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Canadian UPM


The craze now for cuttings seems to be UPM (Ultimate Potting Mix)

Well I found some its called Pro-Mix and Its right here in Ancaster
this is what the small bag looks like 

Is this the same  medium as what everybody is talking about ?

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Perhaps Ottawan may know something about Pro Mix. I
use my own mixture of top soil, bark mulch, perlite and
compost. I get healthy plants especially when the roots
grow into ground. Overall I am happy with my mix. I
supplement with dilute Miracle Grow fertiliser.

I am looking at their website here:  http://www.premierhort.com/eProMix/Gardening/Products/GrowingMediaTM/ProMixContainer/fProMixOrig.htm

I am looking at the product I think you're showing here:

http://www.premierhort.com/eProMix/Gardening/Products/GrowingMediaTM/ProMixOriginal/PottingSeeding/PottingSeeding.htm

It does not appear to be the same as UPM.  I don't think UPM contains a wetting agent.

This company does sell products, such as this one, which has great components in it that would be beneficial to cuttings:

http://www.premierhort.com/eProMix/Gardening/Products/GrowingMediaTM/ProMixOriginal/OutPlanting/images/tOrigPlantBenef.gif
But it's definitely not UPM.

Ferti-Lome
Ultimate potting mix
Contains: Sphagnum Peat Moss, perlite, wetting agent and slow release humic acids.
Pro-Mix
as far as the ingredients go there is no difference

I may just go with miracle grow seedling mix they claim its good for cuttings
its the only one that I found that say's anything about cuttings

I have chicken,rabbit goat manures that's at least 5 years old now I'm just going to mix my own

The problem I have is that it contains a lot of weed seeds
how would I get rid of the weeds from this soil ?

My apologies, I see you are right about the ingredients.  Wild, I even wrote it had the same ingredients in another post here.  I am not sure why I didn't think it had a wetting agent.  I think I have moisture on the brain lately.  Either that or it's the Imperial Stout talking.

I also purchased something cheaper than UPM with same ingredients.  It's Fafard 3B:  http://www.fafard.com/index.php?p=139

It has:

Canadian sphagnum peat moss
Processed pine bark
Perlite
Vermiculite
Starter nutrients
Wetting agent
Dolomitic limestone

Essentially the same stuff.  I made my decision after talking to our local Botanical Gardens - they also use 3B for all of their cuttings, and that was good enough for me.

I have used
upm
miracle grow potting soil
scotts premium potting soil
jungle growth potting soil
and most recently scotts seed starter its for grass and not as expensive as the above mentioned.
Ive rooted in all of them with similar results , ive used all of them at various times in my containers also. Miracle grow i used for years with good results except indoors it seemed be buggy with nats. Upm i liked, scotts premium i liked as much and the scotts seed starter which is for grass seeding is nice as when i first tried it last season with an airlayer and it worked well also and so i have several plants in it.
Basically to me there similar except the miracle grow compacts the most of the above , for now im enjoying useing the scotts seed starter as it seems to be good and is less expensive for me. I should note or say here i always amend the soil with perlite and the d lime and pine fines on bottom of container. The Mg is just to powdery i have learned over the years and compacts compared to the others. So far the scotts seed starter seems like a good one for my use.


Marjo
Canadian PRO-MIX comes in some three different product variations.
PRO-MIX (HP) is the closest to UPM. HP stands for High Porosity and is best for rooting of cuttings. I add some more Perlite just to feel good and make it Extra HP.
Last year a 3.8 cu ft bag cost some $3 extra for the HP version (at Rona Garden Centres) but it is worth it.

I agree with Akram I too have always used the Pro-mix for potting & Seedling and just add extra perlite. Adriano also uses Pro-Mix Professional the Black bag and adds extra stuff to it like Pine Bark & Perlite etc. Its the only soil I have used for the last 2 years has worked well for me.

Thanks you Ottawan,Dieseler and Satellitehead for the advice

I may just get a small bag of each to experiment
also going to mix my own as per Paully22's receipe
just don't know the quantities of each and what type of bark he uses, Pine bark I'll assume I'll start with 1 part of each for now

Akram the cuttings you send me are just starting to show initials
and in a few days I wanted to have them in cups
I will take some pictures to show the progress 
I just wanted the best medium that I can buy
I want these babies to get the best start possible

I have used Pro-Mix BX for starting seeds in my greenhouse with excellent results. I potted two small fig trees in it and they are doing great. One of the LSU research stations claims they have never had a failure using it in there tomato research.

Mario, roughly I would say 30:25:25:20.
To me the key factors are aeration & drainage.

I have had great success with 

1 Part Pine Bark Mulch
1 Part Granite
1 Part Hydroton (a fired clay product often used in hydroponics.  Looks like coco puffs cereal).  I am also intend on using Turface MVP this coming year in part to replace the Hydroton.

I wish I could take credit for this great mix but I cant.  Its Tapla's.  However the Hydroton was my substitution for Turface at the time because I couldn't get it.  Now I absolutely love Hydroton.
The 1 percenter in me still throws a scoop or two of my special homemade compost in the mix although Tapla would disagree.  I have also found that a "mulch" of compost on some of my potted fig plants seemed to improve their overall health.  But its only a guess, its way too early to conclude the compost had anything to do with it and those plants in particular were not in the "Taplaesque" mix. I am planning a different fertilizer regimen this year that will include micro nutrients so I can probably avoid the compost and save it for the garden.
Anything with peat, sand, manure, compost, perlite, cocoa shells, triple mix, etc in my original mixes I have noticed that it seems to disintegrate around the tree and collapse.  The mix above has held up really well for me and its a keeper.Keep in mind there are positives and negatives with everything in life and the mix is no different.  I can list my observations if anyone is interested in hearing more.
Sorry I sort of sidetracked us.
Nas

Here in Albuquerque, it's been difficult to find Pro-Mix. One Home Depot location would carry a pallet of it where none of the others carried it at all.
I have not seen it in recent years.
I am able to purchase Fertilome Ultimate Potting Mix which is essentially the same as Pro-Mix. Personally, I can't see any difference in the performance of either one. They're both excellent potting soils.

Thank Leon for the input.
We try to look for Fertilome Ultimate Potting Mix (or UPM) in Canada but can't find it in many places but this thread help fig hobbyist in Canada to know that PRO-MIX is as good (or similar) as UPM so no worries if UPM is not available.

Thanks Leon. I am going to try a small bag based on Ottawan feedback on what kind of Pro-Mix. I will modify a little with perlite.

I found the pictures of some of the soils i have used not all of them but here they are , ive had ggod results with all of them .

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