|
|
|||||||
| 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 | ||
|
| ||||
26-Jan-2005
|
#1 |
|
bonsaiTALK Journeyman
Join Date: Nov-2004
Country: Philippines
Posts: 43
|
Suggest for this components for my bonsai soil
First of all I dont have any idea in the soil that most of you are using...or may i say i dont know what it is or what it is made of like peat moss, etc....may be becuase fo the terms they are using....or may be they are not available here.
So i decided to write all the items that i can gather and afford for you to suggest what will i use and how many of it...By the way im in the Philippines and I have only 2 kinds of plant...Juniper precumbens nana and Ficus benjamina.. 1) pure soil 2) lava rock( how small should it be) 3)sand and some small particles fo stone used in aquariums... 4)crushed gravel 5)charcoal(dont know why i include it) 6)black earth( dont know what it is but they are selling it to me or if its good to use) This is it...I cant afford to buy ready bonsai soil like akadama its too expensive here in the philippines and very seldom im open for suggestions here using only these for my bonsai....and please be specific in measurement so that i can do it right....(its look like a test from all of you to make a good bonsai soil mix using only this components) ill be waiting for your answer..thanks in advance.. harry |
|
|
|
Sponsor Message
|
Suggest for this components for my bonsai soil |
|
Forum Sponsor
|
|
|
27-Jan-2005
|
#2 |
|
Harry,
The absolute best thing you can do is to contact people in your area, possibly a local club and find out what is working for them in your area and climate. The soil I use here in Michigan, USA zone 5/6 would not be the soil for you and visa versa. I have included some links below for you to read up on soil and bonsai, the main common denominator in most successful mixes is drainage. Ron martin's primer Soils for Containers and Bonsai Why the Earth Is Not Like a Pot A Simple Approach to Bonsai Good Luck, Will Last edited by Will_Heath : 27-Jan-2005 at 12:10 AM. |
|
|
|
|
27-Jan-2005
|
#3 |
|
bonsaiTALK Journeyman
Join Date: Nov-2004
Country: Philippines
Posts: 43
|
thanks for the quick response Will...i have read some of the links you put in here but we dont have it here....like pine barks....i have asked some sellers of plants but they use only skin of rice(dont know the terms..) sometimes they just mix it with soil...Some say that they use pure soil...when i use it it hardens so easily when they dry....So its really hard to look for information here..i dont know if they are just playing with me or they just dont want to share it with me...
anyway ill just try to read all the links that youve listed here and understand..... but if you have any suggestions in your mind that would work just fine let me know... by the way it is sunny in here .. |
|
|
|
|
27-Jan-2005
|
#4 |
|
|
Interesting reference here about bonsai in the Philippines in 1604.
I have a feeling that your answers can be found on this page, it lists quite a few clubs and associations there. The bark you may want to look for is fir bark, commonly sold as orchid bark for growing orchids in. Please see my email I sent and maybe we can work out a trade for some of the postage stamps there featuring bonsai.  Will Last edited by Will_Heath : 27-Jan-2005 at 12:31 AM. |
|
|
|
|
27-Jan-2005
|
#5 |
|
bonsaiTALK Journeyman
Join Date: Nov-2004
Country: Philippines
Posts: 43
|
thanks...have you sent it already the informations im asking from you.cause ive checked it already but havent got it yet...
|
|
|
|
|
27-Jan-2005
|
#6 |
|
BonsaiTalk Master B.S.er
 
Join Date: Jun-2002
Location: Richardson, Texas
Country: God Bless America
USDA Zone: 8
Posts: 1,284
 |
Harry these photos may help you as well. The first is my soil mix, and I show it to give you an idea of particle size. The size is about 1/8 inch, and is based roughly on medium size bonsai. You may need smaller/larger particle adjustments for the size of your trees. As Will said, local help and expertise will suit you best in this regard. The organic matter, is a combination of bark particles, and peat particles. It is commonly sold in my neighborhood in bags called landscaper's mix. The inorganic matter is hard fired clay, and I would think that if you can get lava rock this size, you would be doing very well indeed!
The second shows the sifter with differing screen sizes, the idea being that you want to sift away particles to large or small.
