Well, you may not have seen my opinion of cat litter. Suffice to say I would stop having bonsai rather than use it.
What country are you in? is that one of your trees in the picture?
Geoff

I am in Britain, and the picture is not one of my trees, it is one of my friends's trees

m5eaygeoff wrote:

Well, you may not have seen my opinion of cat litter. Suffice to say I would stop having bonsai rather than use it.
What country are you in? is that one of your trees in the picture?
Geoff

Why is that so?

Cat litter is just that. Not made for use for potting any plant let alone bonsai. I use the soil that is recommended for bonsai by all the best growers, it is my opinion, and I stick to it. If others wish to use something else then that is up to them, I will not be changing.
Geoff.

It's a bit of a personal preference - I use CL in most of my pots now (Sophisticat Pink, don't try cheaper brands which will just turn to mess) for better drainage and I have no problems with it. Ask about soil mixes and you will get as many recommendations as there are bonsai growers. Free drainage is the important aspect and if you find something that works for you then stay with it. I've tried perlite in the past ,no good IMO, vermiculite is better, and I use 20 to 50% sieved peat compost in my mixes.

Dave

As I said, you use what works for you. You are right, every one has their own ideas. I did once change to a different soil, and it was a disaster. have used a mix that another swears by, and for my trees a disaster.
Geoff.

I meant to mention too - it's also expense, particularly if you have a lot of trees, I like Supalite from Kaizen Bonsai which isn't expensive but the delivery charge is. I buy vermiculite in bulk from an EBay supplier with free delivery but I use this in general potting for non-bonsai planting. The local pet 'superstore' is very close and I buy CL when it's on offer to keep costs down.

Dave

Well, yes Akadama is not that cheap, however I have trees that cost £100 up to £ 400 so £15 for a bag of doil is not a lot, and I do not want to risk damaging the trees with inferior soil.

I kind of agree with Geoff, CL can be used but trees are meant to be grown in soil and it looks a bit ugly, but I guess it could be used, but would prefer soil.