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tdogdad

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tdogdad
11 years ago

2 bales of Kelloggs Big R
3 large bags of Turf n Tee
4 fifty pound bags of pumice
1 borrowed electric cement mixer.
ready to mix several hundred gallons of soil tomorrow.

Other stores for the upcoming spring purchased yesterday:
1 twenty five pound bag of Growmore 15-5-15 with cal/mag
1 fifty pound bag of Dr. Earth #8 organic fertilizer
1 twenty five pound bag of Growmore 0-50-30
1 gallon Seaweed extract
1 gallon Superthrive
waiting on order of Spray-n-grow, cocowet, and bills perfect fert.
There will be no more excuses for not getting busy in the garden. Cutting tools are sharp. Alex Plus caulk is ready. Time to get results. Bill

Comments (42)

  • moonie_57 (8 NC)
    11 years ago

    First big job of the season. You're going to be so sore! Wish I could join you for the fun. :)

  • rox146
    11 years ago

    wow! wish I knew what half of that meant. I too have about 30 that are going to be moved around...I have been using cactus mix w/bloodmeal and bone meal mixed in and osmocote and epson salt...should I try Dr. earth #8? I do use Seaweed topically...so much to learn...:-)...roxanne

  • pcput
    11 years ago

    "WOW" Bill, I don't envy you with all that work. I have a few to pot up but that will be enough for me. Good luck. You'll have to post pics as I think your making a mountain. Peg

  • Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
    11 years ago

    Hey Bill,

    Sounds like you are ready for business... You make my back hurt just thinking of all of that mixing..

    Be careful and enjoy the results of all the hard work.

    We know what and how your trees preform, but the question is...

    "When is Psycho going to bloom.... LOL". You know as soon as you go outside and start messing with your trees, she is going to start up again!

    Have fun and don't forget to rent a Hot Tub for your muscles...

    Tell Sherry, I said Hi! Thinking of the family..

    Take care,

    Laura

  • tdogdad
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Laura- the mixer is the key. two hours by the home depot bucket load of each ingredient saves two days of back breaking hand mixing. What now kills me is root pruning the big ceramic pots (over 30 gal.)- I am not eager to deal with those. The rest is potting up which is easy. Bill
    Roxanne- I like to give my plants Dr. Earth in the late spring as it seems to really add micronutrients to the soil and push forth rich flowers. I start with nitrogen(and sulfur/magnesium/calcium), then Dr. Earth, and finish with no nitrogen in the late summer. Spray-n-grow ++on leaves. Works for me.

  • mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
    11 years ago

    bill

    actually all that work sounds like fun to me. I am a bit jealous.

    I have some things that need to be re-potted also. Just a bit too early to do it.

    dont hurt yourself with those big ones.

    Mike

  • No-Clue
    11 years ago

    Wow Bill that's quite and understaken. I'm sore just thinking about what you're doing. I tried it once last summer manually of course then I moved twice w/ the the gritty mix so now I'm scared of that thang! LOL. Too much work for a cripple like me. :(

    I would like to see you root prune a 30 Gal though. Can you take some pics for us newbies?? Thanks!

  • rox146
    11 years ago

    just had to ask..tdogdad...are the Bill that gave me a cutting of your huge aztec gold when Jean and I visited your home a few years back? roxanne

  • chuy415
    11 years ago

    Wow!! Bill, sounds like you will be pretty busy! Like Roxanne said, wish I knew what half that meant! Lol.. Very excited for you though.. Take care and please take pics if you can in the process...

    Chuy

  • PRO
    the_first_kms2
    11 years ago

    Sounds delicious.

    Two pieces of equipment which help make the job of handling large containers easier for me:
    1. Back Belt helps reduce the potential for injury
    2. "Super grippy" gloves which help holding large containers. They have a rubber coating which prevents slipping and it distributes the load across your entire hand versus just the fingers.

