I purchase commerically available potting mix, preferably with moisture retaining granules to help it make it through the summer. Your clematis is a type II.

Getting up on my soap box... sorry, but I must......

Moisture retaining granules in many potting soils are made from plastic. Yes, plastic. It is the same stuff that is used in diapers, and it will be in the landfill or your soil forever. If you dump it in your garden, it will make the soil "sticky" eventually.

Most garden centers are selling "soil conditioner" or "soil prep". Basically, (check labels) it's finally ground bark. It holds moisture and offers trace nutrients and will improve even the cheapest, lowest quality potting soil. It is organic and will not harm the environment. It will even help break up heavy clay soil. A big bag is cheap and you can even use it as mulch. Your plants will love you for it.

Off soap box.

To each their own Janet. I love the polymeric moisture holding granules. Perhaps if you lived and gardened in one of the hotter zones you might think differently.

This link about polymeric water absorbing granules might be interesting to those considering using them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Water absorbing granules

Thanks folks, It sounds as if my mix will do nicely for a clematis. I only use water retaining crystals if I am shipping a plant during hot weather and want to keep the roots moist. Otherwise I don't see a lot of need for them.

I use a lot of pine bark soil conditioner. I plant my hostas directly in it and they have wonderful growth. Anyway, thanks for the information.

Lainey

Miguel,

When I first heard of SAP, I was very excited about the product until I learned that it was a polymer. I prefer to put only amendments into my soil which will improve it, but not alter it in a negative way.

A lot of people love SAP. I even used it last year in a few flower pots, but I dump the soil into the trash can at the end of the growing season.

Although I'm sure it's obnoxious to some, I will always mention that SAP is a plastic should someone not be aware of it and prefer not to use it in their soil.

Most plastic bottles and bags are made from polyethylene terephthalate and most water absorbing granules are polyacrylamides or some derivative thereof. The water absorbing granules are biodegradable over a few years in the soil and therefore not highly recommended for use in the soil since their lifespan is so short. In pots for those of us in the warmer climates, they are invaluable during the long hot and dry summer months and allow us to reduce water usage.

Not sure why you are so afraid of polymers categorically, especially since they occur naturally anyway in nature in various plants and food products and in our bodies. I don't think anyone should categorize an entire group of compounds as being negative either on their own or their breakdown components unless you are one of those who think that if it occurs naturally it is safe and if it is produced synthetically it is evil and bad. Sorry but have to get on my soap box on that point since I am a chemist by training and profession.

I don't know much about chemistry, but I do know that soils are fed as a result of life, death, and seasonal cycles of plants. We try to mimic and accelerate that process in our gardens by adding mulches and compost to our soil.

I truely am sorry that you have to deal with the on-going drought, especially having so much invested into your garden.

Yes, I do agree Janet about feeding the soil by decomposition of ALL organic materials, not just mulch and compost since Mother Nature can take care of the in situ composting of most materials including the polymers. The OP was asking about potting mixtures to pot up and grow out her new clematis in. I stated that adding the polymeric crystals to her mix would help out with water conservation. Adding them to soil was not the issue, but rather potting mixtures. Since they do break down over time, there is no concern to her when she finally plants the clematis in the ground since Mother Nature will take care of them. If the additives were plastic in nature, Mother Nature would not be able to take care of them since plastics may break into pieces but never really decompose in our lifetimes.

Not as hot today and not as much humidity. Just wish all of us in the southeast could bear the burden of some of the rainfall falling in the upper midwest where flooding has been a problem. Seems like there will always be cases of feast and famine situations!

I am with Miguel on this one. Life and death are chemical processes as well. On the other hand, a lot of harm can be caused by "natural" things. I would not be able to grow 20+ Clematis and 10 Hydrangeas in containers without moisture crystals. I am thinking about adding crystals to the garden soil for my newly planted mophead Hydrangeas. Working full time, I can not water them twice a day. Hydrangeas take a couple of years to establish, so crystals will help them on that stage.
I try to practice organic gardening only. I always do some research before applying any chemical.

I wish I could find the report of the study that was done on how the SAP made the soil sticky and it doesn't completely break down. If I find it, I will post it. The reason I mentioned SAP about being in the soil is that a lot of people dump their potting soil into the garden at the end of the growing season.

We're going to have more heavy rain tomorrow. I can't get my vegetable garden planted, and can't get in to weed it either. Considering that I was watering in May, I shouldn't complain, and considering that we're not dealing with local flooding, I really shouldn't complain. Still, I can get pretty whiney about not being able to get into the garden. lol

I wish I could send you what we're forecasted to get tomorrow.

This isn't the study I mentioned, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Look at 2007, first article

Here is a link that might be useful: Super absorbants

Interesting article. It points out several point that I made previously--namely that they decompose over time in ths soil and are better suited to pot culture. That they are decomposed and utilized by microorganisms in the soil. The article states they are not intended for use on plants that one might eat since they may contain materials that are not suitable for human consumption. The article also points out that there are cationic or positively charged forms of the polymers and anionic or negatively charged forms of the polymers.

What I find most disconcerting about the whole report, is that even though the author summarizes all the positive and purported negative aspects of them in her article, she summarily bashes them in the final summary paragraph in a totally negative way after her article contains positive aspects and negative aspects. I think she went into the article with a negative view of them and that is spelled out in her final paragraph. Not a totally objective review in my opinion.

Another point is that any substance in the right concentration can be toxic. Force feed a baby or an adult too much water, their electrolytes can get seriously out of whack, and the brain can swell and cause death. This happened around here several years ago when a woman's boyfriend did this to the girl friend's baby.

The author also states that there may be free acrylamide in the polymers which might contaminate the soil. What she fails to say is that acrylamide can naturally decompose to yield ammonia which is a fertilizer to plants. Mother Nature has all sorts of organisms that can biodecompose a multitude of chemicals that naturally exist or are produced by man. Failure to realize this can often lead one to faulty conclusions.

I got a different impression. To me, what she was saying is the jury is still out on whether the use of super absorbents is safe.