Vonsgardens

Joanie,
please don't get short with me. Sounds more like an experience thing to me- not saying it is optimal, but I don't think it is all that uncommon. The plants don't actually need organic matter permanently in contact with their roots. You provide that via fertilizer (organics, etc). Frequently trees such as the ones you are talking about had a lot of organic matter in the mix at first, over time it has broken down over time and "goes away". Just look at traditional nursery plants placed primarily in bark. it breaks down over time.

The reason some people don't use any organic matter at all in their mix is that they don't want the loss of control of soil composition. Best of luck.

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