Soil mix for growing out Satsuki in pots and flats

Somehow East Texans have the luck of being able to grow azaleas. I have tried a few times now, mainly in raised beds, only to end up cursing at root rot. I'm trying to get smarter about azaleas so I'm thinking of growing out my Satsuki in pots and flats. I'm requesting bulletproof hot-weather Satsuki potting mix recipes. Sadly I have to cut a key component out, which is pumice, since Austin seems to never need pumice for landscaping... (frustrated tone) I've seen microscopic bags of it for a killing and I'm looking for an alternative called Dry-Stall which may be in one of the numerous feed stores around. Although, I've read some posts claiming little luck at finding it in Austin stores.

Would a nice pine bark/ peat moss/ perlite mix do well? I need a mix that can actually dry out in a couple days but still support fine roots since heat (not necessarily sun intensity) will be high requiring respiration to increase. Anyone try Turface MVP with varying levels of organics with Satsuki or azaleas? Should I just get a generic bag of rose/ azalea soil? If I could grow them in the ground I would but I think I've been fighting soil drainage problems despite using my compost made up of oak leaf mould/pine bark mulch/fireplace ash (90/9/1). I think the fireplace ash doomed me a little because that stuff can get heavy when wet. I thought of digging out my gardens facing the East side of my house and filling them with 100% peat moss but that stuff seems to repel water until it has soaked for a LONG time.

Perhaps the fireplace ash doomed you because it is alkaline (basic, opposite of acidic). Azaleas like rather acidic soil and will croak in a heartbeat in alkaline soil. This is why you can't grow them in the ground where you are.

I have had very good luck with growing satsukis in Turface and pine bark in a ratio of 2:1, granted it's not as hot and dry here.

Poink lives in you area, hopefully he can share his secret recipe.

I have had very good luck with growing satsukis in Turface and pine bark in a ratio of 2:1

Me too, but lean more toward 3:1.

100% peat moss but that stuff seems to repel water until it has soaked for a LONG time.

Try hot water first, not with plants.

I have a couple hundred azaleas, mostly in nursery containers and mostly satsuki, for which I use Fafard 3b...a commercial mix of peat, pine bark, and perlite primarily. In general I am very pleased with the results and having grown up in Houston I know that our climates are similar...you are typically more humid and only slightly warmer than here in South Carolina. I do offer all of my azaleas protection from the afternoon sun. My only caveat to a peat-based soil mix is that is it tends to break down much faster in than "bonsai soil" and therefore needs to be replaced thru repotting about every 2-3 seasons.

In bonsai containers, I typically use a turface, pine bark and gravel mixture...and cover newly repotted trees with a layer of sphagnum moss to maintain moisture levels until it becomes established in the container.

There are several commercial azalea farms in my area and the ones that seems to get the best results use a pine bark and sand mixture. I am not sure of the ratio but by volume it appears primarily bark.

My only other advice would be not to over pot in nursery containers...if you are trying to grow out material increase the pot size incrementally...1 gal - 3gal - 5gal...not 1 to 5.

I hope you are successful!

John