    If you need a strong back and have enough time I can be talked into using some airline miles for the knowledge gained. :)

  • tdogdad
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Miscalculation. It appears that the formula is:
    one bale of Big R
    one bag of turf n tee
    three bags (50#) of pumice
    I ran out of pumice and had extra turf n tee. Another run to Orange County Farm Supply is necessary to complete the job. But I love that mixer. One hour to mix 12 cu feet of mix. Thanks for the advice and offer, Kms2. but one of my surf buddies helped me today.

  • chuy415
    11 years ago

    Nothin like havin some help from a Surf buddy!! that's great!

    Chuy

  • jandey1
    11 years ago

    Geez, Bill, take it easy and don't pull a plumeria muscle! (For those who don't know, that's the muscle directly above your wallet ;)) Thank goodness for friends who will loan us cement mixers!

    Just for the record, how many years are you generally going between complete repottings of your big potted ones? Three? Five? Or does it depend on the variety?

    K, I've seen both your places now, and believe me, Bill's trees will give even your back a very hard day's work. His collection makes yours look modest!

  • PRO
    the_first_kms2
    11 years ago

    Awesome. The bigger the better and if mine is happily modest that means that there is always room for improvement!

    For the record I thought the Plumeria Muscle was responsible for keeping your wallet closed. Thus easily strained. But I stand corrected.

    Bill, I have to make my own wave behind a boat to surf here. Its more of a skurf but still lots of fun.

  • tdogdad
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Jen- I generally pot up every 4-5 years and root prune large pots the same time frame. The first time is fairly easy, but the one that is now eight feet tall with tons of branches is a back breaker. My Royal Hawaiian is just a nightmare.


    Uploaded with ImageShack.uspicture 2009
    Since my new policy of not buying any new plants because I have over 200 and room for about 75, my plumeria muscles are not having to guard my wallet as much. Just a note. K, I misread your post and thought I needed a black belt to handle my plumies- and I only have an orange one. LOL Bill

  • mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
    11 years ago

    Oh my that Royal is FANTASTIC!!! nightmare to repot I have not doubt is it, but what a great container tree. How old is it?

    My hat is off to you sir.

    Mike

  • tdogdad
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I got it as a cutting in 2002

  • irun5k
    11 years ago

    Uh, what Mike said :)

    Holy cow, that is some container tree Bill. Seems to defy nature in many ways that I can't even begin to articulate.

    Someone should invent a pot that has drop-down sides. Maybe you just click a button and the hinged sides drop down and then you can saw off some of the roots, bring the sides back up, and add more soil.

    Today I just root pruned some large foxtail ferns in concrete urns that are too heavy to move. I had to use a reciprocating saw to cut the plant out. There has to be an easier way...

  • pcput
    11 years ago

    They do make a take apart pot irun5k, It's called an air pot. It has screw fasteners that you can remove and then the outside wall would come off. You could cut the roots and then screw the wall back together. It isn't a very pretty pot though. Peg

  • honeybunny2 Fox
    11 years ago

    Gosh, I have that same ceramic pot Bill, only I have a red torch ginger planted in mine. I put all new plumeria in the flared 5 gallon pots this year, the older plants I have already planted in the ground . After last weeks meeting, looks like Gem's Water Garden, just dug up their plumeria for winter storage, keeping the dirt attached to the roots before laying on heavy cardboard. This is going to make winter storage alot easier, doing it this way. Barbra

  • irun5k
    11 years ago

    Peg, just looked up air pots and you're right, those would make things easier if aesthetics aren't a major concern.

    Pot shopping definitely gets interesting when you're moving toward the 20-25 gallon range. Ironically the cheaper pots (resin) end up being the easiest by far to move around.

  • Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
    11 years ago

    Hi Bill,

    Sounds like you have it under control...

    Those ceramic pots will be hard to tackle, but i can't wait to see some pics as you take on these babies. I have no doubt that you will succeed and save the containers too!

