soil mix

Hello fellow Bonsai Nutz A few weeks ago I gently removed these little pines from my friends deck. There were a bunch that had been growing, naturally, up out of the small spaces between the deck boards, so I decided to try and save a few. This little container was all I could find at the time...

I want to make sure I don't get the wrong soil for my Nana Juniper. I know there are "bonsai mix" premade soils, but I'm not sure if they're all equal in quality. I want to find something cost-effective in particular if possible. This Juniper is an outdoor bonsai in Connecticut. Connecticut has...

I have a 71 year old Juniper (shimpaku) that was handed down to me. It is time for a repot, but I have no idea what type of soil mix to use. I'd like to mix my own but need help from everyone on the exact ingredients and amounts to use unless you can recommend a reputable brand of premixed soil...

Hi there! I have seen many people grow all their plants in akadama, pumice and lava but for pre-bonsai it becomes way too much expensive. I've come up with these mixes! Please review and any other suggestions would be good. Seedlings 50% Perlite 50% Coco peat Pre-Bonsai 80% Perlite 10% Coco...

Hi guys! I've recently watched this video - Basically he uses a mixture of perlite/coco coir in 85/15 mix for his mid development pines What do you guys think about it? Can it work/work for other species/work for other species with some modification? Other opinions about using this...

I am researching for a soil mix (again) What do you guys think about 40-40-20/zeolite(like pumice)-molar clay-pine bark Shoud I add some grit? Oh, and how can I increase the water retention?

Hi guys, am quite a beginner, I was searching for a good general/allporpuse soil mix for Middle European weather. I was thinking about 50% zeolite (its like perlite, and I can buy a fairly large amount for fairly cheap in my area (I'll be a highschool student, so money is tighter)) and maybe...

I have been using a mix of about 40% zeolite, 30% lava rock, 10% pumice, 5% perlite and 15% pine bark (it's a mess I know) for the last 1 year and it's been going pretty well, except for a few deaths which I think happened because of overwatering and sometimes forgeting to water a tree. I am...

So I'm pretty new to bonsai. I have a few trees that are bonsais in the making and I'm just starting to get a little more experimental. This is something I was going to try as a soil component. It's stoneware clay fired to bisque temperature so it will absorb water. Any thoughts on what else to...

I've seen discussion about crushed bricks as a soil additive but I haven't seen the same for concrete. If this is a well trodden path, just point me in the right direction. I know the issue is mainly that water retention is pretty low for high fired bricks, plus there doesn't seem to be the...

Presently writing a bonsai media presentation. Thus I’m requesting some ground truth information on the main media mixes folks actually use. This data will be aggregated by geo area if enough comments come in. This data will lend some reality to the presentation. No names will be mentioned...

Could it be minerals from the water I’m using I am using bottled water to water my plants. I don’t know if that makes a difference but it’s forming little white balls in the soil on all of my plants. Any tips or advice? And I do not know what the one with the flowers is called if anyone does...

I usually use Bonsai Jack inorganic or organic mix on my trees, depending on the tree. Recently I got into succulents/cacti and have an extra bag of their succulent mix. I was just curious if anyone is using or has used their succulent mix for their trees. I could see some trees benefiting from...

I was trying to look for some organic soils I can use because I don't want to buy Akadama as it is too expensive in my area and it apparently doesn't last long especially with my local climate. I would also like to use the same organic soils for both my trees and other plants I am propagating...

Just curious what others use their sifted fines for? I was thinking maybe for cuttings or mixing in with my cacti/succulent mix. I got an overfilled 5gal bucket I need to free up. All of it is APL.

New to Bonsai and trying to come up with a good alternative to Akadama as it is expensive to get it here in my Nordic country. I have also heard it breaks down really fast in the cold weather. I am currently growing conifers and have read that a 1:1:1 soil mix of Pumice, Lava Rock and Akadama...

I've got two Bloodgood Maple air layerings out in my front yard that I've started a month ago. Still no roots but the sphagnum moss inside the air layer pods is still moist and just needs time. I know its gonna take at least another month or more for good roots to develop and I'll definitely...

It's getting closer to that repotting time and I think a big issue I had in my first year was not filtering out and going with set particle sizes for my substrate mixes. I learned this to be a big noob mistake as all the smaller particle substrate moves to the bottom as you water and you end up...

Hi all, I purchased three 1-gallon trees from Evergreen Gardenworks. 1 trident maple and 2 elms. Following Brent's advice, I would now like to move them from the 1 gallon containers to larger grow boxes. Does anyone have recommendations on a pre-mixed soil that is good but also affordable...

I'm trying to come up with a baseline soil mix at an economic price, using locally sourced products. After lots of searching, these are the products U've been able to source: -a product called SafeTSorb, which is Turfice, -Lava Rock that is used for charcoal BBQ's (which I have to manually...

Hi all, I live in the UK, with relatively restricted access to exotic soil components, particularly pumice. We have plenty of wet weather and cold winters, but also lots of moderately hot days scattered throughout the year. What do you guys think of this for the temperate UK climate? I only...

So I made the mistake repotting my yew in a mix I'm not sure was best. Now I don't know if I should repot in a better mix or wait till next year. I put him in a 33% Akadama, 33% Lava, 20% Pine Bark, 10-15%~ Peat Moss. I should not have added any peat moss and now worried it won't allow for...

So I just picked up a nice red azalea at Lowes for $10 and gonna try and bonsai him. This is my first azalea and I've heard they prefer more acidic soil. I've read a Kanuma mix is good for them. I have Akadama, Pine Bark, Lava Rock, and Perilite. Will any or a specific mix of these work for the...

I’m new to bonsai and have heard that having a good granular water retaining draining soil for bonsai is almost essential. I currently have an orange jessamine and a Chinese juniper and am planing to grow more plants of the latter and also a few ficuses. The only available soils/mediums...

I found a weeping redbud (I assume, it wasn’t tagged or labeled) and am asking for insight on it. The 4+ feet tall leader had already died back when I purchased the tree, and I snapped some of it off by hand. When Is it ok to transplant from nursery pot into slightly smaller pot (not ready to...