AusBonsai

shibui wrote: ↑July 16th, 2020, 7:29 pm I agree that it is not necessary to start growing in 'bonsai mix' early. Trees are quite capable of moving from one type of soil to another.
There is a lot of research and science behind good potting mixes. Amateurs throwing together different components without any real knowledge of the subject run the risk of ending up with a less than idea potting mix.

Good nebari is the result of dedicated root pruning over a number of years. Shallow containers will not always produce better nebari. Shallow containers will probably slow down growth as the roots will dry out, overheat and cool far quicker than a large, deeper container unless you can mitigate those problems somehow.
Circling roots is not a problem for developing bonsai because we are regularly root pruning so any circling roots are removed. Air pruning containers were designed to facilitate root growth into the surrounding soil after plants are put into the ground and the idea has been misconstrued and misappropriated by would be bonsai growers.
It seems that many people are much happier to take a difficult path because it must be better if it is complicated
Feel free to make complicated boxes, grow containers and exotic mixes if it makes you happy. In my experience simple achieves the same results, sometimes even better results.

Oliver Syd wrote: ↑July 17th, 2020, 8:28 am

shibui wrote: ↑July 16th, 2020, 7:29 pm

Hi Shibui,

Thanks for the reply!
Could you recommend a good potting mix for developing trees?

treeman wrote: ↑July 16th, 2020, 12:56 pm

one_bonsai wrote: ↑July 16th, 2020, 10:47 am It's better to use bonsai soil in training pots. It's good to get the tree into proper bonsai soil early.

The best mix for training just about any tree is straight potting mix that meets the Australian standard. In other words the stuff you buy at the nursery made by Debco etc with the 5 ticks. Using anything else is a waste of time and money and probably will give you inferior results.

Joshua wrote: ↑August 9th, 2020, 11:33 pm
The best mix for training just about any tree is straight potting mix that meets the Australian standard. In other words the stuff you buy at the nursery made by Debco etc with the 5 ticks. Using anything else is a waste of time and money and probably will give you inferior results.

''AGS Commercial products are now exported to a number of countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, New Zealand, South Africa and Japan''.

treeman wrote:

one_bonsai » Today, 1:17 pm

Can you explain a bit further why bonsai soil will give you inferior results?

When you are developing trees you want the fastest and healthiest growth possible. Millions upon millions of plants are raised in the nursery industry every year with a view to doing just that. It's a matter of economics for them. When you make up your own mix, you need to know 1, if it has the correct air filled porosity, 2, if it has the correct water holding capacity, 3, if it has a good buffer capacity, 4 if it has the correct pH, 5, if it has all the required trace elements in the right balance - especially iron, 5, if it contains toxins which might restrict growth, 6, if it has an acceptable cation exchange capacity, 7, if it has an acceptable level of soluble nitrogen to get the plant going immediately, 8, if it has good wettability, 9, what the level of nitrogen draw-down might be (in other words how much N needs to be added for optimum growth.
So by using a AS mix all this has been done for you by law and all you need to do is (rarely) adjust the water holding capacity according to the depth of the container. Shallow containers need a courser mix so you can either add course material or sieve out some of the fines. Then it's just a matter of adding a controlled release fertilizer and water. So I'm not saying making your own growing mix WILL give you inferior results, only that it most likely will unless you really know what you're doing.

treeman wrote:

one_bonsai » Today, 1:17 pm

Can you explain a bit further why bonsai soil will give you inferior results?

When you are developing trees you want the fastest and healthiest growth possible. Millions upon millions of plants are raised in the nursery industry every year with a view to doing just that. It's a matter of economics for them. When you make up your own mix, you need to know 1, if it has the correct air filled porosity, 2, if it has the correct water holding capacity, 3, if it has a good buffer capacity, 4 if it has the correct pH, 5, if it has all the required trace elements in the right balance - especially iron, 5, if it contains toxins which might restrict growth, 6, if it has an acceptable cation exchange capacity, 7, if it has an acceptable level of soluble nitrogen to get the plant going immediately, 8, if it has good wettability, 9, what the level of nitrogen draw-down might be (in other words how much N needs to be added for optimum growth.
So by using a AS mix all this has been done for you by law and all you need to do is (rarely) adjust the water holding capacity according to the depth of the container. Shallow containers need a courser mix so you can either add course material or sieve out some of the fines. Then it's just a matter of adding a controlled release fertilizer and water. So I'm not saying making your own growing mix WILL give you inferior results, only that it most likely will unless you really know what you're doing.

pureheart wrote: ↑August 11th, 2020, 10:53 pm Hang on Mike …. Can you please clarify for me… are you saying that I shouldn’t be bothering doing my own mix of pumice for my bonsai (not in growing boxes) and I would get good healthy trees anyways with normal good potting soil mix???

tgward wrote:can't find any pots or diatomite or perlite (quizzical looks when you ask about Akadama and Kanuma ) anywhere here in the Riverland so this years repot are with a cacti succulent mix with a lot of added coarse river sand and reused gravel . It'll be interesting how they perform this year.

pureheart wrote: ↑August 12th, 2020, 8:27 am that’s why I use a layer of 7 m akadama particles on the bottom,
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terryb wrote:

pureheart wrote: ↑August 12th, 2020, 8:27 am that’s why I use a layer of 7 m akadama particles on the bottom,
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More than one particle? Big pot