    I also use a handsaw when i rootprune and i have learned to handle these babies thanks to you!!!

    All of the ingredients that you have listed above sounds good and i chuckle when i have all of the ingredients, except the ones that i can't get from OCFS. ( Turf & Tee. Big R)

    You all are so lucky to have this Farm Supply nearby..

    I have another month before i even think about repotting or potting up. Getting ready to start the search for the ingredients though..

    Pumice is the hardest ingredient to find here on the East Coast...

    Have fun and please post some pics as you rootprune your
    Royal Hawaiian please.

    Take good care,

    Laura

  • DelWH
    11 years ago

    If you have a feed store or a horse tack store nearby, there is a product called Dry Stall that is pumice. I would imagine horses on the East Coast use something like that to keep the ground in the stalls from getting too muddy.

  • jandey1
    11 years ago

    Hear that scribbling, Bill? That's everyone on the forum writing "Royal Hawaiian" on their wish list! What a gorgeous form! Looks like a three person job to repot that one, even if all of you have black belts, LOL.

    Thanks for the info. You, too, Del! I may see if I can find some Dry Stall near here.

  • PRO
    the_first_kms2
    11 years ago

    It is truthfully a black back belt.

  • Andrew Scott
    11 years ago

    Hi Laura,
    I am getting a headache just thinking of all the repotting I will have this spring. I agree with you when you say that you have another month before you have to worry about it. I have comsidered repotting some of my more expensive/hard to find varieties into bigger pots now, just to give them a head start under my HPS light, but I have so many under there now that are in bud or are blooming! Today my Mini White from Double Peak opened 2 flower buds, and I am loving the fragrance!

    I also cannot find pummice but whatever I am doing seems to be working quite well. Most of my plumeria are now 3 year old rooted cuttings, and they are all(for the most part) filling out nicely. I do have some larger trees that I will have to consider cutting back.

    Now I am beginning to see the cons to having such a big collection. It just means more work down the road. I am wishing I had that surgery in May now. I am going to have to be really careful now with moving all these trees outdoors this spring!

    Take care!
    Andrew

  • tdogdad
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Andrew- take care of that back. I like to repot and root prune while the plants are dormant. This is less stress on the plant than if done when it is using the roots to power leaves. Potting up is fairly easy. Just eyeball the change in depth of the two pots and place new soil in the new pot so the surface of the rootball will be at the proper height in the new pot. Remove the old pot and loosen the outer roots with finger tips. Any tigtly wrapped roots can be scored with a razor knife. Place on the new soil and notice if the height is correct. If not, remove and add more soil. Pack around the pot edges. Water with superthive and/or B-1 and water and let it drain and dry out. Done. You can wait and water later if in a cold area or water just outside the root ball. Done. It only gets complicated after the plant is over 5' tall. Then I poke holes in three sides of the pot and bring plant tie down in a pyramid to support the plant until new roots can get established.

  • Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
    11 years ago

    Hello Everyone!!!

    DelWH.. Thanks for that tip.. I'll check on that !!! We do have some Tack stores around and North Western Virginia is horse country. SO i will do some searching.. Thanks!

    Jen... How are you? Had to chuckle at the thought of people thinking of the cuttings too. Bill has this way when he starts the trimming process in his yard. "Antlers" is the only word that comes to mind. LOL... Hope all is well with you and your new job. Thinking of you and your family!!!

    Andrew... I know what you mean. I have just peeked at my trees and they are starting to perk up!!! I only see a few inflos right now, but hopefully their will be more in the coming months!! I am looking forward to potting up as well as root pruning same of my trees, but they are still inside.

    Be careful with your back!!!

    Bill.. you know that i would be in trouble if i started potting up inside. B would have me sent off to "nowhere land.." ;-)

    All of my trees are in the same spot that they have been during the winter. Once i can safely bring them outside and stay there, i will start the process of the potting up. I can hear B now if i told him.. Bill said it was a good time to do some repotting!!! LMAO!! Your ears would be burning!!! LOL... Most are in the back bedroom and if you open the door.. You are taken by the number of trees ! It looks like a stick forest that would take you in and never let you out..

