Dena, the best thing you can pot your plants in is compost. Be sure it's not too hot. It can have some larger pieces (wood or whatever) but should mostly look like soil. :)

If you have good loamy soil, a mixture of about half and half compost and loam works well. There may be trace minerals in the loam that the compost would not have. If you are using lightweight containers, it will also help keep the center of gravity lower and the containers won't blow over as easily.
Catamount

PPB and Catamount,
Thanks so much! I do have some peat left over...and I put alot of them peanuts in the bottom of my containers for drainage.
What I want to plant in this huge pot is another hibiscus.
Would it be best to include the peat or leave it out? I really have nowhere in my yard to 'dig', unless Im building another flower bed, which my DH groans everytime I mention it..but he's gotten better, at least he doesn't say "NO WAY" anymore...guess he figured If I have my mind made up..No Way won't work..LOL
Dena

When I was small, there was no such thing as potting soil. My grandmother used to go get the decomposed leaves ("dirt") from under an ebony tree. That was all she ever used to pot with.

I don't want to be a wet blanket, but, I have never had good results when I tried just compost. Either home made or store bought.

Maybe it was just me.

Wll I have to say this thing is going into the pot tomrw..LOL
It's great looking black soil that looks like some mulch is mixed in with it...
Thanks everyone!
Dena

Ooops you posted at the same time of my post Rick...dang..now I will have to go and get some potting soil mix.....sigh..I just lost 3 of my hibiscus and I really dont want to loose another due to potting in straight compost..........sighh..Ok..I just dont' want to take the chance cuz its so beautiful....
Buying potting soil tomrw on my way home from work..and I promise Im NOT doubting everyone else's words....it just skeers me to loose my last hibiscus.....
I now have so many empty big pots...This winter and spring really took a toll on my potted plants that I have had more than 4 years...
Dena

Gardening is an individual experiment! I have plants growing IN my compost! LOL!PJ

I have had onions that have grown in my compost bin that were store bought and stood around in the kitchen too long. I now make sure that when I throw them out that they are cut up alot more.

Mike

I use a mix of compost, topsoil, landscape mix, and peat moss, to create a rich enough potting soil, that will drain well, but also retain some moisture to prevent rapid drying out.

Works well for me. I use the same mix for in-ground planting, and remove the clay as much as practical when planting in ground, or, if I have a better clay that I can get to break up well, and mix in, I will mix some of that into the mix, which is fine for larger plants.

Oh, and the place to go for in DEPTH answers to all potting questions is the container gardening forum. They have 2 or three of those hundred post threads over there on what to grow stuff in and how to do it.

I have tomatoes and potatoes growing in mine.

And a butterfly vine that has rooted in there.

I planted stuff I dug for the plant sale in compost that came out of the composter in the community garden. Then I put some in potting soil, some in garden soil, whatever was around, I figured the plants would be transplanted soon after purchase. They've all done equally well. It's kind of heavy though, was hard to move plants! I would amend it for that reason alone. But man o' man was it pretty stuff!

Tally Ho!