I have never heard of using that as a soil amendment. Usually the aeration and drainage in potting mix is achieved by using coarsely shredded material like peat moss and bark. It might work, I don't know.

Thanks so much for replying, I did get some peat moss and cedar chips for my mix as well as perlite, but I am still desperately curious to know about my little idea. I would just experiment with my orange tree but I only orded 1, so I'm hoping someone may have some concrete insight on whether it's a good idea or not. Fingers crossed

No, it won't help. Obtain & use a pre-formulated commercial mix.

Thanks for replying. I am curious as to why it won't work-I'm not saying or suggesting you are wrong, I'm just new to this stuff and I figure it helps to understand why something does or doesn't work?

If I had to guess, I'd say that roots like soil. If God intended them to grow in synthetic plastic fluff...well you get the idea. It's not that it would kill the plant, but it doesn't add anything.

I'm not looking to enhance growth, I'm looking to enhance drainage and aeration with the addition of scouring pads.

You're looking for "concrete insight", right? I rather doubt your idea has been tested, so I similarly doubt that anyone has any concrete insight. I suspect you're blazing a new trail.

For drainage most container gardeners would rely on a mix with varied size and textural components (coarse and fine stuff), and possibly some perlite or vermiculite or maybe even some coarse sand. The scrubbing pad idea might work just fine, but I suspect it is much more expensive than the traditional mixes that use naturally occurring components.

A better place to ask might be the Container Gardening Forum.

Where in Texas are you?
What kind of soil do you have?
These simple soil tests may be of some use,
1) Soil test for organic matter. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top.

2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drainsâ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up.

3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart.

4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell.

5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.

Those plastic scouring pads will add nothing of value to your soil and you would need to add a fairly large amount to get any kind of drainage in your soil. I would stay with organic matter to correct any soil problems you may have.

Thank you both for replying, some have mentioned it may injure the roots so instead of mixing it in with my only orange tree i am gonna to try it with a few of the strawberry plants I got coming-just to experiment

Are you doing this for container gardening, or is this for in ground plantings?

He said potting soil, people.

Project, I can think of no benefit but the potential for damage is real. I know of no potting medium amendment that doesn't perform one or more jobs as an amendment. Perlite, turface, bark fines, peat moss, coir, and a host of other items all function to provide ample pore spaces in which available water, dissolved nutrients, and oxygen to actively growing roots.

Your pieces of plastic don't have the physical structure to enhance porosity. And if the scrubbies don't get chopped up into small enough pieces, the roots might very well become entwined in the plastic and be strangled.

In conclusion, it won't accomplish what you intend it to AND it could have a deleterious effect. Those are two concrete reasons for you.

Thank you Rhizo for replying, yeah it's been the consensus that it could damage the roots, so im just going to try it on a couple strawberry plants I have ordered-just to experiment.

Sorry Txeb, it's going to be in a planter.

Well Mr.X, or is it MsX (?), since it's container growing you really should ask around on the Container Gardening forum. There are some folks there who really know their container soils.

Thanks Txeb, I posted the ? there as well last night.

Mrs X