AusBonsai

. Nothing more to say... Very interested to know the composition of your soil, if you are willing to divulge such information that is...

its coming along Alpine.Root spread looks good and even. Just need more branch structure that takes time especially if your growing then cutting bark hard to cause movement and ramification

Raymond wrote: . Nothing more to say... Very interested to know the composition of your soil, if you are willing to divulge such information that is...

Hi Raymond , mate the mix is simple 8mm minus soft red scoria screenings from {Beveridge Quarries in Melb'} and 10mm minus aged pine bark all sieved and washed removing 2mm and less fines . I added diatomite to the mix several years ago and that was the biggest mistake I made unfortunately it will take years to remove it .

The same mix is used on all potted tree's here, every year more pine bark is added after washing the decomposed material out , Scoria doesn't deteriorate so its only the pine bark that's replaced .

Cheers . Alpine

Matthew wrote:its coming along Alpine.Root spread looks good and even. Just need more branch structure that takes time especially if your growing then cutting bark hard to cause movement and ramification

Hi Matthew , mate its taken about 7 years now from a collected tree trunks so another 5-7 and it might just get there . These big trunks will be with me forever if I don't kill them .

Cheers . Alpine

alpineart wrote:

Raymond wrote: . Nothing more to say... Very interested to know the composition of your soil, if you are willing to divulge such information that is...

Hi Raymond , mate the mix is simple 8mm minus soft red scoria screenings from {Beveridge Quarries in Melb'} and 10mm minus aged pine bark all sieved and washed removing 2mm and less fines . I added diatomite to the mix several years ago and that was the biggest mistake I made unfortunately it will take years to remove it .

The same mix is used on all potted tree's here, every year more pine bark is added after washing the decomposed material out , Scoria doesn't deteriorate so its only the pine bark that's replaced .

Cheers . Alpine

Champion, THANK YOU

Hi Raymond , mate most scroria is either red marble or black marble , it's more like glass than soft rock , doesn't absorb enough moisture and heat up too the extreme . A simple test is to try to crush it with a gentle tap , marble will take some force then shatter , soft red will crush without a heavy hand .

Cheers . Alpine

How come the diatomite did not work for you Alpine?

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Hi kc , mate my watering regime is a little different to most , I water over 1000 plants in 1 1/2 hours that's an average 1 plant every 5.4 seconds , the diatomite being light when dry on top of the mix is washed out of the pots and they require constant top up's . More diatomite on the ground here than in pots .

I'm heavy handed with most things , tried different sprays , nozzles even watering systems , nothing is as reliable and conservative as hand watering here . If it ain't broke don't try and fix it , that includes pot mixes and watering methods .

Cheers . Alpine

LOL thats a different issue than normal eh!
no wonder why you like scoria

Ken

Hi kc , mate if it works use it , this scoria retains basically the same amount of water by volume as does diatomite however it doesn'y break down and leave a slurry in the bottom of the pots . Scoria doesn't get stuck to the roots as reported here and all plants grow very well and develop excellent roots Natives , Deciduous to Exotics even in pure scoria .

It is heavier but most people only grow little bonsai so it shouldn't be too much of a burden to carry them . There are many types of diatomite as there are many types of scoria . The 8mm screening material from the Beveridge Quarry is only available from the Quarry itself , you can purchase 10mm minus at some garden centers however when screened and washed you only end up with 30-40 of usable material

I have tested many blends and I think I will stick with a basic "scoria -pinebark" less work and better results than anything else I have tried .

Cheers . Alpine

Its been an interesting season here with good growth in some grow beds and poorer in others while the potted material has required constant trimming . Not looking forward to lifting the majority of this stock , some will obviously stay put for another season . A touch of colour is arriving on these 2 rafts with 4-5 consecutive frosts already things are beginning to change . I only managed 1 watering last week but nothing seems to have suffered or died due to neglect .

Cheers . Alpineart

I 'm taking a break from laying rock and playing with a few trunks , these tridents are the start of the work load here which is lagging behind the 8 ball as usual .As the process goes , remove form the pot , gently shake the scoria mix off , no need to rake the roots {scoria doesn't stick to the roots or vice versa }, a light trim of the finer roots , cut back thicker roots , and re-pot into a smaller training pot and onto the next trunk and the next tree. Well that's 3 done , only another 400 + potted tree's to go then around 600 grow bed trunks might have to seriously cull a few hundred ordinary trunks for mulch to ease the burden.

Cheers Alpineart

Alpine some great bases on these . Branch development will come in time . you have the foundations right .

Hi Mathew , they are progressing nicely , plenty of options with numerous branches being developed some of which will be removed over time . Some have been purposefully left to thicken the mid sections

The trunks have been shortened this year by as much as 200mm and new leaders developing , still only trunks in development , long way to go that's for sure .

Cheers Alpine

The two I got from you last year are looking good, wonderful radial root systems!

Good luck with your progress through the potted plants and the digging!