bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - Soil and repotting frustrations

Hi, all. My world is very different. Here in southwestern South Dakota, the climate is incredibly dry. For newly collected trees (conifers only), I use the badlands clay that came up in the tree's roots, with either sharp sand (for trees with a lot of clay) or clay pellets (for trees with less clay). At the first repot, I switch to a four-way mix of sharp sand, clay pellets, sterilized topsoil, and (very small) pine chips. This provides a well-draining but moisture retaining home for my trees, while also balancing the alkality of the clay. No complaints, but I would not recommend it for anyone but desert dwellers.

6-Apr-2006	#24
baldguy baldguy Join Date: Jan-2006 Location: Pine Ridge, SD Country: USA USDA Zone: 2cold AHS Heat Zone: 2hot Posts: 171	Hi, all. My world is very different. Here in southwestern South Dakota, the climate is incredibly dry. For newly collected trees (conifers only), I use the badlands clay that came up in the tree's roots, with either sharp sand (for trees with a lot of clay) or clay pellets (for trees with less clay). At the first repot, I switch to a four-way mix of sharp sand, clay pellets, sterilized topsoil, and (very small) pine chips. This provides a well-draining but moisture retaining home for my trees, while also balancing the alkality of the clay. No complaints, but I would not recommend it for anyone but desert dwellers. __________________ "The Precious made me do it!"