[newleaf]

I’m a fan of leaving room for the roots at the bottom. So I usually have my root ball level with the new soil, or like an inch or two below. Are you still using the Stonington Blend? I add rice hulls, pumice, and biochar to my Stonington Blend. I’ve had great luck with watering in 10% water volume of the size of my container, with that mixture. I like to premoisten my media before putting it into my pots. I’ll use half of the 10% to premoisten the media in a tote (nice to be able to mix it with my hands to ensure even moisture). Then once I transplant the root ball into the container I add the other 5%. I’ve always liked watering my entire pot at transplant, and inoculating it with my recharge. Even when going from 2gal to 7gal or 10s. When doing so I don’t have to water again for almost a week. Usually 5 days minimum. Yucca also really helps with getting the moisture even, and being precise with where I want to water. Meaning, say my root ball is drier than my premoistened soil. I can then water just the root ball more than the rest of the pot, and not worry about it running off to the sides. I use a 3.5 gal Chapin sprayer with a 1 min per gallon nozzle.