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Boonified
Join Date: Oct-2003
Location: Dallas
Country: USA
Posts: 272
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Ron,
Akadama used at 100% would be too wet at any climate. It would be like using pine bark or fir bark at 100% unsifted for your bonsai. Akadama is best used when substituted for the organic component in your mix. Used in this way it seems to really encourage root ramification.
I also have had great luck with crushed lava instead of aggregate. The roots seem to fill the whole container volume better. Perhaps this is due to the lava's better water retention than aggregate but in such a way that the extra water does not yield root rot.
Perhaps you might consider your mix with akadama substituted for the pine bark, and lava substituted for the aggregate. That is pretty much the mix I have had the best results with.
Below is a collected juniper in training with this type of mix. This is a native species of Juniper (ashe) which seems to easily revert back to juvenile foliage when stressed. I believe this soil mix is part of the reason I have had success keeping the foliage in mature form.
Kind regards,
Howard
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