This Soil Mix Look OK?

jonto

Hi Folks,
I spent the afternoon screening and cleaning some of the soil components I've been able to come across locally. The left side is pumice, then lava rock, and finally some "Soil Reconditioner" from Home Depot. (forest products with redwood compost). I thing the very fine stuff was probably the compost leaving what appears to be some pine chips with some larger redwood that was composted. I screened all 3 through a regular window screen.

I also have a bag of Akadama that I have not yet screened and washed. Does this mixture look like it should work OK and what should the proportions be?

I had some suggestions for a sick Japanese Maple in this thread:
http://forum.bonsaitalk.com/showthr...=&threadid=5687 .
It still has not started to bud aften I trimmed all the bad looking limbs a week ago. If nothing starts to pop after the expected 70Deg weather this weekend I may do another emergency repot.
Anyone agree with this?

thanks
Jim

Attached Images

soil1.jpg (67.9 KB, 247 views)

Advertisement

bonsaial1

That looks great to me! This would be perfect for conifers, and I would add some sand for the leafy trees like maple and hornbeam or elm. Mix it 33,33,33 percent and you should be fine. Add the sand at 25,25,25,25 percent and that should be adaquate for the leaves.

Later, Al

__________________
A tree a day...thats all we ask.

jonto

Al,
Should I use the pumice or the Akadama by themselves or combined in the mix?

Thanks
Jim

bonsaikc

Jonto,
You should definitely screen the akadama and add it to your mix in equal proportion to your main ingredients. But the akadama renders the bark redundant. I commend you for the akadama, and so you do not need compost in your mix, as the akadama will hold moisture and nutrients as you feed your trees organic fertilizer.

A good conifer mix is 1 part akadama, 1 part pumice, 1 part lava, and a handful of charcoal per 5 gallon bucket. If you can get your hands on decomposed granite, add a handful per bucket of that too. For deciduous trees, add one more part akadama.

This is tremendously free-draining, so you will want to run long-fibered sphagnum moss through your big screen and sprinkle it over the soil to retain moisture after you repot.

Here is a link to a photo of a Japanese black pine rootball grown in this mix:
http://www.bonsaikc.com/mycorrhizae02.jpg

__________________
Sashi-no-eda.blogspot.com

spoonman

while on the subject of soils, is it ok to use brick chippings int soil? cause we got a heap load of cause we are building a brick fence.

__________________
"Little laurel trees, your roots can find
No mountain, yet your leaves extend
Beyond your own world into mine
Perennial wands, unfolding in my thought
The budding evergreen of time."
-Kathleen Raine, The Trees in Tubs

Tony

Brick chippings are good, Spoonman. It is high temperature fired clay. It has the ability to to absorb moisture and still provide good drainage at the same time. Good stuff for bonsai.

Tony