soil

Hi! Would like to do some sense checking here on my soil plans. Location- Yorkshire U.K. Watering schedule- lazy/free style- once a day in growing season and nothing in U.K. wet season: they sit on grass in my backyard see pic attached. 1. For prebonsai material or in early development...

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...

Substrate question with a LOT of background: I started in bonsai 16 months ago (after decades in other horticultural hobbies) and have over a dozen species of Shohin-sized tropicals. I live in Wisconsin, USA (zone 5). Some trees live indoors under good SpiderFarmer lights year-round, others go...

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 got a ficus for Christmas. For soil I bought organic houseplant soil that has fertilizer, and some fir bark and I might also grab some small lava rocks. I haven't potted it in the new soil yet. The only problem is that the fir bark is too big I think (on average ~3/4 in.) Should I cut up the...

Posting this here for anyone who is interested in the volume post sifting NAPA 8822. I sifted the bag with a 3mm sifter, and the results were pretty shocking to me. The whole bag resulted in about 4 qts. of particles >= 3mm. This bag cost me $15 from my local Napa. With the increase in cost and...

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...

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...

Hey everyone! Hopefully this is an appropriate thread to post my questions in. So I have two common beginner trees, Ficus Benjamina (Midnight, from what the person I bought it from told me) and a Chinese Elm. I am curious on people's thought of the current soil in each of them and on pruning...

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'm looking to buy some pumice locally for relatively cheap. I live between San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbra, California, and have had no luck at local nurseries, stores (like Home Depot, Lowes, and Farm Supply), or bulk garden/stone suppliers. The cheapest pumice I have found is "E.B.Stone...

Hi everyone! A couple of months ago, I posted about my Ficus dropping leaves, and you all gave some excellent advice. I repotted the tree, as suggested, and it seems to be good and healthy again. Thanks! One problem, though: over the past couple of days, a whitish mould has appeared on the...

Hello friends, I bought a beautiful Brazillian raintree from a local shop recently for my climate-controlled office, and I'm questioning what kind of soil I should use. My understanding is that, out in the wild, BRTs grow in sandy soil. In fact, I have often read that, when these trees are...

Hello! New member here. We have a Snowbell in our front landscaping that has sprouted a couple of saplings that I would like to try my hand at creating bonsai (iCloud link: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0ae2DOkhA_-GRGmlB3WqlpDAw). I have a book by Colin Lewis that has all kinds of wonderful...

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...

Hello nuts ! I rescued this beautiful maple tree on sale from my local nursery today and am curious about doing a larger bonsai situation in this pot… here is the tree resting on some previous potting soil in the container (will be acid loving later ofc), a larger pic of location just for fun...

Been stusying Bonsai for 4 months now. I have 8 indoor trees and plan on creating bonsai pots of my own, using cement. I see videos on youtube of people making them with molds and wiring. At the end they paint them of course. The inside of the pot as well. I keep wondering what kind of paint...

Hi all. I’m stumped about how to choose which branches to keep on this chinese elm tree (and really any tree in general). How do you choose which branches to keep vs cut off? How do I choose a 1st vs 2nd vs back branch and so on?? I’ve read that there are some guidelines to follow with...

New raised bed, 70cm high. Does it really matter whats in the bottom half? It doesnt rain a lot here, we can go a month or two without significant rain. Except in Winter 🙄 when its not needed. And what to put in the top half? Cheap-ish, if possible Have just few trees for it right now, so what I...

We looked for pre mixed soils on eBay and Amazon was actually pretty hard I'm in the UK probably easier in the US; eventually we found this seller with a really good reputation called 'Ash Bonsai'. And bought a repotting kit for a bargain price.what I wanted to ask is does this look like a good...

This is my first Spring practicing bonsai and I'm wondering where everyone gets their soil supplies from? Last Summer I bought pumice and akadama from ebay and was not impressed by it's quality. I want to buy in bulk, none of those small 2 quart bags. I'm also curious what size akadama I should...

This is my first Spring practicing bonsai and I'm wondering where everyone gets their soil supplies from? Last Summer I bought pumice and akadama from ebay and was not impressed by it's quality. I want to buy in bulk, none of those small 2 quart bags. I'm also curious what size akadama I should...