Real akadama?
- Hazeltree
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I recently bought some premixed soil from eBay. The description says it's 50% akadama, 25% volcanic rock and 25% bark chipping.
It's just arrived and it's looks more organic than I expected and the element which I assume is the akadama is easily squashed between my fingers, which isn't what I imagined when I've read about akadama.
So my question is, does akadama squash when squeezed between ones fingers?
And should I trust that I've bought what I intended to?
Would really appreciate some insight from someone who has handled real akadama!
Many thanks
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- spacewood
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- Hazeltree
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- spacewood
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- Auk
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spacewood wrote: something seems not right with this soil, not sure..
It looks perfectly OK.
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- Hazeltree
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Shall I try it ? I'm repotting my sagerethia theezens.
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- Auk
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Hazeltree wrote: Shall I try it ? I'm repotting my sagerethia theezens.
Does it need repotting?
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- Hazeltree
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- Auk
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Repotting: Once every two years, but only when fully root bound. Use a normal potting soil and remove up to 30% of the roots.
Not sure why you think you need akadama.
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- Hazeltree
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"Bonsai soil mixture
Choosing the right soil mixture is crucial for the health of your trees, it should be draining enough to prevent the roots from rotting, while absorbing enough water to supply the tree with water. Although some tree species need special soil mixtures, the following mixture is suitable for most trees:
Mix Akadama, pumice and lava rock together in a ratio of 2:1:1. When you do not have time to water your trees regularly, choose a more water absorbing mixture (use more Akadama), while you should choose a more draining mixture (use more lava rock) when living in a wet climate. Read the Bonsai soil article for more detailed information on soil mixtures."
And checking the bonsai soil article I see
" Deciduous tree Bonsai soil
50% Akadama
25% Pumice
25% Lava rock
Coniferous / Pine Bonsai soil
33% Akadama
33% Pumice
33% Lava rock"
This is what made me think that by saying " use a normal potting soil" the guidelines on this site imply the above mixture is in fact "normal potting soil" when bonsai are concerned.
But whether I need akadama or not was not my original question
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