Green dream and hard soil

[Driver170]

I have a question, ryanair neil is applying fertiliser in a small tra bag like sack. Is this ok if i do the same technique with gream dream? Because my soil is semi hard with lots of moss.

How does the fertiliser actually get into the soil? Does it brake down with temperature and then the water carries the ions through the tea bag and into the soil?

Below are my two bonsais with solid ground,

 

[Driver170]

My yew

 

[Anthony]

Moss on soil is a decorative effect reserved for Exhibitions.
Moss tends to keep soil too wet.
Save the moss on broken porous brick, and apply to trees
going for exhibition.

Hopefully the other will chime in.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Driver170]

That’s understood andy. Even when removing the moss i still have the same problem. I can’t repot until next year now.

 

[wireme]

Moss on soil is a decorative effect reserved for Exhibitions.
Moss tends to keep soil too wet.
Save the moss on broken porous brick, and apply to trees
going for exhibition.

Hopefully the other will chime in.
Good Day
Anthony

That’s really not necessarily a definitive truth you know although I know many very successful artists will say so. There are also many who have mossy coverings all the time. I watched one of the free Mirai videos a while back and it was a while back but I think he not only called moss good but called it essential! Of course there are others before Ryan who have maintained full moss coverage for many many years now with fantastic results, a couple here on this forum. I have myself had moss coverings be usually beneficial and occasionally problematic. Generally I have to admit I’d lean towards the dead shredded sphagnum covering when needed as safest and easiest to maintain health but it is possible to have moss and for it to be a good thing horticulturaly as well.

 

[Driver170]

Ryan did indeed mention the benefit of moss and not just for aesthetic reasons.

So am i best to apply green dream in tea bags with this type of soil?

 

[0soyoung]

Organic fertilizers are mostly fibrous junk with a bit of good stuff (for plants and trees) included. The good stuff is salts in the poo/goo that readily dissolve in water. The fibrous junk tends to bind soil particles together (ala 'Turf-crete') or fill all the spaces between them (of course, we would rather have air in those spaces). The point of teabags is simply to keep this fibrous stuff from getting into the substrate.

 

[Driver170]

Very interesting thanks for that.

I contacted Graham potter at Kaizenbonsai and he said its fine to sprinkle it over the soil. But now you mentioned the the junk stuff could maybe clog up my remaining holes in the soil?

 

[River's Edge]

Very interesting thanks for that.

I contacted Graham potter at Kaizenbonsai and he said its fine to sprinkle it over the soil. But now you mentioned the the junk stuff could maybe clog up my remaining holes in the soil?

The other benefit to the tea bags is the ease with which you can remove the fertilizer without having to change out the top layer of soil. This is more of a benefit when controlling the amount and duration for specific refinement and older specimens.

 

[River's Edge]

Very interesting thanks for that.

I contacted Graham potter at Kaizenbonsai and he said its fine to sprinkle it over the soil. But now you mentioned the the junk stuff could maybe clog up my remaining holes in the soil?

This is not a major concern if part of your fall maintenance routine is to remove the top 1/2 inch and replace with fresh bonsai mix. This is a good habit to get into as the top breaks down quicker and it is a good way to control moss and weeds as well. Done on a regular basis it allows for less frequent repotting and better conditions for a longer period of time.

 

[Driver170]

Thanks frank. That’s something i do carry out during the autumn tasks.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Another benefit of tea bags is that it makes it easy to keep track of how much you fertilize. Very easy to glance at a tree and see you have three new tea bags on it. Just put the same amount of fertilizer in each bag.

 

[Driver170]

I may try the bag technique out.

I do however have orgain liquid green dream fertiliser that can be used?