Newbie with a soil for cutting question

[Guns286]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and to Bonsai. I've been doing a lot of research and plan on doing a lot more before I purchase a formed Bonsai tree. But, in the interim, I have taken cuttings from 3 different trees (Willow, Maple, Oak) and am trying to see if I can get them started.
I trimmed off the branches and cut the stem to size. Then I trimmed the ends into a "V" and, after soaking them in water for a bit, dipped them in rooting hormone and planted them. Since I haven't bought anything Bonsai specific yet, I used what I had on hand to make the "soil". I mixed together 1/3 plain potting soil, 1/3 clay kitty litter (after sifting out all of the small, dust-like particles), and 1/3 pool filter sand. The pots have multiple drainage holes and I watered the cuttings with "Willow Tea" water that I created with other willow cuttings.
My 2 questions are: #1, is this "soil" mixture sufficient until I can buy more specific Bonsai soil ingredients? And #2, these being cuttings, with no roots yet, is this the right type of soil to use to encourage root growth?
Any help you guys can give would be greatly appreciated.
Bill

 

[Dav4]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and to Bonsai. I've been doing a lot of research and plan on doing a lot more before I purchase a formed Bonsai tree. But, in the interim, I have taken cuttings from 3 different trees (Willow, Maple, Oak) and am trying to see if I can get them started.
I trimmed off the branches and cut the stem to size. Then I trimmed the ends into a "V" and, after soaking them in water for a bit, dipped them in rooting hormone and planted them. Since I haven't bought anything Bonsai specific yet, I used what I had on hand to make the "soil". I mixed together 1/3 plain potting soil, 1/3 clay kitty litter (after sifting out all of the small, dust-like particles), and 1/3 pool filter sand. The pots have multiple drainage holes and I watered the cuttings with "Willow Tea" water that I created with other willow cuttings.
My 2 questions are: #1, is this "soil" mixture sufficient until I can buy more specific Bonsai soil ingredients? And #2, these being cuttings, with no roots yet, is this the right type of soil to use to encourage root growth?
Any help you guys can give would be greatly appreciated.
Bill

I have used soil conditioner- basically composted pine bark- with good success. I know that many folks here will use a mix with perlite- a search here will help with the particulars. By the way, you need to fill out your location in your user cp. Any soil mix outside of Europe containing kitty litter is going to turn to oatmeal in short order...not much is going to root or grow in that.

 

[Guns286]

Thanks. I updated my CP. I live in New York State, USA. I picked up some Perlite and I'm going to stop by a local Masonry Depot to pick up some Lava Rock or grit. Now that my cuttings have been sitting for a couple of weeks I'm nervous about repotting them in better soil because I don't want to injure any roots that may be starting to form. What is the lesser of two evils? Keeping them is subpar soil, or taking the chance of possibly damaging newly formed roots?