Akadama...My Experience

[WNC Bonsai]

Well… Take what he says with a grain of salt. He claims 13 years of experience. I don’t doubt that he has 13 years of experience. His trees, however, are not on a par with mine.

I, on the other hand, have over 50 years experience. The first 35 or so without akadama. I have been using akadama for the past 15 or so, and let me tell you, my trees have FAR more ramification, shorter internodes, and are healthier than they were than before I used it.

Akadama is a tool in your toolkit to create bonsai. If you know how to use it properly, it works great. If not, then maybe it’s not a good tool for you.

To give you an example, I can drive a car. I can drive a car with a stick shift. But, there’s no way I could drive a stick shift Ferrari. That clutch is WAY too sensitive for me!

Akadama is more useful on refined trees, since those are the ones where we want to constrain growth. Akadama slows growth. Young material that needs growing out, don’t use it.

I bought a couple of bags of akadama this year to start experimenting with it. I did a JBP, trident, elm, and a couple of other trees to see how it works. With the new mix I have gone with the basic Boon’s mix formula. So far it is too soon but the main difference has been in watering. For most of my trees I use a mix of composted pine bark, pumice, and Permatil (heat expanded slate) in roughly equal proportions but vary the pine bark depending on species water needs. I have found that I do need to water the trees in the akadama mix more frequently which kind of surprised me as I had thought it would be about as good as bark at water retention. So in the future I may cut back on the amount of pine bark in my traditional mix. I’ll be interested to see how well the akadama handles our freeze thaw cycles here on western NC. I still ahve an unopened bag of akadama if someone in this area needs one.

 

[Dav4]

I was re-potting one of my tridents and thought I'd take this picture, specifically for this thread. The tree... and soil... were outside all winter here in zone 6 MI, packed in on my concrete patio with other trees with the pots covered with about an inch of cedar mulch. Temps fell below 0 F 5 or 6 time and I'm pretty sure the temps here barely broke 32 F for all of January and most of February. This particular pot had a large grained akadama mix in the bottom with a finer mix on top with barely any degradation at all. I'd say this my soil is a far cry from "muck' or "mud" consistency at this point.

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

Over my 40+ years of doing bonsai I have tried Akadama many times, it is a crap shoot. I am in the USA. I can NOT read Japanese. I have no clue what quality material I am buying and 9 times out of 10 the vendor I am buying from has even less knowledge about the stuff than I do.

Good news, when Akadama breaks down into a sand like product, it usually continues to drain well, even for 2 or 3 years after the initial breaking down. So emergency repotting is not usually necessary.

I would get a couple of "good bags" of Akadama, then run into a bad bag, then I would boycott the use of Akadama for 5 or 6 years. There are plenty of soil mixtures that work "pretty good" that do not require the use of obscure Japanese dirt.

Pumice is the single most useful potting media component that anyone has ever invented. It is near perfect. It can even be used at 100% as a solo component media, which pretty much nothing else can be used that way. If you use an organic fertilizer like rapeseed cake or cotton seed cake or sugar cane bagasse, with a pumice based mix, the organics quickly make a pretty natural "soil" that supports mycorrhiza and a whole microbiome. Pumice as an additive or a base ingredient improves all other potting media blends, including Akadama.

Pumice 50% to 75 % blended with diatomaceous earth, especially if you can get a particle size DE to match the particle size of the pumice, makes a nice non-akadama based blend that grows a damn nice root system. Especially with dry seaweed powder or rapeseed cake as the supplemental fertilizer. Lava can replace a significant portion of the pumice if this mix is too wet for your climate and watering conditions.

But like I said, I would boycott Akadama for 5 or 6 years, then someone would swear they have the "best brand ever" and I'd get another bag. Lately I have Hidden Gardens on the South Side of Chicago and Ron Fortman west of Milwaukee both carrying excellent grades of Akadama for me. So I have been using it in a 1:1:1 mix lava, pumice, akadama. So right now I am using it.