__________________
Emerging from winter slumber Bonsai trees burst buds anew Spring is upon us! -Paul S. |
|
|
|
|
27-Jan-2005
|
#7 |
|
bonsaiTALK Journeyman
Join Date: Nov-2004
Country: Philippines
Posts: 43
|
thanks ralph for the comments too......looks like im running out of hope of using components that i available for me....but anyway im still waiting for any suggestions...
..by the way.. is it okey if I will use a bark of different dead trees?....when you say pine bark...anykind of bark of pine trees is okey...?cause we have pine trees here in metro manila but i dont know what kind of pine that is... Last edited by HarryZaragoza : 27-Jan-2005 at 01:44 AM. |
|
|
|
|
27-Jan-2005
|
#8 |
|
BonsaiTalk Master B.S.er
Join Date: Jun-2002
Location: Richardson, Texas
Country: God Bless America
USDA Zone: 8
Posts: 1,284
|
Harry, some people use pine, some use hardwood (like oak).
You know, I was just talking with my wife, she is from Taiwan, and she says that The Phillipines is very close to her country, and that you have very similar plants, fauna, and geology. There is a professional bonsai artist from Taiwan, goes by the name Lo Minshuan who posts over at the IBC galleries often, bet he can tell you what he uses for soil components, and it may be things that are locally available to you as well. here is the link if you have not been there before: http://internetbonsaiclub.org/gallery You should register, and look for Lo's latest post in the main gallery, and reply with your question about soils. Good Luck P.S. let me correct the spelling of his family name: Min Hsuan
__________________
Emerging from winter slumber Bonsai trees burst buds anew Spring is upon us! -Paul S. Last edited by Ralph : 27-Jan-2005 at 02:10 AM. |
|
|
|
|
27-Jan-2005
|
#9 |
|
bonsaiTALK Journeyman
Join Date: Nov-2004
Country: Philippines
Posts: 43
|
thanks ralph.....and regards to your wife.....thankyou
|
|
|
|
|
27-Jan-2005
|
#10 |
|
Behr Appleby
 |
Mr. Harry,
The lava rock you have mentioned as avaliable to you, would work just fine for bonsai soil...I would suggest 1/8 to 1/4 inch grade...The sand or crushed gravel in about the same size mixed with the lava rock at about the rate of 25% sand/gravel-75% lava rock should do well for you, although the sand/gravel is not necessary...the rice hulls will make an execellent source of organic material to add to your soil mix...I would suggest about 25% for conifers, and 50% for leafed trees... This would give you a very free draining, semi-organic soil mix, that would probably need to be watered every day...This mix would also need the addition of fertilizer often, either as a slow-release 2 to 3 times a year, or as a water soluable fertilizer about every 2 weeks... Please understand this is only my opinion based on experience with the soil components you have listed...It is also my opinion that the components of your soil are not as important as your watering and feeding habits, based on your soil mix, provided the mix is free draining...I also do not have a clue as to the weather conditions you are dealing with [never been to the Philippines], but I do think this would be a good place for you to start... In a few years when some new member of this forum from the Philippines asks a similar question, you will be able to give them a much better answer than any of us have been able to offer you... Best of luck in finding the right mix to suit your plants, and watering/feeding methods... Regards Behr 
__________________
As the Master departed the workshop, he could have sworn he heard some one saying rather loudly... "I thought he would never leave" San Antonio Bonsai Society, Inc. |
|
|
|
|
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads
|
||||
| Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
| Artistry In Bonsai: A Simpleton's View | bonsaial1 | Articles | 30 | 11-Apr-2007 08:22 PM |
| Bonsai Design - Philosophy | Emperor Fish | bonsaiQUOTES | 4 | 23-Feb-2007 02:12 PM |
| Bonsai Design - Philosophy | Emperor Fish | bonsaiQUOTES | 1 | 6-Feb-2005 09:59 AM |
| NC Bonsai Show | Ron Martin | General | 8 | 13-Oct-2003 11:36 PM |
| All-purpose Bonsai Soil | groan | General | 19 | 26-Nov-2002 02:26 AM |
Linear Mode
