Is it possible to use cat litter for bonsai soil?

[Rowbow]

I use Sanicat Pink from Amazon no perfume-good size and doe's not breakdown or clump, I add washed chicken grit Pluss Jacks Magic potting compost with some slow-release fertiliser if I can get it small bark pine chippings.
Jacks Magic does have some peat in it, when they stop adding it, I will get a bag of peat or coconut soil.

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

I started using Linda Moller together with Vulcastrat (which is a blend of lava, pumice and zeolite) last year after reading topics about it on this forum.
If I remember it correctly I think @Wires_Guy_wires talked about using Vulcastrat and @leatherback about using Linda Moller.

Most of my Junipers and Pines are potted in only Vulcastrat and some have a blend of Vulcastrat and Linda Moller and they are groing with no problems so far.
As far as I can see the Linda Moller hasn't broken down after almost a year of use.
Next spring I will probably repot some of my trees and I can say more about it.

 

[Ply]

I started using Linda Moller together with Vulcastrat (which is a blend of lava, pumice and zeolite) last year after reading topics about it on this forum.
If I remember it correctly I think @Wires_Guy_wires talked about using Vulcastrat and @leatherback about using Linda Moller.

Most of my Junipers and Pines are potted in only Vulcastrat and some have a blend of Vulcastrat and Linda Moller and they are groing with no problems so far.
As far as I can see the Linda Moller hasn't broken down after almost a year of use.
Next spring I will probably repot some of my trees and I can say more about it.

How is the water retention on Vulkastrat vs Linda Moller?

I'm currently using pure Vulkastrat, but at less than half the price of Vulkastrat I'm thinking of giving Linda Moler a try.

 

[rockm]

FWIW, you can use most any component to grow bonsai. BUT the majority of make-do, cheap, or substitute ingredients that people think are economical, or (ahem) ingenious, like kitty litter, simply aren't worth the trouble. At worst they'll kill your trees if you don't understand how they function in a soil mix.

Using Kitty litter as a soil ingredient is an excuse not to get actual bonsai soil, or less silly bonsai soil components that have been tried and proven for years.

This is especially true for kitty litter in the U.S., as it's not the same stuff sold in Europe.

 

[Bnana]

As far as I can see the Linda Moller hasn't broken down after almost a year of use.

I have used it for a while and must have gone though lots of frost cycles (freezing at night, defrosting during the day). And do not see any breakdown.
It holds quite a lot of water but I don't know how it compares with Vulkastrat
This stuff is well tested and simply works, nothing silly about it.

 

[rockm]

I have used it for a while and must have gone though lots of frost cycles (freezing at night, defrosting during the day). And do not see any breakdown.
It holds quite a lot of water but I don't know how it compares with Vulkastrat
This stuff is well tested and simply works, nothing silly about it.

Except it isn't available here in the U.S. (The OP is in Illinois, not Rotterdam).Even so, there are SUBSTANTIALLY superior ingredients available for about the same money.

 

[FiestaRed]

I use Sanicat Pink from Amazon no perfume-good size and doe's not breakdown or clump, I add washed chicken grit Pluss Jacks Magic potting compost with some slow-release fertiliser if I can get it small bark pine chippings.
Jacks Magic does have some peat in it, when they stop adding it, I will get a bag of peat or coconut soil.

Thanks for the help. I think I've cornered the market in Jacks Magic, I use it for overseeding on my lawn. I heard the 'New and Improved' stuff wasn't as good as that with peat in it so I bought all the stock that was left in my local garden centre.

 

[FiestaRed]

FWIW, you can use most any component to grow bonsai. BUT the majority of make-do, cheap, or substitute ingredients that people think are economical, or (ahem) ingenious, like kitty litter, simply aren't worth the trouble. At worst they'll kill your trees if you don't understand how they function in a soil mix.

Using Kitty litter as a soil ingredient is an excuse not to get actual bonsai soil, or less silly bonsai soil components that have been tried and proven for years.

This is especially true for kitty litter in the U.S., as it's not the same stuff sold in Europe.

Rockm, can I ask what your results were when you tried 'kitty litter'. Did it kill your trees?

 

[RJG2]

@FiestaRed can you put your general location and USDA hardiness zone in your profile? It will greatly help in determining the advice people give here.

 

[rockm]

Rockm, can I ask what your results were when you tried 'kitty litter'. Did it kill your trees?

Yes, it killed a tree of mine. Turned to sludge in a month. did it a very long time ago when I started. Discovered pretty quickly I could get more mileage out of turface, composted pine bark and chicken grit for about the same money. All of those ingredients are available at feed stores or good hardware stores...

And without knowing your location, this is apples and oranges, as far as I'm concerned. What works in the U.K. and/or Europe might not work here in the states. Providing location info is CRITICAL if you're set on giving this kind of advice...

 

[leatherback]

FWIW, you can use most any component to grow bonsai. BUT the majority of make-do, cheap, or substitute ingredients that people think are economical, or (ahem) ingenious, like kitty litter, simply aren't worth the trouble. At worst they'll kill your trees if you don't understand how they function in a soil mix.

