I would add some compost and large grained sand.  I really like the small pine chips( which sounds like what you had given to you) if I can find them too.  Don't forget some lime sand if you are potting hellebores.  Nancy   Tennessee 

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To: p*@hort.net
Subject: soil vs soil-less
Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2016 16:57:22 -0400
From: 1*@rewrite.hort.net

A little off-topic but I am potting perennials so…

 

I mix my own potting soil, usually eyeballing it at 45% bagged top soil, 45% sphagnum peat, and 10% perlite.  This gets adjusted if I happen to have compost or something else available, or if a plant needs it, I’ll add grit. And I always put in time-release fertilizer.

 

A guy just gave me 3 bags of top soil he got at Wal-Mart that he didn’t need.  At a glance it seemed nicer than the usual cheap muck-based top soil I buy. But when I started using it, there didn’t seem to be any actual soil in the bag. I checked it and it is composed of Pine Fines, Hardwood Fines, Forest Fines, Forest Products, and a touch of Sand.  Sand is a component of soil but fines have to break down before they become soil.

 

This seems like a good additive for my mix but it isn’t soil. There’s no clay and I depend on having some clay for  cation exchange. So I’m mixing some of the muck brand top soil in with it but still wondering if this is going to be a good mix.  I also cut back a bit on the sphagnum peat.

 

Maybe I’m overthinking this as nurseries use soil-less mixes all the time.  But do you think my mix is ok for overwintering pots and do you think they should get away with labeling a bag as top soil when there is no soil in the bag?

 

Kitty