Soil for repotting Elms

sweety

Hi all, well it's time to repot some of my Chinese Elms & was wondering what would be the best to use. Last year I repotted my wifes Gray Bark Elm in a mix of levingtons Bonsai compost which I get from my local garden centre & 4mm grit & sharp sand, the tree seams to be fine & is growing well. Is there a better mix I can use which won't cost the earth ie a compost & cat litter mix ?Sadly I'm unable to work due to health problems so money is always very tight for us & perhaps some would say that Bonsai is'nt for us really but in just over a year taking it up we are really enjoying it
Sorry I forgot to add I live in the N/E of the UK where it can be really wet & cold but during the summer (when we get it lol) can be rather warm & I have to water the trees twice a day to stop them drying out

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jeremy_norbury

Your existing mix sounds fine. Elms are very easy and don't have high expectation of the soil mix. The levingtons is too fine for my liking however.

I'd also like to try the cat-litter too - but don't know which one to use , so I use Seramis as a major absorbing component. Seramis is not particularly cheap however AND is rather bright coloured, but IS readily available.

I use three mixes regularly - and they ALL seem to work just fine and are all very free flowing:
1) 100% Pure Akadama
2) 1/3 akadama, 1/3 Seramis, 1/3 4-6mm sharp granite grit.
3) 1/3 akadama, 1/3 granite grit, 1/3 small chopped pine bark (darker coloured).

It's possible to go out and collect your own inorganic and organic material as components of bonsai soil. River sand from brooks and shallow streams plus other two soil components which spring to mind are rotted deciduous leaves (for example on the floor of a Beech or Oak forest) and rotted Larch needles (Larch forest floor - particularly the man-planted ones.) The depth of rotted leaves can be many inches and is relatively dry material. All need to be put through a mesh screen to remove the REALLY fine particles...

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PatArizona

G'day Sweety...

Best to check with a local bonsai club, or one or more locals to see what they use.

Pat

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sweety

They all use Akadama which is rather costly around here so I was looking for something else I could use instead

bonhe

Hi Sweety, too bad right!
Like someone already made mention of how well the elm accepts soil. Cat litter is much cheaper than Akadama. When you want to use it, you have to make sure it is hard enough to sustain its form in the pot (you should soak it in the water for 10-15 minutes, then use your thumb and index finger to crush it and see how easy you can grind it. If it is too soft, it 's not good). I don't use cat litter but I use pumice (its character is same as cat litter -absorbing the water and other)-turface (llike hard Akadama but much cheaper)- fine fir bark ratio: 1-1-1 and my elm really fine. Oh, I live in the area with very hot dry in the summer and cold in the winter.

I think you can try cat litter(inorganic)- coarse sand (inorganic) - fir or pine bark (organic). Ratio? if you think it too wet in your area, then you should reduce the organic part. If too dry, then increase organic part. Any way, we learn bonsai from others' experience but also have to put in our trial because no one will know your area (talking about microclimate ) better than you. Good luck. Bonhe

sweety

Thanks very much for the help guys Think I'll try a 1-1-1 mix of cat litter, the bonsai compost I have & the other part course sand/grit. Does this sound ok ?

bonhe

It sounds OK. Give it a try.
Bonhe

henshaw

There's several possibilites for cat litter in the UK. There's 'Sophisticat Pink' and Tescos Premium Lightweight - both diatomaceous earth I think, or Fullers Earth (normally sold as a growing medium but sometime it's sold as cat litter).

The Tesco version has smaller granules (1mm-3mm - think they used to be larger) than the Sophisticat (3mm+ ?) - if you had to go for one I'd go for the latter - but I'm trying both myself at the moment. A 30l bag of Sophisticat should be 8-10 quid, I think the Tesco stuff is something like 4-5 quid for about around 15l.

On one of the bonsai forums I've seen mention of Oil-Dri (sp?) being available in the UK - that's similar stuff

If you get the Tesco version, make sure its 'Premium lightweight' and *not* just 'Premium'. The Premium will turn to vvv sticky mud as soon as you add water, despite looking ok when it's dry. Fortunately I tried watering it before repotting anything !

henshaw

from elsewhere on this forum:
http://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basicscatlitter.htm