reversethong, in you above post if the word "soil" refers to dirt, then yes, I would wash all of the dirt out of the entire root ball, by soaking the tree in a large bucket of warm water. If I had a tree that grew for years in a clay pot, until the tree became root bound and the root system had long ago begin growing around and around in circles, I would prune all the long circling roots, soak the original root ball so that I could remove 1 or 2 inches from the outside edge of the old root ball, place the tree into the air root pruning container (ARPC), start adding new medium at the bottom while carefully raking the roots up with my other hand, so that they will be laying horizontal in the new medium, until the new ARPC was filled. - Millet (1,059-)

I've been using Citrus potting mix since that's what's available around here and I didn't know any better. Money is an issue for me right now and but I really want to switch over the ARPC's and CHC. I just can't afford it right now. I am concerned about the heat out here in the summer with CHC. You can lose a plant in the blink of an eye at 115 degrees. What are the thoughts on this medium for scorching AZ?

Barring my ability to get the containers and CHC right now, is there a suitable alternative people can recommend for my area? What about Pine shavings for hamsters and Peat? My FW grown trees came in light mix that did seem to have some soil, but there was an abundance of what looks like Cedar shavings. They drain very quickly.

I think I've done a decent job with my citrus considering I'm new, I've only lost one tree out of a dozen. That said, I think my trees could be doing that much better with the potting medium.

reversethong, when I purchase a tree from FWG, I always mix the cedar shaving with CHC. About Arizona hot summers, and CHC. CHC holds up to 7 times its weight in water, plus what water the one part of peat moss would hold. Thats a lot of water, while still providing excellent aeration. In Arizona, you could even do a 4:2 blend, but I would not go any higher. - Millet (1,057-).

riversethong how much CHC do you need I think I have some That I will Never use if you are interested. Sorry to butt in.

reversethong, I found it hard to get CHC for a reasonable price in my area too. I found this CHC mulch at Ace Hardware and ordered it. I used it for my two Kumquat trees that I recently re-potted. I used a ratio of 4:1 with peat when I replanted. The chips vary in size from 1" to 1/4" with some CHC fiber mixed in. You get 3 blocks and each block expands to 2 cubic feet. The link is http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2646350&cp=2568444.2598677.2116237 If you have them ship to a local store it is free shipping. I hope this helps.

Very helpful info about Ace hardware -- thanks. I've seen the special ordering mentioned a couple times now, good to know.

When you say the chips vary in size from 1/4" to 1", any guesstimate on breakdown? I'm not expecting exact numbers, I realize you didn't measure them My intent is more about 1) how close it will fit the breakdown that Millet describes for using a 100% CHC media, 2) how much "waste" there was (with the fines, you call CHC fiber). Or even if you took a close picture of the uncompressed media that would be helpful, also.

I'm going to head down to the local hydroponics store again to price compare the various sources, since I'll probably need 60 gallons or so.

TIA

Here is a picture of the mixed medium at a 4:1 ratio. The coin in the picture is a nickel which is 13/16 of an inch, or just a hair (1/16”) over ¾ of an inch. There is not much loose fiber (fines) maybe 5% of the total volume of the CHC. Most of the fiber (fines) are attached to the CHC itself. Most of the CHC is ½” and ¾”. There are some pieces that are 1 ½” as well. If I had to put a percentage on all of it I would say that 80% of the CHC is made up of ½” and ¾” chips. The rest is ¼, 1, 1 ½” and loose fiber (fines).

With the over all larger sizes of CHC in pieces shown, it might be good to go with a 4:2 blend.This would slow down the rate of the water pass through. Or you could also water/fertilize by soaking in a larger container. - Millet (1,053-)

Very good picture! And thanks for the tip Millet. So looks like the entire 6cuft should be usable, for $30.

I picked up a bag of CHC chips at Petsmart and I'm trying it on one tree that was really struggling. I tried a 4-1 ratio Peat mix. What's the thought on size of chips I have here? A week in, the tree is still requiring support so it doesn't fall over. Does it take some time for the tree to really root into this stuff?

The chip size looks fine. You did not fill the container very full. I don't know how tall the tree is in relation to the container, but if you fill the container with CHC your tree would hold better. If the tree wants to fall over, you must not have removed much of the original medium, therefore the root ball is just setting on the chips. When a tree is bare root or nearly bear root so that the roots are spread throughout the chips the tree should not have a problem staying erect. Like your new screen name. Regards, Millet (1,035-)

ARPC have a good lip at the top of the container. You can brace the tree in an erect position with a wire around the trunk and clipped over the edge of the container on two sides, until the tree's root system re-grows enough to support the upper portion. The aeration in a CHC container is excellent, so don't be afraid to water frequently to encourage root growth. If you can keep the root zone at 80 to 86F the root system should produce 5 root growth flushes per year. Good luck. - Millet (1,025-)