And I will add, I have found Kanuma to be more consistent from bag to bag. I use Kanuma for my azalea, an have been known to use the kanuma for my pines when I have run out of Akadama. Kanuma looks funny under a pine, but the pines seem to grow the same. So I guess it isn't wildly different than Akadama. It seems to hold its shape longer. More winters than Akadama.

But I do want to say, there is nothing magical about "Japanese Dirt"

I’ve been hunting for a possible mix and I think you nailed it. I’ve been trying to research the DE and just need to get to NAPA to try the 8822 stuff

Unfortunately, I’m out of repotting season, but maybe will sacrifice an “extra” to the Testing Gods

 

[Kullas]

I’ve been hunting for a possible mix and I think you nailed it. I’ve been trying to research the DE and just need to get to NAPA to try the 8822 stuff

Unfortunately, I’m out of repotting season, but maybe will sacrifice an “extra” to the Testing Gods

A smaller sycamore 1.5" trunk was pulled out at work I grabbed it and all I has was a 2.5 gallon bucket I cut some holes in and filled with napa 8822 (we use it in the shop for its intended use) its doing well in just the 8822, hate to rip it out again until next year.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I dislike 8822 as a potting media because the particle size is too fine. DE is a good material, if the particle size is large enough, but 8822 is too fine. the only source i have at the moment for a properly sized DE particle is Ron at Ancient Arts Bonsai Supply. I don't know where he gets it.

 

[Clicio]

I have been testing Ibaraki Hard Akadama in some pines here in the tropics with no issues whatsoever.
In fact the pines with Akadama grew better than the others using my "regular" pine mix.
No degradation at all of the granules, but we don´t have more than one or two frosts in our winters here.
Happy so far with the results.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

MY akadama today.

At the risk of boring everyone, I have to add my juniper soil that I fret about because I am OCD and obsess over that damn tree.

These are the current pix:





I figure there are a few possiblities.

1. It's fine. Go worry about something else.
2. That decomposed akadama is too far gone. So...
a. Repot it in February.
b. UP pot it now without disturbing the roots if I can.
c. UP pot it in February.

You can't see it but I poked holes with a fat chopstick through the coarse soil and into what I imagine is where the roots are.
It drains fast as you can see in the picture.
After about 10 minutes, I can see water creep up the bark about 4-5 inches.
4-5 months ago I dug out the edge part to add the coarse soil as it was very fine aka at the time and I of course obessed over that. That coarse soil is the size of the beginning akadama and lava.

When I repotted this year in Feb, I put a drainage layer of hyuga and lava about an inch up from the bottom thinking that would cover everything and maybe it does but again maybe not.


I'll stop now.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

We all like to obsess over our soil and trees. First it would be helpful to see the full tree. If it is doing OK then you can easily wait until next spring. Personaly though this looks like the poster boy photo against using akadama! That soil looks horrible, like something dug from an old field. I put my nana and several other trees in akadama soil this past spring and now wish I hadn’t. Well, there’s always next spring.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

We all like to obsess over our soil and trees. First it would be helpful to see the full tree. If it is doing OK then you can easily wait until next spring. Personaly though this looks like the poster boy photo against using akadama! That soil looks horrible, like something dug from an old field. I put my nana and several other trees in akadama soil this past spring and now wish I hadn’t. Well, there’s always next spring.

Picture from this week.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

Looks, reasonably healthy to me. Some yellows spots but that may just be old foliage about to drop.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

We all like to obsess over our soil and trees. First it would be helpful to see the full tree. If it is doing OK then you can easily wait until next spring. Personaly though this looks like the poster boy photo against using akadama! That soil looks horrible, like something dug from an old field. I put my nana and several other trees in akadama soil this past spring and now wish I hadn’t. Well, there’s always next spring.

THIS mess was my first akadama failure that helped kill my Scots pine. (heat finished it off)
But pile of concrete had completely stopped draining and pooling water on the surface.. Horrible.

I.....thought.... addition of hyuga would help stop the concretion. It did not.

I had to chisel this crap out.

