I live about 10 miles from Redlands and Riverside, there is a lot of Citrus here, not really desert.
The soil I used, (pictured), is Miracle Grow planter mix. During the replant 2 months ago I used the original soil, (same stuff) and added more to fill. These pictures are from the move 2 months ago. Yesterday I got some pearlite and was thinking of mixing that into the soil to help with aeration, is that the right direction?
Today I trimmed all the brown pieces, and noticed there are new leaves, is this normal for a plant in distress?
This is what I am planning on doing. (1) Pull the plants out and look at the roots.
(2) trim roots?
(3) redesign pot to eliminate self-watering.
(4) add perlite to the soil
Questions;
(A) what am I looking for on the roots and what is the proper root trimming, I mean how to tell rotten, dead, etc, and is there a proper way to trim, cut straight, angle, pinch?
(B) how much perlite should I add, I read somewhere 50%, and should I add anything else?