Requesting thoughts on POTS & SOIL - DEVELOPING BONSAI

Share your ideas on re-potting, potting mediums and fertilisers.
tgward
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 476
Joined: June 15th, 2015, 6:23 pm
Bonsai Age: 31
Location: Winkie
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 44 times

Re: Requesting thoughts on POTS & SOIL - DEVELOPING BONSAI

Post by tgward »

pureheart wrote: August 12th, 2020, 8:25 am
tgward wrote:can't find any pots or diatomite or perlite (quizzical looks when you ask about Akadama and Kanuma :shock: ) 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.
You can buy online https://www.petandgarden.com.au/pumice/ ... e-25l.html


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
thanks but I reckon the freight/postage makes it too expensive-- I'll have to wait for an Adelaide trip
Oliver Syd
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 25
Joined: November 8th, 2019, 4:11 pm
Bonsai Age: 1
Location: Sydney
Has thanked: 19 times
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Requesting thoughts on POTS & SOIL - DEVELOPING BONSAI

Post by Oliver Syd »

robb63 wrote:Hi Oliver
I'm in your area and had similar questions not long ago.
The best quality potting mix I have found is in flower power Worriewood [professional mix] from memory.
Advertising claims its used by their growers and its about $15/per/30ltr bag.
All the others I have tried around our area are not quite as good
Standard black plastic pots are the cheapest and easiest way to grow trunks out off the ground.
Kimbriki Tip has a buy-back yard with a good stock of cheap pots in many sizes,
The closest source of pumice and zeolite is Enfield garden/pet supplies, look online.
The KIS [keep it simple] method I find works very well. Its good to save time, money and effort where possible.
All the dollars we don't spend unnecessarily can go towards buying more and better trees.
cheers
Hi robb,

Thanks for letting me know, I’ll get myself to flower power and try out that mix.
Much appreciated!
robb63
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 295
Joined: May 19th, 2016, 12:11 am
Favorite Species: figs & junipers
Bonsai Age: 4
Location: sydney
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: Requesting thoughts on POTS & SOIL - DEVELOPING BONSAI

Post by robb63 »

Hi Oliver
One handy thing to have is a fine sieve
The fly screen used on windows will do. Stretched out on some sort of frame
Sieve the potting mix and anything else you use so you can discard the fine dust.
Fine material breaks down too fast is not good for small or large pots.
So far the only use I have found for the fine stuff is to top-dress what's left of my lawn.
Which I might add has greatly reduced since starting my bonsai hobby
shibui
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 7653
Joined: August 22nd, 2009, 8:41 pm
Favorite Species: trident maple
Bonsai Age: 41
Bonsai Club: Albury/Wodonga; BSV; Canberra; VNBC
Location: Yackandandah
Has thanked: 65 times
Been thanked: 1399 times
Contact:

Re: Requesting thoughts on POTS & SOIL - DEVELOPING BONSAI

Post by shibui »

So far the only use I have found for the fine stuff is to top-dress what's left of my lawn.
Which I might add has greatly reduced since starting my bonsai hobby
We assume that we should not top dress with potting mix fines if we want a good lawn :?: :?:
http://shibuibonsai.com.au/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Rare plant Pat
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 70
Joined: October 20th, 2018, 10:59 am
Favorite Species: Anything Rare
Bonsai Age: 1
Bonsai Club: Yarra Valley Bonsai Society
Location: Yarra Valley
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: Requesting thoughts on POTS & SOIL - DEVELOPING BONSAI

Post by Rare plant Pat »

Joshua wrote: August 9th, 2020, 11:33 pm
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.
Do you know if there's an equivalent of this in the EU?
The Australian standard has been around for many decades. Seeing as we usually are about 50 years behind Europe and we usually just borrow their standard when we adopt one, I feel, but don't know with certainty that there is a EU standard for premium potting mix. a short google search should help you out.
Post Reply

Return to “Repotting, Soil and Fertilisers”