Help Needed - My Bonsai Generic Soil
- yousef
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In my country we don't have stores that sells bonsai soil, also Akadama is not available. So i mix 2 part of Compost + 1 part Peat Moss + 1 part Lava pebbles + 1 part pine and oak leaf mould.
Is that a good mix? do you have any suggestion?
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- brkirkland22
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Replied by brkirkland22 on topic Help Needed - My Bonsai Generic Soil
Posted 7 years 1 month ago #30391It sounds like you have lots of organic material in the mix, much of it fine, which means it will retain lots of moisture. That's not a good thing for most bonsai, unless you live in a very dry climate. Even still, you would need to make sure it is thoroughly watered each time, as the surface may appear damp, but portions unseen can still be dry.
Fine particles are not ideal for your bonsai mix, as they clog drainage holes and can retain more moisture than is healthy. Organic material breaks down over time, turning into finer particles. It becomes almost like mud if there's too much of it, which chokes roots & leads to rot.
You'd be better off to add more sifted coarse-size inorganic material, like the lava pebbles you already have. Other available products out there work great, too. Unscented kitty litter (kitty-dama), fired clay soil conditioner (Turface is a well-known brand), chicken grit, gravel, river stones. As long as it's sifted to a reasonable size and not too large or small. My mixtures are sifted to a size between ~2mm-6mm.
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- yousef
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Cat litter is available and i can get it, can mix it with other organic soils i have and Lava pebbles? could you suggest a good recipe?
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- Bonsai Bender
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Replied by Bonsai Bender on topic Help Needed - My Bonsai Generic Soil
Posted 7 years 1 month ago #30396Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- yousef
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Bonsai Bender wrote: I might be good to tell us what type of plant you have. This would determine the best mix. An Azalea is completely different from a juniper when it comes to what it grows best in. Also what type of climate do you live in. Is this going to be in full sun?
Yes mostly in full sun, i know there are some plants like Azalea that needs special requirements, but for my case i need a general purpose mix that will work with most of bonsai trees.
My bonsai trees are Oak, Olive, Jasmine، Portulacaria, Schefflera and Bougainvillea.
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- yousef
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I will use 2 parts of Cat litter (as an alternative of Acadama) + one part Lava pebbles + one part of compost.
What do you think?
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- Bonsai Bender
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Replied by Bonsai Bender on topic Help Needed - My Bonsai Generic Soil
Posted 7 years 1 month ago #30402Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Billymsu77
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Replied by Billymsu77 on topic Help Needed - My Bonsai Generic Soil
Posted 7 years 1 month ago #30417Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.