I was wondering if anyone could offer some helpful tips or advice. Thanks in advance!

Also, rocks on the bottom do nothing to promote drainage, but simply decrease the growing area for your roots. If you are going to use the MiracleGrow stuff, just make sure that your drainage holes in the bottom of the container are adequate. To keep the potting medium from leaving the pot when you water, simply use screen on the bottom of the pot before you put your potting mix in. I use the plastic grid that is sold for needle point. It last forever, and the holes are large enough that they don't get clogged. Any fine particles that run out the bottom are too small, anyway.

Hoping for the best with this plant as its my first REAL plant.

Another thing. It's MAYBE about a foot tall. The place I got it from said to put it in a 1 gallon pot. But I believe mine is a 5... Is that TOO big for that size plant or does it just give it more room to grow?

Where do you live? What zone? Will you be putting your tree outside?

Is it too late for you to purchase perlite and add it to your potting mix?

Welcome here. Once you are successful with this tree, oh, you'll be back for another one:-)

Mike

Your goal is to achieve as much drainage as possible without fear of over watering, pest and salt issues, and compaction of your mix which can happen quickly with the mix right out of the bag.

The faster the mix drains the better, and the more often you can water without fear of root rot, the healthier for your tree. You live in an area that does forces you to winter your tree indoors and when outdoors can be exposed to lots of rain. This fear of root rot that a very fine mix can contribute to will be such a relief to you if you get your tree started the right way.

I can get into why I use lots of bark with very little perlite and peat, or very porous gritty mixes for mine, but I will link you to a couple of very good readings/articles to help you understand the 'concepts' of growing your trees in a very good mix and how to keep your trees in tip top shape.

Soil discussion......Look up this one and then the linked one. You will learn a lot.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/houseplt/msg1100183920892.htm l

Mike:-)

But many here use other fertilizers that work well.
I never use any fertilizer with a higher middle number though.

Sounds like your on the right path:-)

Mike

Prez, did you remove the layer of rocks in the bottom of the container?

Josh

One of the things that I failed to do was to put some small blocks between my pot and saucer. The blocks help keep the pot from any sitting drain water and also makes it easier to get excess water from the saucer. With the fast draining soil I have drainage immediately.

The other problem I really fought with was the fear of over watering my plants and I over compensated by not watering enough. I really caused some stress and one death by not watering enough. I use a small dowl to check for dampness. I may be wrong, but it is really hard to over water with good soil.

Be patient, ask questions, and read a lot

The bark is selected because it is an economical, fairly light-weight filler.
It is very slow to breakdown due to its lignin and suberin content, it has a good amount
of moisture retention, and it is acidic. Perlite holds moisture externally, but not internally,
therefore it displaces a certain amount of moisture and holds the mix open, plus it is durable.
The peat or potting soil component helps to "bind" the other ingredients and build an acceptable
amount of moisture retention into the mix.

The concepts behind why we select these ingredients are more important than the ingredients themselves.
Once you understand how each part works, then you can substitute ingredients and adapt mixes to
your particular growing conditions - "All gardening is local..."

If you were to use pure Perlite, you would need "coarse" grade Perlite that is screened and rinsed
to eliminate the smaller particles and dust. You would also need to stay on top of watering and
fertilizing. I've never done this, however, so I'm no expert.

Josh

If the bark is too large, the smaller particles will separate and migrate in the mix.
Particle uniformity is another key principle behind a good container mix.

Can you explain your question further?

Josh

My only question is, is the bark that you can find at home depot, sold for landscaping, the same bark that would be used in this mix?

Kinda excited to start this little project!

Bark is often the most difficult ingredient to locate.
The fellow who taught me (and numerous others) about the 5-1-1 mix actually lives in Michigan.
His name is Al, and he goes by Tapla at this Forum. He should have some ideas as to where, and when,
to get the best bark.

In the meantime, let's see if we can help you with that water-retentive soil.
Has anyone mentioned using a "wick" yet? Basically, you stuff a fiber/string/thread
up through the drain-hole, and let it dangle freely below the container. This will "trick"
the water into flowing out of the lowest layers of soil.

Josh

You are correct, though, that Orchid Mix is better than generic Miracle Grow.

Josh