|
|
|||||||
| Register | FAQ | Members List | Calendar | Mark Forums Read |
| Forum | Gallery | Weather | Journals | Links | Webring | Wiki | NEW:Shop |
| Articles | Opinion | T.O.D. | NEW:Radio | Contests | Humor | NEW: Auctions! | Donate |
 |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes | ||
|
| ||||
21-Jun-2005
|
#1 | |
|
Bonsai Addict in training
|
Crushed Limestone? Will it work?
What so you think about using Crushed Limestone as an alternative to Pumice/Lavarovck/coarse sand/Granite?
I have almost ten 5 gallon pails filled with the stuff (was driveway spread, leftover) at my disposal and was curious if i washed and sifted it to 3 - 5mm granules, would it work for drainage and airation? It looks very cleanly crushed, sharp, and the milky lime color washes away to a grey looking stone. Is the lime gonna be toxiic to any of my plants or beneficial in any way? Juniper, Mugho pine, Japanese red maples, White pine, canadian Maple are the trees I have atm. What do you think?
__________________
------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote:
|
|
|
|
|
Sponsor Message
|
Crushed Limestone? Will it work? |
|
Forum Sponsor
|
|
|
22-Jun-2005
|
#2 |
|
bonsaiTALK ArchMaster
|
I would avoid using crushed limestone. It's not angular enough for use as a soil ingredient. It will compact in bonsai soil, obstructing or preventing good drainage.
Granite, like pumice, breaks into jagged sharp irregular pieces with no flat surfaces. That makes it resistant to compaction in the soil. It stands up over time. Additionally, crushed granite and pumice are inert. They won't dissolve in water. Limestone is water soluable, especially in areas with highly acidic water. That means if you use limestone as a soil ingredient, you're dosing your plants with lime every time you water. That could mean death for acid loving species like azalea, camelia and others. It can mean difficulty for other species that like their soil on the acidic side and most forest plants, like Japanese maples and other maples, do. The conifers probably wouldn't be affected though. |
|
|
|
|
22-Jun-2005
|
#3 |
|
bonsaiTALK Expert
|
Here in Barbados we commonly use crushed limestone marl which has been washed as grit for bonsai. (Quite frankly short of importing stone you really have few other choices here). It works fine with one or two caveats.
1. You have to wash the fine dust from the grit, otherwise your soil will turn to mud. 2. Accept that the ph balance of your soil will be alkaline, this is not really a problem for us here as we use native material that is accustomed to alkali soils (as the island is coral stone anyway) but if you have aspirations of azeleas et al that favour acidic soils this could be a problem. Can't really say I've ever observed a problem with either my bonsai or others who have been using this as grit for much longer than I have, in terms of compaction or rocks dissolving. Others may have had different experiences with other forms of limestone but this has been my experience.
__________________
Best Regards, Leslie St. John Barbados West Indies Remember: Opinions are like bellybuttons, everyone's got one |
|
|
|
|
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads
|
||||
| Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
| Work | Newt | General | 47 | 8-May-2005 12:36 PM |
| The work of Harry Hirao | bonsaial1 | General | 16 | 16-Oct-2004 10:31 AM |
| Bonsai Work Areas | gcraft | Show & Tell | 16 | 4-Aug-2004 06:22 PM |
| Species You Would Like To Work With? | diamondlyme84 | General | 0 | 5-Apr-2003 11:04 PM |
| Right Time Of Year To Work On A Pine? | splinter | General | 2 | 30-Nov-2002 03:41 PM |
Linear Mode
