Again, awesome information!

So, Sway...1/3 original soil, 1/3 sand, 1/3 compost? Is there anything HD sells thats any good for compost? I don't have a nursery very close.

Totally differnt products on your coast buddy, I couldn't tell you want they have in your area... You want crumbly dark colored stuff, it shouldn't weight alot for its size...

Nursuries are likely a better choice, any bagged compost that wet is gunna be sour and need some time to balance back out, nursuries often have better stuff.

What about something like Cactus Soil? It has really good drainage, as I use it for my plumerias

Isn't Cactus soil high in sand Mike? If you can't buy compost for the organic materials you need here are a few alternatives.

1/4 native clay soil + 1/4 sand + 1/2 potting soil (without moisture crystals)
or
1/4 native clay soil + 1/4 sand + 1/4 potting soil (without moisture crystals) + 1/4 composted manure.

I'd add bark mulch to improve soil aeration, 25% by volume.

Just keep i mind where these plants grow in nature. Deep, organic loam under tall tropical trees. Make it like that, or as much like that as you can. With that in mind, cactus soil would be the opposite of what you want.

In Salt Lake City where we lived before moving to FL, there is also deep, sticky alkaline clay. Both my kids still live there and we made a garden out of a baked clay moonscape at my daughter's house a few years ago with the addition of at least 20 pickup loads of compost. Adding sand to clay soil just makes it behave like concrete.Only adding organic materials reduces the clay's tendency to stick together. The expansion and contraction of the organic fibers opens air spaces in the soil.

You should also consider the pH of your clay soil when you are amending. I'd be willing to bet your soil is on the alkaline side (high pH) and your Philo needs neutral to acidic soil. If you plant it in a hole in the clay filled with organic amendments, it will do well until it gets roots out to the alkaline clay, or the clay filters into the picture. From then on it will struggle.

I'd still go for the half barrel option.

Well, most of you will be happy to hear that I planted it (without the barrell) this afternoon in the ground. I used "Amend" 1/2 and 1/2 with the native soil. I left the exposed roots partly just above the surface. I figured the Seahawks had their game WELL in hand, so I decided to go ahead and do it. I'll take a picture and post it tomorrow. I had to use some string and a garden stake to lift a couple off the ground, but it looks pretty good from a distance!

SoCalDawg said:Heres a photo taken this evening. They branches / leaves look so "droopy". Based on Lin's photos, mine just seems..sad.

What do you think?

Amend the hell out of the soil with organic material and lots of cow poo. Keep it right there and water the hell out of it every other day in that warm- hot weather. Go out and spray the leaves as many times a day as you want to keep the humidity up as Elaine said. It will take off. spread the aerial roots out and bury them to whatever depth they go at the height that the top of the root ball should go in the ground. I have one growing in the ground in zone 7

homer1958 said:

Amend the hell out of the soil with organic material and lots of cow poo. Keep it right there and water the hell out of it every other day in that warm- hot weather. Go out and spray the leaves as many times a day as you want to keep the humidity up as Elaine said. It will take off. spread the aerial roots out and bury them to whatever depth they go at the height that the top of the root ball should go in the ground. I have one growing in the ground in zone 7

My soil is totally clay as well.... If amended very well, the finest soil in the world to grow in. Sounds like you did well. I see a bright future for it.

Clay behaves differently in a low-humidity environment, too. That may be why it's not as easy to work with in Salt Lake (a desert) as it is in NC.

We were digging planting holes in my daughter's garden with a pickaxe at the beginning. Once the compost worked its way into the top layers, it got better and better.

dyzzypyxxy said:Clay behaves differently in a low-humidity environment, too. That may be why it's not as easy to work with in Salt Lake (a desert) as it is in NC.

We were digging planting holes in my daughter's garden with a pickaxe at the beginning. Once the compost worked its way into the top layers, it got better and better.