Al explained why he uses the bark. pH, lighter weight, much cheaper than Turface are reasons, if I remember correctly.

100% turface DOES drain. That is, it doesn't get WATERLOGGED like compacted peat does. You're not gonna have a swamp with 100% turface. But it stays DAMP for a long time. Al explained that the more frequently the mix dries out and has to be rewatered, the better the plant will do because of flushing out the waste gases or so. It is better for the plant's growth to have more frequent "turnover" of water/air/waste gases.

I felt that with my climate in Orange County a lot warmer and much drier than Al's, the gritty mix might dry out faster than I was willing to water. I'm shooting for a mix that takes 2-3 days to dry with typical weather now, so that when it gets hot in August/September/October, I can water once per day. So I've been testing some variants of the gritty mix with different ratios and ingredients.

Around April 7, I planted 2 bareroot roses, bought on clearance that looked nearly dead, in 1:2 bark:turface.

Well, the sticks I keep inserted in there, to indicate the wetness of the mix, are STILL damp. A month later! Now, right after I planted those, we had a stretch of cold (50s), cloudy, and even rainy weather. However, it's been sunny and warm since last Saturday, 6 days now, and JUST TODAY am I beginning to see less moisture on those sticks. Maybe I can water them tomorrow.

Of course, planting something with active roots, like a container rose, should suck up the water out of the mix a lot faster, and 50 degree cloudy weather will not let things dry out. But the standard gritty, with the bark and granite, dries out MUCH MUCH faster than just turface or bark/turface as soon as the sun starts shining.

I see you are in Los Angeles, so you might do fine skipping the granite. The mix with granite might dry out faster than you can water it again, especially if you're in eastern LA.

I think he's also said he knows people growing in pure Turface (San Fran maybe? WAY cooler and much more damp than LA or OC).

Al explained many times that the turface holds a lot of water, the granite holds little, so by tweaking the ratios, you can adjust the water retention of the mix. Well, he is right, and the range of adjustability is MUCH broader than I expected it to be.

There are a number of products available at hydroponics dealers that should do what you want. Most of them consist of tiny spheres(Anything that's angular like Turface will eventually pack more or less tightly together) made from various inert materials. They are designed to hold up the plant, provide lots of air and drainage space, can be sterilized and reused indefinitely(?). They play no role in plant nutrition; liquid fertilizer supplies 100% of that need.

As maingrower says, there are better products to use than 100% Turface. Here is a product available at Hydro Shops, called Gro-Rocks. They are made in Germany of fired clay.

{{gwi:24039}}

Raybo