soil

Dear people! Since I've yet to encounter complete information on all kinds of bonsai soils, I've decided to make a datasheet with as much information about soils as possible. It's a bit of a mess for now, but if you would like to contribute; please send me an email! For now, you can place...

I am apparently several hours from a shop that sells akadama, pumice, or lava rock. And the majority of the local shops only sell potting soil, lekaculor (clay pebbles), and orchid mix. So this is the mix I have created - 1/2 potting soil/small lecakulor mix - 1/4 perlite - 1/4 orchid mix...

Hello. New to this forum looking for help about a Chinese Elm. The soil stays damp for at least a week, sometimes longer. The soil not only looks and feels damp, but the chopstick confirms it: it feels moist and comes out with soil on. I believe this is harmful for the tree. Should I repot it...

Hi everyone I'm Tam . Moved from Montreal Canada to saudi Arabia recently and have been introduced to the amazong world of bonsai recently. I bought a ready chinese elm bonsai tree which I am taking care of and have completed work on a red juniper yesterday. Wired bent and pruned and styled...

Ok so this might be an amateur question or an advanced topic I don't know, so here it goes. What do you guys do to prep the ground where you will be field growing your trees? Or do you prep it. The reason I'm asking is this next spring I will be plants several different types of deciduous...

Hi everyone, this is the first time I've posted here. I recently bought a dwarf blue leaf arctic willow. I know willows require a lot of water compared to many plants. Can I take this need into consideration by using soil that has a very high water retention or is that not enough? I am waiting...

Hi there! So I'm not sure if there's a forum for this, so sorry if I'm messing this up ... This is my first ever bonsai. My parents got it for me. It's an Acacia, though I'm not sure what type -- it has thorns and the bark of the trunk has an almost feathery texture - it's soft and if you...

I have an empty 55 gallon aquarium sitting in the garage and I've just discovered terrariums while surfing the web. They seem really cool and since I like bonsai, I was wondering if I could plant 2 ficus bonsai opposite each other in the aquarium? I have a plan to make a "miniature pond" in the...

Here is the second resource developed from the thread "Introductory Soil Physics". It is a document explaining how the important physical properties in soil and substrates combine to control the amount of air and water in the pore space of soils. It discusses what a drainage layer does and how...

Here is the first resource developed from the thread "Introductory Soil Physics". It is a reference sheet defining common inorganic soil types used in bonsai. It expands on the selection discussed in the thread. It is not a recommendation of what one should use in their garden, rather a...

Hello all, I have recently acquired a beautiful Japanese maple and given it's size I am hoping to soon transplant it into a smaller pot. I understand how to trim the roots properly, but am looking for a good mix to plant it in. I know that plain old potting soil is not what you want, but as...

Hi all, I have a dwarf jade, it is my first succulent. I picked it up in December, and its above ground portion has been growing steadily ever since, despite the winter slow down. However, today I accidentally knocked its pot and spilled out most of its soil. I noticed looking inside the pot...

Hey everybody, I have a few questions about what I think is a Bloodgood J.M. I guess it could be Emperor 1 or Fireglow, they all look so similar to me when they're this small and very hard to tell the difference. IMG_20160222_124328 by cbroad posted Feb 22, 2016 at 2:18 PMIMG_20160222_124316 by...

I finally found some time to head to the gravel yard a couple hours away and get a have a yard of lava cinders and a half of yard of pumice. I combine this with diatomaceous earth (Napa oil dry) and some potting soil/ compost/bark mulch and it works good for 100"+ of rain a year. I still have...

Attatched is my tree about a year ago when I bought it. Its been very healthy up until this weather change. I don't keep it outside because of how chilly it is, but it stays in the window and is watered when the soil feels dry. Within the past month since it's gotten colder my poor little...

Hello all, Disclaimer: This is my first post here, so I apologize for any stupid questions contained herein. Anyways, I picked up a couple really good looking 3 year old Junipers from a guy who had set up a corner stand here in Tulsa, OK. Older, Asian fellow who really seemed like he knew what...