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Originally Posted by malik
This is the type of question I've been asking for the past couple months. Using pure lava rock can and will work for you, IF you provide the tree with everything the lava rock isn't providing. For example the nutrients that Mortalis talked about. Also the major factor is that using a 100% inorganic mix will force you to keep a much closer eye on your watering needs. The tree will dry out much much faster with this sort of mix and if you don't stay on top of it you will end up with a dried out root system. I always add some pine mulch to the mix. It is water retentive and can provide organic matter while not interfering with drainage. Turface is also a wonderful additive.
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I can agree with this to an extent. Inorganics do force you to feed regularly but you should do so with all soils. There is little nutrient value in any soil mixes that would be used. It's been said that we underfeed our bonsai, especially in development and I can agree with that. Overfeeding can produce long internodes and wild growth but that is of little harm on many trees in the early stages of development.
I use 100% inorganics almost exclusively now. I do have a few plants in almost 100% pine bark and I have noticed (by weight and digging down) that they seen to dry down faster than others in inorganic mixes. That was not what I expected nor had heard. Go figure.