Karl, I have been to Laaz's home and seen the Lemon tree that he is talking about. I was amazed that the tree did not die from being over potted, especially as the container was filled with just plain dirt (clay) from his yard. This is breaking ALL THE RULES, but I can attest that the tree not only lived but has done EXCEPTIONALLY well. Unfortunately, I am not the Laaz, therefore I have to live by the rules that have been formulated by mother nature for us simple mortals. In the past I have jumped a 5 gallon container tree directly into a 30 gallon container using CHC's. The tree "WAS" a Lane's Late Navel Orange. Right from the start the tree no longer produced any additional new growth, and slowly declined, until it eventually died. Over the years I have killed several trees by WAY over potting. Perhaps if Laaz gives your tree HIS SPECIAL BLESSING, your tree might just make it and do fine. However, with all the time and energy that you have put into your tree, it would be a shame to lose it now, because you want to hurry up the process. There are two main troubles that develop by greatly over potting. The first is, as Laaz has pointed out, that the extra medium never dries out because there are no roots to absorb the moisture, and thus it becomes sour, the second is that soluble salts deposited from the irrigation water and from the fertilizing builds up, many times to toxic levels. - Millet

I just do what works for me. Heres that same lemon Millet.

Like I said Laaz, you have the magic. - Millet

Has anyone ever tried pecan hulls as a potting medium? I can get all I want from my brother. I am thinking that they would do fairly well--not break down fast, be very airy, retain some moisture in the cupped pieces--though moisture retention would be their weakness I would think.

Anyway, I am going to try one of my Meyer lemon seedlings in a mix of pecan hulls and cactus mix (3-1).

Skeet

Here is an elemental analysis of pecan shells:

Pecan shells at shuck split, October 15th, Oklahoma:
N - 1.34%
P - 0.31%
K - 0.42%
Ca- 0.05%
Mg-0.11%

Skeet

Skeet, one of the big advantages of CHC, other than their 6.5 pH, is the fact that they hold up to seven times there weight in water. You should take an exact known weight of Pecan shells, say 5-LBS., and soak them in water over night (at least 8 to 10 hours), and then let them drain for a minimum of one hour. After drainage, reweigh the Pecan shells to see the amount of water that the shells will hold. Who knows, they might make a good growth medium. - Millet