I went to take a look, and found: "It is advisable to add about 1 inch of coarse gravel in the bottom of the container to improve drainage. The drain holes are best located along the side of the container, about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch from the bottom."

The latter statement is also wrong. Drain holes located above the bottom of the container virtually insure a continual anaerobic environment at the containers bottom for extended periods (until the plant uses the water, which in many cases may never occur if the grower waters diligently).

I had a conversation with a horticulturalist from MSU after a talk he had given about forcing spring bulbs. He had mentioned that a coarse drainage layer was essential to prevent rot. Rather than question him during his talk, I approached him after to ask why he suggested the layer, and then tried to explain how water acts in container soils. He was obviously not a container gardener, and looked at me as if I was from another planet with different physical laws. IOW - he hadn't a clue.

I hope I didn't stray too far off topic, Liz - thanks for the information/link. ;o)

Al

Not at all Al. I think it's worth remembering that there are many gardening experts, both professional and avocational, who don't quite get container gardening. As long as we realize that, we can benefit from a lot of their other information.

"another planet with different physical laws" He probably just never thinks about the physical laws of the world we do live in. I almost felt like I'd stumbled into an alternate dimension when I started reading up on container gardening. I wasn't the most attentive gardener in the world, but always got pretty good results because I put so much composted organic material in my soil. It was discombobulating to realize that I had to relearn the literal foundation of my methods!