What is heath mould?

mkeBob

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In the book The Creative Art of Bonsai by Isabelle and Remy Samson they mention using a soil mix of 1/4 heath mould, 1/4 leaf mould, 1/4 loam and 1/4 coarse sand in some of their bonsai repotting mixes. I have been unable to find other references to heath mould, can anyone enlighten me?
 
Welcome to B-Nut!

I would probably start reading other (better) bonsai books... ;)
 
In the book The Creative Art of Bonsai by Isabelle and Remy Samson they mention using a soil mix of 1/4 heath mould, 1/4 leaf mould, 1/4 loam and 1/4 coarse sand in some of their bonsai repotting mixes. I have been unable to find other references to heath mould, can anyone enlighten me?

Hi and welcome mkeBob. I'm unable to add to the definition of heath mould, I am however curious about this mix. From what I've gathered here and other places around the web, this is a less than optimal soil mix for most bonsai material. May I ask you what species you are putting in this type soil?

Many folks recommend soil that has more inorganic (besides akadama) particles that allow for faster drainage and better air circulation.

-B
 
Get a better bonsai. That Remy Samson book was terrible when it came out in 1980. It's worse now. Most of the bonsai in it aren't the author's, or are really REALLY bad. I haven't opened my copy in a decade and a half. In fact, if anyone wants to buy it from me, let me know...:p

That you are unable to find reference to "heath mould" shows why the book is terrible. That's mostly a made-up term for a questionable soil ingredient. "Heath Mould" is an outdated term for rotted organic material. Bonsaiists no longer use such things as they lead to root rot and soggy soil.
 
Get a better bonsai. That Remy Samson book was terrible when it came out in 1980. It's worse now. Most of the bonsai in it aren't the author's, or are really REALLY bad. I haven't opened my copy in a decade and a half. In fact, if anyone wants to buy it from me, let me know...:p

That you are unable to find reference to "heath mould" shows why the book is terrible. That's mostly a made-up term for a questionable soil ingredient. "Heath Mould" is an outdated term for rotted organic material. Bonsaiists no longer use such things as they lead to root rot and soggy soil.
come on, Rock, quit beating around the bush and tell us what you really think. ;o)
 
Welcome MKE Bob, hope you stop in at the the Boerner Botanic Garden on Sunday, Feb 24, between 10 am and 2 pm, its the kick off meeting for the Milwaukee Bonsai Society, and the format for this meeting is a bring your own tree for a group workshop, there will be a short (20 min) presentation/discussion, and the the rest of the time, mingle, and work on your own trees, or as I often do, wander about looking at everyone's trees. Normally the MBS meets the first Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm at Boerner Botanic Garden, Hales Corner, southwest burb from downtown Milwaukee. It is a nice friendly club. (if you are not a member already). Say hello. I should be there. For the Tuesday, March 5 meeting Colin Lewis will be the guest artist, his bonsai books are generally excellent, especially after he moved to US and got a better understanding of our winters. The Milwaukee Bonsai Soc. also has a club library, where you can check out some of the books without having to buy them.

Leaf Mould in general is as RockM says, a composted organic product. Heath Mould is 'made up' term, most likely Leaf Mould collected from a Heath-Bog type environment. We don't have Scottish Moors habitat in this country. I think were one to really want to find this very specific type of leaf litter, only the cranberry growing regions of Wisconsin would be likely to have a somewhat similar environment. If you get up to Stone Lake or Crandal, you might be able to dig some up yourself, but shy of that, it is not available. There are better alternatives, check what the other guys in the MBS use, materials that are locally available and not overly expensive. We get that Cherrystone, crushed granite, which is a beautiful reddish purple, brown and gray color that makes a wonderful component in an inorganic mix with things like Turface MVP. One of our members bought a full semi load of 'Dry Stall' a nice light gray pumice for adding into mixes also, its in 40 lbs bags, and she brings some to just about every meeting.In only 3 years, just selling to our small (75 or so people) club, she has less than a third of a truck load left, its been popular with our group. Most of us use blends of inorganic media, with only minor additions of organics. But come to a meeting and see what we do.

http://www.milwaukeebonsai.org/bonsai_newsletters.htm
http://www.milwaukeebonsai.org/Newsletters/MBS201301news.pdf
 
Heath mould sounds like the peaty soil one would find on the moors where heather grows wild. As others have alluded to, your publication is very old and I'd probably consider going with a 'modern mix' of mostly inorganics (some add 10 - 15% by volume rough peat to increase water retention and act as a partial nutrient buffer). I find this works OK in Europe esp for thirsty trees like quince, crab apple etc.
 
Sorry, my post should have said "get a better bonsai BOOK." My computer apparently didn't like the "book" at the end of the sentence.

In any case, do try to find a more current book, like
this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Bonsai-Care-M...361305002&sr=1-16&keywords=bonsai+colin+lewis

or this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Bonsai-School...e=UTF8&qid=1361305082&sr=1-26&keywords=bonsai

They're not the newest, but they offer a lot more sound advice than Samson...
 
Get a better bonsai. That Remy Samson book was terrible when it came out in 1980. It's worse now. Most of the bonsai in it aren't the author's, or are really REALLY bad. I haven't opened my copy in a decade and a half. In fact, if anyone wants to buy it from me, let me know...:p

That you are unable to find reference to "heath mould" shows why the book is terrible. That's mostly a made-up term for a questionable soil ingredient. "Heath Mould" is an outdated term for rotted organic material. Bonsaiists no longer use such things as they lead to root rot and soggy soil.

AGREE! I threw my copy away.
 
Take up Leo's invitation, it will help more than any book, a club will get you to a point where the books can make sense.
 
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