bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - The great soil conspiracy.

Ron, Thanks for inviting me to elaborate.

People do not know how to water potted plants. We over water house plants and we over water bonsai. Selling a bonsai soil that will drain away water more quickly for over waterers is not a flip flop ( can you tell I watched the debates tonight!). It's a necessity!

Good soil or bad soil does not kill bonsai.
Bad watering habits does!

Soil does not rot tree roots. Water does. Check before watering, if it needs to be watered, water it! If it does not why water it? If you water each day at 7:00AM whether they need it or not, then you better have the soil to handle the flood.

The exact ratio of organic to inorganic, the composition of the materials is not nearly as important as when to water. The best soil in the world will not produce the correct results without a knowledge of how to read plants and when to water.

A perfect, inexpensive potting medium for bonsai that will carry most plants year to year is any good bagged planting mix, ie; super soil, black magic, wallmart, etc. and sand. 50/50! The key is watering management. If your lazy and do not check, or neglect the plants they are doomed. Your best with a mix that is more friable and more foregiving to watering everyday and not checking. Someting more granular like lava and turface.

Remember the whole thing in a nutshell about soil, watering and thriving bonsai is lifestyle. I would be willing to bet that some of the more seasoned veterans here would probably lose some trees in the first year after retirement due to babying trees and having to much time to water and fret over the trees in summer. Remember Walter saying that sometimes he waters twice a day in summer. I'm sure that he has the knowledge to alter his mix to having the correct componets in it to water once a day. He is at home, and has the ability to water twice a day, unlike someone like me that can manage once a day and not much more. My soil has to reflect this watering schedule. I could change the mix and put in a drip, and then I could plant my plants in marbles and water 4 times a day!

It's all about the water, the soil is just a catylyst for turning water to vapor and fetilizer into useable nutrients, and not much more.

/|\
III B-al

6-Oct-2004	#27
bonsaial1 Bonsai Doer Join Date: Aug-2001 Location: Fresno, CA Country: USA USDA Zone: 9 AHS Heat Zone: 13SH Posts: 5,535	Ron, Thanks for inviting me to elaborate. People do not know how to water potted plants. We over water house plants and we over water bonsai. Selling a bonsai soil that will drain away water more quickly for over waterers is not a flip flop ( can you tell I watched the debates tonight!). It's a necessity! Good soil or bad soil does not kill bonsai. Bad watering habits does! Soil does not rot tree roots. Water does. Check before watering, if it needs to be watered, water it! If it does not why water it? If you water each day at 7:00AM whether they need it or not, then you better have the soil to handle the flood. The exact ratio of organic to inorganic, the composition of the materials is not nearly as important as when to water. The best soil in the world will not produce the correct results without a knowledge of how to read plants and when to water. A perfect, inexpensive potting medium for bonsai that will carry most plants year to year is any good bagged planting mix, ie; super soil, black magic, wallmart, etc. and sand. 50/50! The key is watering management. If your lazy and do not check, or neglect the plants they are doomed. Your best with a mix that is more friable and more foregiving to watering everyday and not checking. Someting more granular like lava and turface. Remember the whole thing in a nutshell about soil, watering and thriving bonsai is lifestyle. I would be willing to bet that some of the more seasoned veterans here would probably lose some trees in the first year after retirement due to babying trees and having to much time to water and fret over the trees in summer. Remember Walter saying that sometimes he waters twice a day in summer. I'm sure that he has the knowledge to alter his mix to having the correct componets in it to water once a day. He is at home, and has the ability to water twice a day, unlike someone like me that can manage once a day and not much more. My soil has to reflect this watering schedule. I could change the mix and put in a drip, and then I could plant my plants in marbles and water 4 times a day! It's all about the water, the soil is just a catylyst for turning water to vapor and fetilizer into useable nutrients, and not much more. /\|\ III B-al __________________ If you can't be a player...be an athletic supporter!