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This spring i have collected 45 varieties of figs most of which I learned about on this forum (thanks). Thirty-one were plants I received in the mail.
Some of the plants were too wet for my liking. The soil was just too heavy and held water too long. In particular, just the other day I received a small plant in a gal pot. It weighed a TON. I set in shade as i always do with new plants. Day one and two it was fine. Day three it was limp as a wet dish rag. I new it had stopped taking up water, roots had shut down.
I repotted and found a nice root ball that had been grown in a light mix with perlite. The new soil appeared to be a pre-fertilized commercial mulch base product, one of the heaver ones. The plant had been recently repotted, maybe for shipping.
Now it has been three days since i repotted. The tip growth is showing signs of recovery as it is standing more upright. The original nice large leaves are probably lost.
I feel without a doubt the seller had all the best intentions by watering the plant well before shipping. However, because of the heavy wet soil, being newly transplanted and the fact that the pot was wrapped air tight, the plant went shock. Part my fault because I didn't repot as soon as it arrived.
My question here is how wet should soil be for shipping. One must consider the water holding capacity of the soil and the fact that the pot will be air tight?
I'm thinking on the dry side.
Some of the plants were too wet for my liking. The soil was just too heavy and held water too long. In particular, just the other day I received a small plant in a gal pot. It weighed a TON. I set in shade as i always do with new plants. Day one and two it was fine. Day three it was limp as a wet dish rag. I new it had stopped taking up water, roots had shut down.
I repotted and found a nice root ball that had been grown in a light mix with perlite. The new soil appeared to be a pre-fertilized commercial mulch base product, one of the heaver ones. The plant had been recently repotted, maybe for shipping.
Now it has been three days since i repotted. The tip growth is showing signs of recovery as it is standing more upright. The original nice large leaves are probably lost.
I feel without a doubt the seller had all the best intentions by watering the plant well before shipping. However, because of the heavy wet soil, being newly transplanted and the fact that the pot was wrapped air tight, the plant went shock. Part my fault because I didn't repot as soon as it arrived.
My question here is how wet should soil be for shipping. One must consider the water holding capacity of the soil and the fact that the pot will be air tight?
I'm thinking on the dry side.
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