the roots and everything breaks apart very easily. The winter cycles of freezes seem to do the rest.

From one of my recent replies on the Container Forum:

A slightly different perspective and why I hold it:
If the decision to reuse container soils is an economic one, who can disagree with the decision? If you aren't concerned about expense and are willing to go to some minimal extra effort to build a good soil, that is what I would elect to do.

Here's why: Container gardeners need to direct primary focus to insuring that the soil they are using will remain able to provide adequate air to roots for the expected life of the planting. Along with the ability of the soil to hold ample air, comes good gas exchange and drainage for rootage. All the other major cultural variables affecting growth are easily manipulated. Water, nutrients, sunlight, and to some degree, temperature can all be controlled easily. Aeration cannot and its consideration is as important as water and light to plant vitality.

The breakdown or collapse of soil structure occurs at an exponential rate. If we imagine the usable life of a peat based container soil from a bag, it deteriorates from a reasonably good soil when fresh to unusable after 2 years. It's not unreasonable to expect the soil to lose at least 20-25% of its air holding ability by the end of the first growing season. In the first half of the second growing season, it will lose about another 25% of its air holding ability and in the second half of the second year, near total collapse is likely as the remaining 50% is lost. Though this is an example of an imaginary soil, it is very close to what actually occurs. Another way of saying it is: Even though a soil might be performing acceptably at the end of the first growing season, you should expect a rapidly accelerating collapse in the subsequent year.

So, if you use a soil for 1 year and mix it 50/50 with a fresh, similar soil, 50% of the soil will have totally collapsed by the end of the growing season, and the other 50% will have lost about 25% of its ability to hold air. If a soil is not holding enough air, it's holding too much water. Water and air retention vary inversely in soils and when one increases, the other decreases. When soils hold too much water, you have to hope that the plant will use enough water or that enough water evaporates to prevent root rot issues and even minor cases of over-potting can mean terminal misfortune.

Additional considerations are possible carry-over of fungal spores, the possibility/probability of insects in various stages (eggs, larvae, etc) and build-up of carbonate precipitates from your watering water. A slow soil will also have accumulated fertilizer salts and possibly insecticides that you may have applied and forgotten about last season.

I suggest that container soils be turned into the compost pile or garden and fresh soil used in its place unless monetary considerations prohibit.

Al (tapla)

This seems to be the biggest "garden rule" that I break,,,,,now I see lot's of other folks do the same thing!

Sooooooo many professionals recommend changing soil, but I've got 20 large pots! For the past 5 years I've emptied them and put the soil in trash containers. I do add peat moss in spring,,,I've never had problems.

SG