Plus, the akadama that I use now is a commecial MIX from a bonsai nursery. Supposedly medium size.

 

[Deleted member 32750]

THIS mess was my first akadama failure that helped kill my Scots pine. (heat finished it off)
But pile of concrete had completely stopped draining and pooling water on the surface.. Horrible.

I.....thought.... addition of hyuga would help stop the concretion. It did not.

I had to chisel this crap out.

Plus, the akadama that I use now is a commecial MIX from a bonsai nursery. Supposedly medium size.

View attachment 453049

Akadama and what else? Its too wet

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Akadama and what else? Its too wet

You are RIGHT! Actually that was not very wet at that moment. It was black from rot from BEING wet. Like I said, the stuff congealed so much that water simply puddled on top of it. That pic was the cleanout stage.
That was in the early days when I ....trusted....akadama enough to think I could buy it straight and not as a mix.
Not that the present "mix" is doing me any favors.

I ...think.... lava was also in it. Long time ago.

I have to find some decent size pumice.

 

[Deleted member 32750]

That was in the early days when I ....trusted....akadama enough to think I could buy it straight and not as a mix.
Not that the present "mix" is doing me any favors.

Hmm… how often are you watering? There is a myth that you cannot over water with APl mix. This is false.

 

[Paradox]

You shouldn't be using pure akadama. It needs to be mixed with something.

I suspect you got a batch of soft akadama. Not the hard, high fired akadama.

I have akadama that has been in pots with lava and pumice for 5 years. My soil does not look like that.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

My experience with akadama. Various ratios APL.

At PBM where I’ve volunteered for three years



At home - give me a couple decades and just maybe these will come a little bit closer to the ones up above!



btw Each of my trees media froze solid repeatedly over the past five years….

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Mike Corazzi]

My experience with akadama. Various ratios APL.

At PBM where I’ve volunteered for three years



btw Each of my trees media froze solid repeatedly over the past five years….

cheers
DSD sends

My NEXT repot (OR UPPOT) will be HEAVILY lava with ...some... adadama. Not a lot. Not even the composition of the present "mix" I have been using.
Might need an aka detector to find it.
I also plan to quit hyuga. Still looking for suitable pumice.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

as stated earlier in this thread I don’t use Akadama . But this thread especially . The multiple remarks here and other threads saying not to use it pure with nothing else Is that not exactly what they do in Japan . Multiple references I have seen recommending pure Akadama with nothing else in a mix for maples in Japan . And multiple vids exist showing Japanese masters styling and potting trees . Pines junipers Using what looks like Akadama pure . Or at least it all looks like one component . No mix . So if it’s not A what is it and if they use a mix what do they use further besides cost .if it’s used by them pure why not by others

 

[Paradox]

as stated earlier in this thread I don’t use Akadama . But this thread especially . The multiple remarks here and other threads saying not to use it pure with nothing else Is that not exactly what they do in Japan . Multiple references I have seen recommending pure Akadama with nothing else in a mix for maples in Japan . And multiple vids exist showing Japanese masters styling and potting trees . Pines junipers Using what looks like Akadama pure . Or at least it all looks like one component . No mix . So if it’s not A what is it and if they use a mix what do they use further besides cost .if it’s used by them pure why not by others

Like a lot of things in bonsai, it depends.
What works in one place (ie climate), may not be the best thing in another climate. Also what works for one species may not work for another.

Also, how old were those references?
Practices may have changed over time.
All modern bonsai books recommend a mix.

The U.S. National arboretum used to use peat and sand I've been told. They no longer do.

I doubt they use pure akadama for pines. Maples maybe as they like it a bit wetter than pines.
Not sure I'd want to use pure akadama in anything that might freeze

 

[amcoffeegirl]

Question- I know not many care about tropicals but this sounds like it might not be a bad thing for ficus. No freeze/thaw. Grow fast roots at repot then grow small roots after some breakdown.
My friend gave me 2 large bags of akadama and I have never used it before.
It is it my mix this year so we will see.
I have not top dressed anything. Should I?