I purchased a Mexicola Grande avocado tree. It is about 3 1/2 feet tall in a five-gallon pot. I believe I will eventually be able to pot it outside when it is larger (cold-hardy to 18 degrees), but in the meantime I want to put it in a 15-gallon pot on the back deck. Any suggestions as to potting mix? All I can find is the advice to use a fast-draining, light soil but no suggestions for containers. Okay. This newbie doesn't know how to translate that advice to a potting mix.
Resources are limited here. I bought a two-quart cactus mix at HD to pot up something else. Was told it was the only bag of it they had. When I tried to buy azalea/camellia mix to pot up blueberries over one dozen calls later to various nurseries in a 50-mile radius produced the result that no one had a clue what I was asking about. So, the answer needs to be something easily obtained from really common sources.
Any help - thanks!
Karen
Need Advice on Container Mix for Avocado
For starters, I wouldn't put it in the 15 gal pot right away--I would keep it in its current pot until it outgrows it, then pot it up to the next larger size, and work your way gradually to the 15 gal pot. If you put it in there now when the amount of roots are not at all proportional to the amount of soil in the container, you make it much easier to overwater it. As far as soil--can you find plain old potting mix like Miracle Gro? Home Depot, Walmart, etc sell stuff like that and I have to think you have one of those around you somewhere. Most potting mixes are designed to be light and good draining, if you want to make it even better if you can find perlite you can mix that in separately but honestly I grow pretty much everything in the Miracle Gro mix and it works fine.
Hi,
Thank you for the quick reply.
Yes, I can get Miracle Grow potting mix with either moisture retaining or not moisture retaining. I wasn't sure if Miracle Grow was a good one to use or would be "light" enough or whether I had to add stuff if I used that. Use the non-moisture retaining? Actually, it seems rather happy right where it is now, so how do I know when it needs a bigger pot? Would a 10-gal pot be okay for the next step?
I do have a bag of perlite which I purchased because the soil here is dense red clay with round rocks all through it. I have had to purchase bagged soil and make raised beds for nearly all planting outside. I have been adding compost and perlite to the purchased soil. When it is time to plant it outside, I will no doubt need to make a really big, deep raised bed for it.
Karen
Personally I'm not a big believer in the moisture retaining crystals--I think there are way more people who kill their plants by overwatering than by underwatering. I have never used it, I always use the plain stuff and it works just fine.
The easiest way to tell if it needs a new pot is to gently pop it out of the one it's in and take a look at the roots--if you're seeing a lot of roots wrapped around the outside of the rootball, then it's time for a new pot. If you don't want to pull it out of the pot, you can also look at how the plant looks in proportion to the container--if the top grows a lot and it starts to look way out of proportion with the pot, then it's probably time for a new one. Or if you notice that you're having to water it almost constantly but yet it seems like it never gets enough, that's a good sign that it's become rootbound. And yes, 10 gal would be fine for the next one.
Thank you so much for the great info. I really appreciate it. I can kill off enough plants by overwatering without the moisture crystals. = - ) So, I'll just get the regular. I've never known how to tell when to repot except if the roots are coming out the bottom. So, thanks for telling me several other ways before it goes that far.
Karen