    " The Swallowing Of The Plumeria Forest.." ;-)

    I can't wait for spring ....

    Laura

  • tdogdad
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Laura- Doesn't B know that it is bad for ones health to mess with nurse Rachett...mess with the nurse, brings on a curse, things will get worse. One thing you could do is drill many half inch holes in the sides only of your 5 gallons, then sink them into wide 7 gallon pots. At the end of the season, saw around the outside of the 5, remove and store. Trash the old soil in the 7, stack for next spring, and then start over. When the 5 gets trashed, cut inside the pot edge, and repot in a new drilled 5 and continue. I call this pot controlled root pruning. Also try to get 7s with no holes in the bottom but only a few low in the sides to prevent roots going down if you sink your 7s. 5s with no bottom holes are best too. just a thought.

  • jplumeria
    11 years ago

    Has anyone use a fertilizer 10-52-10 it's one I found here in socal? It's blue in color and I found being sold at the OC Fair last year.

  • Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
    11 years ago

    Hi Bill...

    Ah... You would think i would have a firm hand at this point being "nurse" LOL.. I will let the "patient" know that he needs no "curse.." lolol.. to funny!!! Maybe he will had a better attitude.. Think? ;-) We shall see. Who cooks around these parts anyway? LOL...

    Thanks for the idea about the pot in pot. I actually do this during the heat of the summer to prevent the high temps getting to hot in the black containers on my deck. This year, i may go ahead and pot them up like this early and let them grow. They do grow roots into the other container and i will make more holes to allow more root growth. When i put them against the back fence where i place the container around the mulch, they really need to be pruned when i try and remove them for the winter. The roots grow into the mulch from the containers and im sure they will love to be pot in pot early. So, i will do this and see how they like it.

    The temps on my deck can reach into the triple digits and in the black pots, it makes me worried that the roots are going to fry. So.. i had done this with my containers.. kind of what you had in mind. Here are some pics...

    Thanks Bill!!!

    pot in pot to protect roots.. before i added mulch..as you can see.. i didnt add holes on the side.. i will doit this year..Thanks for that tip!!!

    Mahalo!!!

    {{gwi:41540}}

    after...

    {{gwi:41541}}
    {{gwi:11749}}
    {{gwi:41544}}

    i guess i could go bigger in the outer containers too?

    {{gwi:41543}}

    My trees are much larger ... This is from last summer and they have grown quite a bit since then.

    What do you think Bill? keep the 5 gallon black and do like you mention with the holes and these containers? or buy larger ones?

    Thanks...

    Laura

  • DelWH
    11 years ago

    Laura, just be aware that you want Dry Stall, which is pumice. There's another product called Stall Dry, which is diatomaceous earth and clay. Similar name, not the same product.

  • Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
    11 years ago

    Hey DelWH,

    I'm glad you mentioned this.. I think I saw in another forum people talking about the difference.

    Thank you for making it clear..

    Hope all is well with you and your trees!

    Take care,

    Laura

  • tdogdad
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Laura- those containers will probably work but it depends on how much root growth you get in a season. If the outside pot is jammed, you will need larger pots in the future. You might make a test with various sizes to see which respond the best. Science in action.

  • DelWH
    11 years ago

    Thanks Laura,

    I'm doing well and my trees are coming along great!

  • jandey1
    11 years ago

    Laura, I am miffed that the new job is totally cutting into my garden time! I can only repot one or two plumies at a time, and need to go out and find some Dry Stall now. Thanks for asking!

    My bare-root experiment went quite well. I took a big (6-7 yr old) seedling--with a nice thick, woody trunk--and removed it from the ground, where it had been direct-planted all summer. I removed all the soil from the rootball back in late November, then I stuck the clean rootball into a paper bag and hung the whole tree up on pegs all winter in the garage.