OK. Sure.

I have 160 trees in the stuff. And they are pretty happy with it.
Nothing to do with economical. It is about not seeing the need to dig up soil in Japan, ship it to the other side of the world, use it in a pot for a year or two after which is turns into mud, to be tossed. I prefer something from closer by, which does not break down into sludge after a cold wet winter. I am crazy that way, I know.

 

[rockm]

OK. Sure.

I have 160 trees in the stuff. And they are pretty happy with it.
Nothing to do with economical. It is about not seeing the need to dig up soil in Japan, ship it to the other side of the world, use it in a pot for a year or two after which is turns into mud, to be tossed. I prefer something from closer by, which does not break down into sludge after a cold wet winter. I am crazy that way, I know.

Like I've been saying. YOU ARE NOT LOCATED IN THE U.S. YOUR ADVICE TO SOMEONE HERE IS POTENTIALLY A DISASTER FOR THEIR TREES. KITTY LITTER IN THE U.S. IS NOT THE SAME STUFF SOLD OVER THERE.

 

[Ply]

Like I've been saying. YOU ARE NOT LOCATED IN THE U.S. YOUR ADVICE TO SOMEONE HERE IS POTENTIALLY A DISASTER FOR THEIR TREES. KITTY LITTER IN THE U.S. IS NOT THE SAME STUFF SOLD OVER THERE.

So? @leatherback 's experience isn't worth sharing because he's not from the US? Half the people who replied to this thread aren't from the States, this forum isn't US exclusive. Any and all information posted on here should be read with one's own location in mind.

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

You guys in the USA are using alot of NAPA 8822 Diatomaceous Earth which (IMO) is something you can compare with the cat litter we are using in Europe.

@Ply
I think LM can absorb more water than Vulcastrat but I haven't tested that in any kind of way.
I mostly started using it because I read things about on this forum (posts from Jelle) and I thought that it couldn't be very bad for bonsai with our climate.
It is a relatively cheap product and you can easily add it to Vulkastrat to get more volume.

 

[rockm]

So? @leatherback 's experience isn't worth sharing because he's not from the US? Half the people who replied to this thread aren't from the States, this forum isn't US exclusive. Any and all information posted on here should be read with one's own location in mind.

Uh, err, the original poster IS from the U.S., so not really applicable to his question.

 

[rockm]

You guys in the USA are using alot of NAPA 8822 Diatomaceous Earth which (IMO) is something you can compare with the cat litter we are using in Europe.

@Ply
I think LM can absorb more water than Vulcastrat but I haven't tested that in any kind of way.
I mostly started using it because I read things about on this forum (posts from Jelle) and I thought that it couldn't be very bad for bonsai with our climate.
It is a relatively cheap product and you can easily add it to Vulkastrat to get more volume.

DE has been mentioned has it by a U.S. response. DE is NOT sold as kitty litter here. It's sold as oil absorbent. Look, if you all over on the other side of the Atlantic have success, fine, but you're making the same error as some are accusing me of--assuming you are the center.

 

[leatherback]

YOU ARE NOT LOCATED IN THE U.S. YOUR ADVICE TO SOMEONE HERE IS POTENTIALLY A DISASTER FOR THEIR TREES. KITTY LITTER IN THE U.S. IS NOT THE SAME STUFF SOLD OVER THERE.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO SCREAM. REGULAR KITTY LITTER DOES NOT WORK HERE EITHER> IT IS A MATTER OF FINDING THE RIGHT STUFF!
DO NOT BE STUPID ABOUT IT AND ACCEPT THAT SOME THINK FURTHER THAN THEIR WALLET

 

[Kullas]

 

[FinnLakk]

OP may be from the US, a lot of us that have posted are not. You're not from the US you're causing a disaster for some one is just ridiculous, that's the whole point of having the flairs to denote where we're from. It's been noted in the thread that the majority of us kitty litter is not appropriate. Guess what? It's the same here in the UK and in the EU, you just have to find the right stuff.

A worldwide public forum to discuss something we are all interested in is going to attract attention from across the world. Which is obviously going to lead to people suggesting things that work for them and might not for others, as is the case nation wide for bonsai let alone world wide.

Share your bad experience and then sit back and read others positive experiences, use that to expand your knowledge and take some solace in the fact that different folks got different strokes for different boats.

I thought this place was supposed to be a community of learning and sharing not trying to force your singular beliefs down others throats.

Akadama, kanuma etc might be tried and tested but with the explosion of bonsai in the west high quality substrates of these types are just straight up going to dissapear or become available only to those with the largest of wallets. I don't know about the rest of you but I'm not rich, not by a long a shot. The more people we have looking for alternatives to Japanese mined clay bodies the better. It's just unsustainable and we should be prepared with acceptable alternatives when the time comes.

 

[DavePa]

Is it possible to use cat litter for bonsai soil? a friend of mine wants to give me like 2 5 pound bags of it, which if I cannot use it for bonsai soil. I kinda have no use for.

If you live in a snowy icy climate, it’s good to throw under your tires if stuck on the slick stuff