New Inorganic Soil Component

Frogboy

I have discovered a new soil component that I feel to be superior to Akadama, and I thought everyone might like to give it a shot. It has a very similar composition, proper grain size, sharp edges to encourage finer root growth, and is noticeably less expensive.

It's called Flourite. It is made by a company called Seachem and is intended to be used as a substrate in planted aquaria. It has a high iron content and is very porous. It seems to hold water well while remaining free-draining.

I have used a mixture of Flourite and Potting soil (1:1) in my houseplants and outdoor container plants for years with great success, and have just recently begun using it as a bonsai soil. I have potted two japanese maples in training pots with only Flourite as the soil and they seem to be doing well. The very top layer dries out within a few minutes, but just a few grains down it stays moist for literally days. Granted, these are in deep pots, but I think it might be worth a shot in shallow bonsai pots.

Oh, BTW, I work for the company, so my motives aren't entirely selfless, but I do think this is an outstanding substitute for Akadama.

And no, I can't get you samples. I had to buy mine just like everybody else. How's that for gratitude, huh?

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wmcorcor

So what size bags does it come in and what's the typical cost?
Thanks

king30

Lowest price I've found on-line for the Flourite Original is $11.89 for a 15lb (7kg) bag. Part Smart is considerably higher at about $25.00 (Thats retail for ya)...Lee

rockm

I would question the mineral content and its applicability for bonsai. The really good bonsai soil building blocks are inert, meaning they are mostly devoid of "nutrients," as those nutrients are added in a regular fertilizing regime. This looks porous enough, but is aimed at underwater aquarium applications. It's emphasis on nutrient content makes it questionable. ANy other opinions on this?

$11.89 for 15 lbs online (shipping would probably double that) isn't cheap.

Frogboy

Chemically speaking, it is inert. None of the minerals contained in it are soluble. The plants have to break the substrate down enzymatically, as all plants do with all soils. For all practical purposes, it is crushed clay. Remember, there is a big difference between nutrient content and mineral content. I bet if you did a full analysis of Akadama you would find it has a high mineral content as well. That is what makes clay, well, clay. Of the three major fertilizers, only Potassium is present in Flourite. It is entirely devoid of Nitrogen or Phosphorus, so the biggest effect you might see is increased flowering. Maybe that's why my container plants always do so well.

As far as price goes, the cheapest I have seen Akadama (before shipping) is $20 for 20 lbs. Granted, I haven't searched exhaustively. You can find Flourite for around $12 for 15 lbs. I can't speak for the volume, but I believe that Akadama is slightly more dense than Flourite.

At any rate, it is simply another option.

jhill

You may want to read this FWIW
here

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http://www.BonsaiBeginnings.org

Bonsainut

Frogboy,
That some fancy gravel eh? Too bad you can't get a break on it. I bet some place there is a big ole pile of the stuff that you could bag up for the price of the bag.

Thats the nature of these things. You put it in a bag and market it and it becomes this real high tech expensive material. But in its native land its just dirt.

I'm glad its working for you and you are a good company boy, frog.

Later

__________________
Keep growing,---'Nut



Lethal Use of Farce

Frogboy

You know the saddest part of all this? There is literally about a dozen pallets of the stuff, unbagged, on the other side of the back wall of my office, and I'm not allowed to touch it.

I decided to give it a try because I had a large planted aquarium that I broke down when I moved into my new house a few years back. I didn't know what to do with the gravel, but I paid too much for it to just let it sit there, and no way was I going to throw it away. I filled my containers with it and still had about 50 lbs left, and I just sat on that until I decided to try it in my bonsai. I'll update with exact results every few months.

Adam_MA

Hmmmm Just looked at the distributors list, and this stuff is sold at a pet store that by brother-in-law works part time at... I can get his discount, so maybe I will do some experiments with it!

I will try to setup some sort of scientific experiment and see what happens.

Adam