AusBonsai

Hi all, i got soil wich is mixed already i buy always from local nursery, need your advice if i can make it better with some perlite or i can put some pumice with it, or leave it like this , i read some of the bonsai growers use just pumice for pine, i have black and white pine do i use pumice buy it self or i mix it with something else? i was use akadama before when Mr. ken got it before here in ausbonsai, Now I got half bag only and not enough,, buy the way anyone used the bonsai mix from bonsai environment nursery i just bought three bags of it, and do i need diatomite in my mix or not??
Any thoughts will appreciated

You can make a blend up of different components to suit.
Pumice and akadam will be good additives to any mix and wil not do any harm at all.

I have never used vermiculite so not sure what it is like.

ps, My Akadama order will be packed in Japan at the end of next week, so within 6- 8 weeks after I should have it here and available

Ken

That’s good news Ken I’ll be waiting for it my friend.
Cheers

Give it a bit of a blend.
Make your mix reasonably light and "airy" and you can't really go too wrong.
As long as it drains well and is somewhat "open" it should do just fine..

Just buy some of Ray Nesci's mix,save yourself all the trouble ,he can grow anything in it,so good enough for me,if you want to put some courser stuff in it,to stop the curl grubs that's fine ,there is so much discussion on here about soil mixes,who is right and who is wrong,who knows, bit like someone's favorite beer

Boics wrote:Give it a bit of a blend.
Make your mix reasonably light and "airy" and you can't really go too wrong.
As long as it drains well and is somewhat "open" it should do just fine..

I will mix some of perlite and pumice with it to repot the training trees,
Thanks for the advice

Paul W wrote:Just buy some of Ray Nesci's mix,save yourself all the trouble ,he can grow anything in it,so good enough for me,if you want to put some courser stuff in it,to stop the curl grubs that's fine ,there is so much discussion on here about soil mixes,who is right and who is wrong,who knows, bit like someone's favorite beer

Thanks Paul I’ll buy some next week when i visit Ray’s nursery. I read to many discussions about soils, the one stoped me and got confused about is some people use pumice only for pines! No sure why.
Cheers

Hi Joe,
I recently had a thread where I asked about the use of vermiculite in seedling mixes. The advice I got was for a short term medium (say for propagating seeds/cuttings etc) it worked well, but there may be a propensity for it to break down a bit too quickly and compact (losing aeration) if used in a more permanent mix for bonsai.
I can’t say either way from my own experience (haven’t used it yet) but just thought I’d make you aware.
Link below if you’re interested...

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=25691

Vermiculite goes soft and mushy. It’s not good to add.

Perlite is good if you get the right size. Too small and it floats away.

I like pumice and scoria - light, aerated and moisture retentive. It’s pricey but worth it and can be reused.

I’ve been using orchiata pine bark as well and let me tell you, this stuff is the soil equivalent of gold.

I like sifting to have relatively consistent sizing of particles. I find it therapeutic too.

A few guys have used fired cat litter clay as an additive... I haven’t as I think there is enough reliable stuff on the market.

I found these videos useful;

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ccOGUj9b6dc

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pij3eGv-nW0

Hi Joe
Lots of good suggestions there.
I really like this one;

quote; I like sifting to have relatively consistent sizing of particles. I find it therapeutic too.
I thought sifting a little meditative but therapeutic is much better!!
Next time I need a shower from sifting out fines I'll try and think of it as bonsai therapy
The whisky and beer needed to wash out my throat is actually the medication part of the therapy

I can only say that regarding perlite and vermiculite, as mentioned use it for cuttings and seed raising or hydroponics
I have personally had very poor results using it in bonsai pots and larger containers. It seems to stay wet too long.
Since your making your own mix already I would just add 25% pumice to that mix in last pic, sifted
cheers

Thanks guys for great information, vermiculite and perlite I already use them with some sand for cutting and seeds and they’re great,

Daluke wrote:

I found these videos useful;

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ccOGUj9b6dc

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pij3eGv-nW0

Daluke these videos are the gold information now i just got all my answers and knows why they use just pumice for pines cheers mate it helped alot

Ryceman3 wrote:Hi Joe,
I recently had a thread where I asked about the use of vermiculite in seedling mixes. The advice I got was for a short term medium (say for propagating seeds/cuttings etc) it worked well, but there may be a propensity for it to break down a bit too quickly and compact (losing aeration) if used in a more permanent mix for bonsai.
I can’t say either way from my own experience (haven’t used it yet) but just thought I’d make you aware.
Link below if you’re interested...

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=25691

I sow your topic before and after that I started to use vermiculite and perlite and sand with bonsai mix to cuttings and seeds and it works great, but didn’t use vermiculite to the normal bonsai mix because i think it’s going to break easily for sure.
Cheers