    It had quite a few leaves still in late November when I dug it up, which I cut off. The branches wrinkled a little, but when I took it down last week it was fine.

    I let some rainwater sit out in the sun and added Superthrive, the let the rootball sit in the heat (we had an 86 degree day!) then potted it up in the evening.

    All looks good so far, so I think I'll be doing more direct planting and bare-root storage in the future!

  • Andrew Scott
    11 years ago

    Hi Laura,
    Thanks for the pics! Man, seeing how tall your trees are scares me! This must be when you realize just how many trees you have, and how much space there going to need during there winter dormancy period.

    I have a large enough basement, but what worries me is the pot weight. I have never attempted to bare root trees and store them over the winter. I just wonder how cooler temps will affect the tree's roots. I know that the trees pretty much shut down during the winter but hmm....I may have to look into this option this fall.

    My main concern is damaging my back again..I know I can have the screws and cage removed this time if they break again. I only need them in place for a few more months until the fusion heals.

    In a few more weeks I will be on a hunt for black nursery pots. I have found one that was willing to give them to me, and I will see how many I can find there. Maybe I can get J to dig all the holes for me, and I can put pots in each hole, so I can put my potted trees into each of those pots.

    I lost inflo on Katie Moragne:( I still have several more trees that are forming more inflos. I truly believe that this is my "pay off" year, where I will have most of my trees blooming.

    Andrew

  • beachplant
    11 years ago

    ya`ll make me tired. I`m going to dig some holes and put in everything still in pots this year. I can`t hang with all those pots everywhere. The chickens eat everything in the backyard but a few things including plumeria so most are going back there, some along the fence line across the alley-another good reason to stock up on seedlings! Only a very few will remain in pot on the uppper back deck.
    Happy spring!
    Tally HO!

  • stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
    9 years ago

    Even though you say 9b tdog,the other plants in the background say at least 10a in soucal? I have a Royal Hawaiian cutting started. I hope its a fast grower on 75f degree summers here in the east SF bay area.

  • Andrew Scott
    9 years ago

    Hi Bill. I'm glad I cam across this post this evening. I am in a position now where around 90% of my trees need repotting. I am strongly considering your pot in a pot technique. My back surgery was two years ago, so now I can do a little more when it comes to digging.

    One of my main issues right now is that whenever we have windy conditions, most of my trees blow over. Laura suggested that I use rebar, but I can only do this with the trees I have in flower beds. I keep several of my trees on the concrete sidewalk because the concrete helps to keep the pots warmer.

    I have decided not to try bare rooting my trees in the fall. Laura and I have had a few discussions on this, and we have both concluded that our winters are just too long. I would be afraid that the roots would become too desiccated, and then they just wouldn't recover.

    Thanks to you Bill, I have decided to give 'Royal Hawaiian' another try. I had a cutting tha was gifted to me, but it suffered from Black Tip. I was pretty upset because the cutting was large and multi tipped.

    I also wanted to ask you about your Tuber Roses. I decided to give them a try this year, based on your(and several other's) description of the scent.

    I planted the bulbs about a month or so ago. Right now, all I have are 2 clumps of grass like foliage. They continue to grow more leaves, and they are a healthy green but, I just wonder how long it will take for them to bloom? The variety name is 'The Pearl'.

    I was trying to find your old post from a few years ago. It was all about tuber roses but for some reason, I cannot find it. If I remember correctly, your post had pictures of your tuber roses blooming?

    Andrew

  • moonie_57 (8 NC)
    9 years ago

    Was it this one, Andrew?

    Here is a link that might be useful: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/plumeria/msg0608375727901.html

  • Andrew Scott
    9 years ago

    Yes, this is it. I should have updated this, as I had found it a few days ago. Thanks for helping me, I really appreciate it :)

    Andrew

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