Soil Mix

[its_kano]

"Akadama" is great to add to your appropriate medium as it Drains really well, allows air to be drawn into the mix when watered maintains near-perfect moisture retention for plant health.
Granular in character and aid root/nebari development.
Allows greater control over fertilisers in the potting medium.

Is Neutral in PH so is very safe to use on all plant types.
If anyone is in sydney here is a link to the shop i buy it --https://www.petandgarden.com.au/akadama ... umice.html

[kcpoole]

If anyone has found diatomite/pumice/etc in Tassie I'd be interested to hear where. Getting bags shipped down costs more than the products themselves

I was discussing with a Bonsai artists down there to get a mixed pallet of Akadama, Kanuma and Pumice / Scoria delivered so they could stock and sell, but not much came of it
If anyone wants to stock there then PM me

Ken

[Joshua]

What some people described sounds to me like commercial cactus/succulent mix. Isn't that usually a mix of potting soil with sand or other amendments? It's certainly supposed to have good drainage.
Is there any reason why that would be particularly detrimental to a tree? Could it be acceptable for the lazy bonsai artist or beginner?

[kcpoole]

What some people described sounds to me like commercial cactus/succulent mix. Isn't that usually a mix of potting soil with sand or other amendments? It's certainly supposed to have good drainage.
Is there any reason why that would be particularly detrimental to a tree? Could it be acceptable for the lazy bonsai artist or beginner?

Many of my customers for Akadama and Kanuma are Cactus and Succulent Growers.
no reason why a good cactus mix will not work as a bonsai substrate

Ken

[GavinG]

Cactus and succulents are very good at storing water, and very sensitive to wet roots, so you might find the cactus mix dries very quickly. Worth a try if you can't find anything else, but for me, 50% potting mix + the rest coarse grit, whatever you can find, is a good starting point.

Gavin

[Elmer]

What some people described sounds to me like commercial cactus/succulent mix. Isn't that usually a mix of potting soil with sand or other amendments? It's certainly supposed to have good drainage.
Is there any reason why that would be particularly detrimental to a tree? Could it be acceptable for the lazy bonsai artist or beginner?

My teacher has been growing in Scotts cacti and succulent mix for over a decade and his trees are looking fantastic, I have been using it for over two years and cannot complain about it's efficacy, very reasonably priced and always available when you suddenly score a big garden yamadori that needs 2,3 or more bags to pot it into

[tombops]

just thought id ask a question in here to help clear something up I've been thinking about in regards to potting mediums.

the mix I'm thinking of using is 25% pine bark mulch or maybe orchid mix depending on how much it cost per usable grade bark/37.5%akadama/37.5% scoria or grit because I cant find scoria anywhere in a good grade.

then adjusting my levels of akadama/scoria from there. e.g. if i need more water retention add more akadama and less scoria. If I need more drainage adding more scoria and less akadama.

so maybe an example for a tea tree mix might look like 25%bark/60%akadama/15%scoria, and a ficus mix might look like 25%bark/30%akadama/45%scoria(grit).

This seems to make sense in my head and sounds like a good mix but thought id put it out there and see what people think, and seemed like this was a good place to put it.

[robb63]

What was already said about 50% potting mix [available everywhere] plus 50% course stuff for drainage.
The course can be pumice, scoria, pebbles, gravel, whatever works and won't break down in water.
That's a good mix to start and you can tinker with it down the track

[shibui]

I think you are making a millstone.
Trees are quite capable of growing in a range of soils so there is no need for a different mix for every species. different mixes only causes headaches because you will need to manage each differently.
All my trees are in one general mix. Everything gets the same treatment and they all seem to do OK.

I don't use akadama. Not only is it imported (ship dirt halfway round the world ) but the one and only time I used it the trees stayed way too wet. Japanese might use it because it is a good, local resource but there are many much better potting mix alternatives available to us locally. Akadama is not magic. It is just decayed volcanic rock.

Not sure what grade pine bark mulch you have available. Most I see is pretty coarse and would need milling and sieving to get a good size. Orchid bark also varies in size and quality. If you can find a fine grad composted pine bark that's the one. paying exorbitant price or akadama nad then skimping on good pine bark does not make a lot of sense to me.
Scoria appears to be hard to find right now. Availability depends on quarries in the right locations and it appears we don't have the right one now. getting a good grade can also be difficult as most other users require larger pieces. Crushing and sieving scoria is hard work.
Grit is much easier to come by but is usually rounded water worn stones. Angular particles are better. My mix uses propagating sand. A little smaller particles than grit but seems to work well.

One thing you will find is that potting mix is very personal. Each grower will have something a little different and all will claim theirs is the best and only.
have fun working out your mix but bear in mind that most trees will be happy in a wide range of mixes provided you match your care to the species and the mix.

[tombops]

What was already said about 50% potting mix [available everywhere] plus 50% course stuff for drainage.
The course can be pumice, scoria, pebbles, gravel, whatever works and won't break down in water.
That's a good mix to start and you can tinker with it down the track

In just wondering how exactly course stuff increases drainage because wouldn't the fines in potting mix just clog up any gaps that grit would create? Unless of course it was porous like scoria or pumice then the fines wouldn't clog the air spaces.

[shibui]

Good thinking.
Bonsai components are usually sieved to remove much of the fine material so they won't clog the spaces.
Sieving to remove the fines and coarse stuff takes time and effort so finding well graded materials is worth the hunt.

[FreddieV]

Interesting reading this thread. I'm in NZ and winters are terribly wet so my soil has to be very open.
I'm in the process of sifting soil for this years repot. What I have on hand is pumice, orchid seedling bark and zeolite... all 3-6mm.
My plan is to mix a ratio of 60/20/20%
I'm bit reluctant about the orchid bark using the valuable N though.

Will 20% of it be a positive or negative?

I like having a 'organic' fracture in my soil. If I leave it out, the soil will feel incomplete to me

[Ryceman3]

I'm bit reluctant about the orchid bark using the valuable N though.

If the bark has been suitably composted it won't be leaching N so you will be good to go.
Most reputable sources of pine bark are fine. Not sure what you have in NZ but "orchiata" bark is a name that comes to mind here in Oz I have found to do the job.

[FreddieV]

Orchiata is available here, but the make I have is similar to that..so the man from the orchid society say.
It's not composted and that's my concern....orchiata as far as I know aren't composted either.
The orchid people say they wet it, then add dolomite (1cup per 40l bag) to it. It stabIlizes it, and remove tannins....apparently. Helps the new roots cling to the bark. Let it soak for two weeks before use.
That's what i'm doing...figuring, it adds calcium/magnesium so it can't do much harm...or can it?
Bottom line is i'm contemplating whether to add it or not...

[Ryceman3]

45885778-AC8D-44B3-A779-EB9A877BA791.jpeg

...maybe you have something different....