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Originally Posted by sweety
Hi all, well it's time to repot some of my Chinese Elms & was wondering what would be the best to use. Last year I repotted my wifes Gray Bark Elm in a mix of levingtons Bonsai compost which I get from my local garden centre & 4mm grit & sharp sand, the tree seams to be fine & is growing well. Is there a better mix I can use which won't cost the earth ie a compost & cat litter mix ?Sadly I'm unable to work due to health problems so money is always very tight for us & perhaps some would say that Bonsai is'nt for us really but in just over a year taking it up we are really enjoying it  |
Your existing mix sounds fine. Elms are very easy and don't have high expectation of the soil mix. The levingtons is too fine for my liking however.
I'd also like to try the cat-litter too - but don't know which one to use , so I use Seramis as a major absorbing component. Seramis is not particularly cheap however AND is rather bright coloured, but IS readily available.
I use three mixes regularly - and they ALL seem to work just fine and are all very free flowing:
1) 100% Pure Akadama
2) 1/3 akadama, 1/3 Seramis, 1/3 4-6mm sharp granite grit.
3) 1/3 akadama, 1/3 granite grit, 1/3 small chopped pine bark (darker coloured).
It's possible to go out and collect your own inorganic and organic material as components of bonsai soil. River sand from brooks and shallow streams plus other two soil components which spring to mind are rotted deciduous leaves (for example on the floor of a Beech or Oak forest) and rotted Larch needles (Larch forest floor - particularly the man-planted ones.) The depth of rotted leaves can be many inches and is relatively dry material. All need to be put through a mesh screen to remove the REALLY fine particles...