Welcome drainage drainage drainage is one of the major keys to growing citrus. A lot of us found that out the hard way, good soil mix good drainage and good light. And u have to keep sunlight good winter is the hard time to grow. Don't feel bad you Meyer lemon they are bipolar citrus never happy in doors or in the winter.

Trace

While my post history probably indicates my advice should be taken with a grain of salt, I've been using Pro Mix BX for my container citrus. It drains well, and you should be able to find a bale for $20-30 if you live in a decent sized city. Check your local hydroponics dealer--they often sell it as a loss leader to attract medical marijuana growers, presumably making up the difference by pushing the high margin fertilizers and blooming agents that you won't need. If you're feeling particularly motivated, grab a bag of perlite or even Miracle Gro orchid mix to improve drainage.

Thank you both for the information. I am always confused on how much perlite to use as well as bark per the ratio of soil. Can anyone shed some light on that?

2:2:1

Soil, bark, perlite is what I've used and the water drains very well.

I would use equal 1/3 of each with just a bit more perlite. Drains well and perlite keeps soil from compact theme well the bark keep the moisture whike allowing for good drainage. I tried greety mix 511 but was having to water twice a day in the summer. Some people swear by gritty mix some soil mixs some non soil mixes. The important part is to Find the mix right for your area your watering habbits and your plants. Growing citrus is a learning experience you learn what to do and what not to do really quick from the mistakes u make. This forum is great so many intelligent people they have been there and done that before you go there lol.

Trace

Others will know better than I, but in my experience it depends on whether you're starting with a mix, in which case you'll want to go a bit easier (maybe 1 part perlite to 5 parts mix). I went 1:1:1 with Pro Mix a couple years ago, and it was so light to begin with that the perlite would float to the top of the container when I watered. Within two weeks, I had a nice ornamental layer of snowy white gravel. Now that I consider it, it's probably not a bad thing--it probably reflected a lot of sunlight and kept the roots a bit cooler--but it wasn't what I was going for :).

Again, keep in mind that I'm wanted in two states for citrucide, but my crimes have typically involved cold torture rather than drowning.

I'm new myself as well but I've been reading a lot of information. Seems like there are 2 different mixes people prefer on this forum. Gritty mix has ingredients that might be harder to find. I ordered everything online and had it shipped to my house. It is also a lot of work to sift through everything. I'm in the process of sifting through everything still.

511 is the other mix and it has ingredients that you can probably find at Home Depot or Lowes in your area.

Here is a link that might be useful: 511 video tutorial

Some people prefer the 5.1.1 mix because it's easy to work with, make, drains well and the ingredients are easy to find...

Many people make a variation of it or buy a product that comes close to it like the Fafard heavweight mixes that contain mostly bark...

Many will grasp the concepts of the two mixes you mention and how they work and then amend these to best suite their needs, or because they can't find the ingredients, but not alwaysto the best of needs of their trees.

Many will sacrifice a very porous mix to compensate for their lack of time to water, or distaste to do it while many will make it even more porous than these two mixes because they love to water and find that mixes they have to water every day encourage phenominal root growth as compared to mixes that don't..

Mike

This post was edited by meyermike_1micha on Wed, Apr 9, 14 at 19:26

Thank you so much everyone. I am absolutely terrified to repot. I know I need to but I don't want to do anything to harm my new lime tree. Once I find a pot to my liking I will do the repot as I have perlite, soil, and bark. Thank you again everyone for the informational and helpful feedback!

Hi,
I have large chip CHC and medium chips so what else should I add to make a good 5:1:1 mix . I have the right size pots and all I need now is some fertilizer and what ever makes up the 1:1 part of the mix. Please help as I need to repot soon and I'm afraid I might kill them during the repotting. I plan on doing it in the shade to lessen the shock. Thanks,
marcom13
Emmett

Emmett..Can you post a picture of the size chips you have?

Smaller size would be preferred but I don't know what you mean by medium sized chips. Is it pine bark or coconut?
Why Coconut?
What is your zone? What state? What country?

Can you put that in your profile so we can better help you? It should go right next to your screen name but it says "none"

Mike

Hi all

If you click on the persons web name you can see more detailed information on that person. I often find the zone, country, and sometimes the area of the country. Here is what I found on TheCaterpillar USA, Zone 8 , and since he loves "Lover of nature and Disney." that he lives in California. Florida has no zone 8, she has HLB instead.

What I do is list my citrus micro zone with my City and State. See zone rating above. I have 5 very different micro zones and AHS ratings. varying from zones 5b to 6b and an AHS rating from 5b to 8a
That way if I have a question, that very first line tell everything on my weather condition

Steve

Hello,
I am using CHC because it was recommended, it degrades much slower than pine bark. I have 1/2 inch chips and 1/4 inch chips. The Crystal company sells coir or CHC that has been triple rinsed to remove natural salts. I know that I need to mix this with some other mediums to get the best mix. I used the CHC because it was available through the internet as locals did not have it. I live in New York, about a hour north on the Hudson river, my back yard is oriented south/southwest and it gets plenty of sun but the winters are cold so I have to use containers aside from the fact that I like living things in my house along with my wife and two daughters.
I'm really new at this and I'm more than a little anxious about repotting my Meyer lemon and a clementine both of them at least 3-4 ft tall.
I hope this helps. I need all the help I can get before I mess up the repotting.
Thanks for your reply.
marcom13
Emmett