Hi everyone, I am sure there are other CHC users who will comment. Beg your pardon for my long-windedness...and I want to get a shot out to cool dude Al :) I don't personally have any concern about toxic residues in CHCs; of course in countries with different or no regulations on chemical use I do sort of wonder, but I somehow don't think that coconuts are a crop ridden with pests and thus end up significant pesticide exposure. Heck are they even a crop? (I thought they just fell into the ocean and were scooped up lol)...If anything they might have a bit of bacterial load if they were floating in nasty contaminated seawater but prolly nothing your plants could transmit to you...no worse than what we prolly already use in our containers and gardens, lol. Plus, I seem to think reptiles are sensitive to stuff like that and thus prolly wouldn't do well if their bedding was a mess of DDT or something else equally yummy :) Any reptile people out there? (lemonsforchams I think...?) I have to be perfectly honest in saying that I do not care for CHCs. I tried chcs because I want something that can take a rainy winter outside and something that I will not have to reaplace in a season or two. I have read of many people on these forums that just love them , but I have had poor luck with them. I have tried chips from different distributors; and I soak/rinse them to death; I've done what I can for a cation/salt exchange; I've tried pure chcs and chcs mixed with peat; I remove most to all of the original rootball soil; the result is the same--too wet. I know, it's weird, they seem like they would aerate well and they just don't. Now, I haven't tried the *recommended* brand from St.Louis, and I haven't done the exact recommended chemical wash (where you get that stuff is still a mystery to me), but I somehow don't think that is the key. I can go for at least a whole month without watering and I live in a dry (and often windy) climate! That's got nothing to do with proper prep, I'd bet. I've tried at least 7-10 plants in it--mostly citrus and amaryllis and they universally do poorly save for one--and that one I have NOT had to water in the last 3 weeks (!) and somehow it is ok, not counting on it to do well in the long term. The plants that are long-termers like the citrus just sort of sit there (no response to fertilizers) and slowly decline over a few months--have lost one, another 2 looking like they're gonna die and so I moved them out recently, a few others that may be circling the drain. I don't care for the coir/ground husk fiber for the same reason--stuff just rots so quickly in it. I am thinking of trying the chcs on plants that don't care if they sit in a moist wet environment--maybe guava or calla lilies. Not sure yet. As a result I am experimenting with a mostly inorganic/largely inorganic medium. (Al's been right all along :) However, I am going to try a mixture of Turface and CHC's--I actually need something that has better water retention and so these may do the trick. I bought a little Meyer lemon that is gonna be my guinea pig, poor thing. It seems that everyone has their favorite mix and I think it has a lot to do with exactly what your goals are and also I am beginning to feel that climate will play a role in it too--not just moisture regulation but also speed of decomposition of your soils and thus lack of aeration/too much water retention and subsequent rot...and then another addition to the compost pile :( Just my experiences. Am not prepared for any sort of backlash from chc lovers :) Oh yeah be sure to soak and rinse at least a few times--they're supposedly loaded with sea salt and that needs to come off. And when it comes to pricing--not too bad at a local garden center where I can get it "over-the-counter" for--I believe--1 cubic foot or so for maybe 14 bucks. I also bought from a direct importer in southern CA for about 18 bucks for a huge bale (I travel to L.A. quite often)--I think 3 cubic feet, compressed, but it sure seems like more than that once hydrated and deompressed; I think it is 20 lbs dry? Can't recall for sure. And I think this place has reasonable shipping prices, can't really remember now, email me if you want their contact info; they're an orchid supply importer. HTH. Shuttin up before someone lobs a coconut at my head.

I do not always have access to pumice so I mix it up with whatever grit I have hanging around. Expanded shale. , washed 1/4 Decomposed granite , course red lava sand, perlite. I am not anal retentive. I am more of the "what's in the frig" kind of gardener. I do not know if you are in Florida, California or Texas. The quantities will be important to your location and how humid you are. I know Floridians who grow in 100% grit, and inland Californians who use more humous in the mix. Its a mixed bag here in Texas as U sit under the remnant of Hurricane Harvey who might be leaving 20" on me. I have also gone all summer often without summer moisture. Not this year.

Jay! Your tree looks great too! I save alot of Al's post and print them. :) The 2 tree's I have in the 5-1-1 were almost dead too. They just took off and came right back! Now the roots have filled the pots and will need to be moved to a bigger container soon. I'm like you and many other's and wont go back to store bought mixes again for anything. :) Hi Mike, You did all the work. :) I just hung around offering support to my good friend. ;) If anything, I owe you for comming to my rescue almost a year ago, and pointing out these mixes and the container forum.. ;) Yes, we do owe most of the credit to Al~ :) His support and patience with our endless questions, we'll always be greatful for. :) My plants are happy too.. So that means I am. :) For the first time in yrs! I get to enjoy them instead of fight with them all summer. I have a pear tree, and appricot in containers. A plum in ground. Just got my fig last week. And orange and lemon in containers.. but with soil from yard still, and not happy! LOL! This weekend i'm going to look at the citrus at a new place I went to. 20 acers to browse! Plants, tree's and cactus and succulents! Heaven..LOL!!! Oh, I never said Michael was "involved" :). He doesn't go near the garden unless it's to see what's ready to eat. LOL! But he see's how well everything is doing, and doesn't mind me spending the money now, because plants actually live now. Were getting 14" terra cotta's for them too. I make him look at your posts and Al's and Josh. ;) When he saw how well you guys were doing with your plants, he was all for me trying these mixes. It's been awhile since i've heard "oh, something new to kill" ROFL! It was so bad, my mail man would write R.I.P on a box if he knew it was a plant from ebay. lol... My mom and friend are asking me to get them set up with the mixes too. :) I wish you could take me shopping too! ROFL! I hate driving around. lol! If I get a chance i'll try and get some pics of the tree's strugling in the soil from the yard... then after being in the gritty for a few weeks and post them later.

Hi: you have a coconut sprout with strong golden Malayan characteristics. You can tell this by the golden color of the petioles (leaf stalks) and the smaller, rounder coconut that it emerged from. This is the common coconut palm sold in Florida nurseries. It is slightly less susceptible to Lethal Yellowing disease than its Tall cousins. Still, your tree may well be a hybrid since coconut palms naturally cross-pollinate. It is a semi-dwarf; that is, it will attain a height of about 60 feet after many years in optimal growing conditions. This is in contrast to the Tall varieties of coconut palms, like the Atlantic and Pacific Talls, which often attain a height of 80 feet, with some reaching 100 feet. The semi-drawfs are a little more diminutive than the Talls; that is, they are not as robust, and they lack the characteristic bowls at their bases. They are nutritionally more demanding than the Talls, as they evolved in the richer soils of Southeast Asia, and not in the sandy soils of tropical islands. They can easily develop nutrient deficiencies in the poor, sandy soil of Florida, particulary after periods of extensive rain fall. So keep an eye on the leaves as the tree grows. I hope this helps. If you need any more information, let me know. Regards, Rick Filkins Cape Canaveral, Florida