oh that's nice.

FYI to anyone interested...They have wheelbarrow type mixers for daily rental at most HD/lowes type places. I think they run about $50/day.

Wow... That neighbor is a keeper! My arm is still sore from mixing soil...LOL

Excellent idea! I know what will be on my Christmas list. Along with more plumerias and more and more.

Dave

Hey Bill!

Glad you have all of your mix ready to go!!!

Now comes the time to start the other process....

Repotting all of those trees! : )

I have started on mine...and i do a few at a time. It seems that the root pruning on the large trees is getting hard because of the size of the trees. They are so heavy now.. But, Im not complaining.. My muscles get a good work out!!! : )

Your neighbor was very helpful!!

Hope all is well out in Costa!!!

Take care,

Laura

Bill,

Great idea! I agree keep the neighbor. How often do you repot out of curiosity? On those you don't repot, do you add mulch or just probiotics, and fertilizer? I am thinking about whether I should add some kind of mulch to my big planter, as well as all of my pots!

Jennifer in La Verne

Thats dedication Bill. Even with a mixer to make your own mix is work. I gave up making my own mix yrs ago as it was too much. What do u put in your mix? Cheers

James- 25% Kelloggs Rig R (rough redwood), 25% Turf n Tee (fine ground redwood), 50% pumice, Last year, I did use half pumice and half perlite #4 but I prefer all pumice as it does not compact as quickly. I find one bale of Big R, one bag T&T, and four bags of pumice makes 2 and a half 33 gallon trash cans full. The mix is from Jack Morgan at Kimi's
Jennifer- I tend to pot up when a pot falls over or the plant is clearly too big. I should have root pruned some of my 25 really large pots but I didn't but every 5 years or so seems to work for me. I do not like mulch on plumerias because it hold in too much moisture. Left alone they seem to grow quite well and large. I already transplanted about 10 plants and next I have to bottle root about 80 cuttings. Soon.

Bill:

Great story. From your photo, at least, it looks like the sun is back out in the OC--I'm happy for you. Hope it stays out.

Greg

Thanks Bill!

You are going to be very busy!

Thatwas why I asked. Iwas concerned that mulching would keep the soil tooo moist, but my soil is breaking down a bit.

I guess maybe I will just add a it more potting mix. My biggest concern was that I was not around when my husband built the planter and then had soil put in. He didn't ask me before hand what kind of soil to use. He got what ever he used from a company that has sand, dirt, cement and pots. No clue what is in the dirt. At least it is interesting to note that it dries out faster than my container plumeria! Although it is a lot deeper, so the water has more room to drain, I guess.

Because I didn't know what he used, last year I pulled out all of the plants. I had decided to move 2 of the 3 damaged Singapores out. Into pots where I could tend to them better (but interestingly enough, the one I kept in the planter has recovered the best!!!).

So when I dug them all up, I made the hole a lot bigger for each plant, and filled each one with cactus soil mixed with pumice.

Thanks again! Also, thanks again for the cuttings last year! They are all doing great! Jennifer

Greg- That was the one sunny day. After that it has been cold, foggy and drizzle non stop. Don't ever visit So. Calif in May or June until the marine layer moves away and the sun returns. I was set for a banner year of flowers until all went grey. Now I have to wait a month or two.
Jen. What you can do is dig off the dirt on the surface and down until you hit many roots. Then top dress replacing the old dirt with new mix. Years later you take a pointed key hole saw and saw about 4-5" from the sides of the planter and dig out the dirt and roots. New replace. If you are going to use cactus mix find Uni-gro brand as it is the best I have seen around. One last suggestion. Don't be a mother hen. Constantly messing with plants, moving, transplanting often usually creates more problems than good. Leave your plants be. When roots are coming out of the pot, transplant. Some plants take years to grow a full pot of roots others take very little time. Early messing can further restrict the plants development. Patience.

Bill- darn. The more sun your yard gets, the more of your beautiful photos that the rest of us get to see.

I'm actually quite familiar with the June gloom. I lived in Phoenix for nine years and had time off every year in June, during which time I'd always make a trip to southern California...and every year, it would be chilly and gloomy there. On the I-10, the thermometer in my car would read "106" in Palm Springs, but by the time I got to my friend's house in Studio City it would say "66." And that was in the Valley! Amazing what ocean water can do.

Anyway, it's hard to be "patient" waiting for this year's photos from you, but if I must, I will. ;)

Greg