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It's been a while since I posted this thread and I have changed my mind about Kiriyu as well as Seramis a bit by now.

Seramis can be a bit deceiving, it has a tendency to dry out very quickly on the top, while i stays very wet at the bottom of the pot. I didn't think it would be possible but I managed to get root rot on a porticularia of mine.

I also have to go back a bit on my opinion about Kiryiu. I haven't used it much until now, but the one maple I have on a mix of Kiriyu, Akadama, gravel and pine bark has done a lot better than some in other mixes. I recently bought a big bag of the stuff and am planning on using it in a mix for some of my trees next spring.

I also don't think I'm going to use pure Akadama any more either. A gingko I have in the pure stuff was a bit yellow all year round compared to one in a mix containing 1/3 organic material.

In general, whether using pure Akadama or pure Seramis, the growth I got was less than expected and the health as well. I don't know how much of this has to do with my specific climate, but as a rule I've found mixing in a handful of organic material really helped things along, root growth and top growth wise.

There are so many soil ingredients and recipes out there, I'm just trying to figure out what works for me, get a couple of good mixes going for the good stuff, and a cheap mix or two for the 'longterm' projects...

Glad to see this thread still catches some interest though, and I'd be happy with any and all amendments.

Stefan

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