Kimberly - For the Gritty Mix, you want the Turface and the grit to be about the same size ( .109"= 2.76mm - .156"= 3.96mm Ideally.) The bark can be slightly larger (up to a 1/4 inch.) It will become smaller due to the process of decomposition.

I personally don't use any Turface or grit that passes through a 2mm screen.

As far as repotting and pruning goes, I don't know what zone you live in so waiting until very early Spring might be the way to go.

Rob

thank you rob for the clarification, i very much appreciate you helping me out. obviously i'm new to the gritty mix, though i've wanted to try it for a few years. as for the repot on my jm, i'm not planning to tackle that until the end of feb. it's a rather large jm and i know this isn't the right time to do it, i just wanted to have time to prepare the mix, and i actually thought it would take me a while to find the parts since that seems to be an issue for so many. fortunately, i live in so cal, and finding everything was quite easy, only because of everyone's advice about ewing irrigation for the turface. if you or anyone else has further advice, i'm all ears and ready to learn! thank you all!! and thanks again to you rob for jumping in and helping me out :)

me

Rob is exactly right. The bark will require screening, which is where most of the prep work comes in.

Is the maple in its final form? Are you wanting to stunt or limit the growth? I'm curious as to why you're downsizing the container.

I don't want to discourage you from using Gritty Mix, which I also love for maples, but have you considered the 5-1-1? Maples that I'm still developing and potting up / repotting every couple years I grow in the 5-1-1, which is much more convenient for me to mix (almost all the Micro Bark can be used). Plus, you can substitute Turface for the peat component, and this will give the mix much longer life.

Do you have any pics?

Josh

hi josh, no i wouldn't say the maple is in its final form, but i say that because it got very misshapen the last few years from not being rotated enough for where the sunlight was coming from. it's fuller on one side that the other, and i'd like to even it out. i'm thinking i should downsize the pot because when i planted it nearly 8 years ago when my husband gave it to me, he also bought a huge glazed pot. from what i've been reading, it doesn't need to be in that large of a pot, but perhaps i'm wrong about that. i know it's going to take some work getting it out of the pot, thats for sure. and thank you for recommending the 5-1-1, i guess i'll need to look more into that? from what i was understanding, the maple should be in the gritty mix? as you can see from the photos, it's very much leaning to one side. there are smaller maples sitting inside the pot right now, because there is about a foot from the top of the pot to the top of the soil (the smaller maples are in pots, on top of small baskets so their roots don't grow into the larger pot) and and all advice you'd like to share would be greatly appreciated. i love this coral bark, but she's not the beauty she once was. i was actually thinking i should take off the top 10-12 inches to develop the middle structure more?

Hello!
I think the container size is fine for the tree...in fact, I would go even larger!

5-1-1 isn't quite as durable as Gritty Mix, but with the Micro Bark you can get 2 - 3 years out of the mix (as long as the container is large enough to avoid the tree becoming rootbound).

5-1-1 is 5 parts bark, 1 part perlite, and 1 part peat (or peat substitute, such as peat-based potting mix, quality compost, turface, et cetera). Then, you add 1 tablespoon of Dolomitic Garden Lime per true gallon of potting mix - this will slightly buffer the pH, and provide Calcium and Magnesium at the same time. Super easy.

Josh

I agree with Josh - that maple is perfectly sized for that container or even one a bit larger. I grow all my JM's in containers, most that size or larger. I use a soil mix very similar to the 5-1-1 and mine does have a peat element to it as JM's appreciate a slightly acidic soil condition (I do not use any lime for this reason - any Ca or Mg requirements are addressed via a liquid fert). I repot/root prune only about every 3-5 years, depending on the soil quality and the size of the tree, as the ones in larger containers require it less often and my soil seems to hold up well for that length of time.

When I do repot or root prune, I do so in late winter....somewhere around the end of January or early February, as the tree is still fully dormant then and tolerates that sort of root disruption better.

thank you all so much for your help. if i might ask a follow up question? now that i'm looking into doing 5-1-1 instead of the gritty mix, what exactly do you mean by "peat element"? are you referring to adding sphagnum to the mix? and do any of you have advice on how to reshape the maple to bring out its former beauty? thanks again so much, it's a pleasure to learn from those i've enjoyed reading for so long!

tapla's 5:1:1 Soil Mix

" See dry 5:1:1 mix in the center below. The bark products at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock are ideal for the 5:1:1 mix. The bark at top below is prescreened fir bark in 1/8 - 1/4", and what I use for the gritty mix.

5 parts pine bark fines, dust - 3/8 (size is important

1 part sphagnum peat (not reed or sedge peat please)

1-2 parts perlite (coarse, if you can get it)

garden lime (or gypsum in some cases)

controlled release fertilizer (if preferred)"

A lot of people here use "Dyna-gro Foliage-pro 9-3-6" fertilizer because it contains Ca & Mg. That way you don't need lime or gypsum.

Here's a pic of the peat referred to:

You also want to use "Coarse/Chunky" Perlite. (NOT Miracle Gro)

Be sure to wear a dust mask when working with these dry ingredients.

Rob

wow rob, thank you for the info and especially the pictures! those are tremendously helpful. i'm sorry to be a pest, because with all this help, it's answering so many questions, but also creating more :-( may i ask please, why is the bark on the top preferred for the gritty mix, but not for the 5-1-1? and does that mean the other barks you are showing were not screened? thanks again for your help!

As Rob mentioned, bark for the Gritty Mix is very precise. Bark for the 5-1-1 can range from bark dust up to about 1/2 inch. With the Micro Bark, I just pour it over a 1/2 hardware cloth into my wheelbarrow, then toss the largest pieces of bark into the garden (or keep for orchid mix).

Josh

Here's a video showing how to make a quick batch - 3.5 gallons.

https://youtu.be/Ixp_UI6AfwU

Josh

thank you all so much for your help. it's really very appreciated. i'm wanting to have the best opportunity for my maples to grow to their potential. may i ask you all, i thought i had read that if you weren't going to repot/root prune every year, that it would be best to use the gritty mix. are you all recommending the 5-1-1 because i'm specifically using it for maples? what about for roses, hydrangea and gerbera daisy's? and josh, on the video, you used soil instead of peat, is there any reason you chose this alternative? again, thank you all so much.

kimberly