How about another soil thread

[ChristianDGreat]

I saw that video as well.
That is what's working for him
I know someone as well that have something similar to his soil mixture that have good success, and have good trees.

At the end of the day all of us have choices and we can choose who to follow or what information to take

Thanks
Chris

 

[Baku1875]

I saw that video as well.
That is what's working for him
I know someone as well that have something similar to his soil mixture that have good success, and have good trees.

At the end of the day all of us have choices and we can choose who to follow or what information to take

Thanks
Chris

yep, there's a subjective/behavioral angle
(how much sun, how often do you want to water based on your schedule and availability, what kind of ferts, how much rain and humidity, what type of tree are you potting)
based on these factors, people can disagree big time on what soil works for them.

and there's the objective angle
(do your trees look awesome, grow vigorously when in development, ramify and achieve your desired density in refinement and stasis.)
From the objective side, however, I will always listen to the person with the most awesome, healthy, and vigorous collection of trees, and test things out for myself to see if it works in my climate and within the structure of my watering habits. I recently discovered Walter Pall and his no nonsense, 'do what works' approach is refreshing.

The best looking trees = that person is right about their soil mix, ferts, pruning techniques, etc.

 

[leatherback]

The best looking trees = that person is right about their soil mix, ferts, pruning techniques, etc.

Or has lots of

 

[Baku1875]

Or has lots of

To rephrase, the person whose 'tree custody/ownership period resulted in the most significant development and refinement that led to that tree looking world-class' is right about soil, ferts, technique.

Doesn't quite roll off the tongue tho lol. Money can buy nice trees, but it wont turn you into Pall or Ryan Neil, or Robinson overnight.

 

[Katie0317]

In Florida I take classes and buy my trees from a large well respected bonsai nursery. The owner only uses granite (called crimson red) and adds a little pine bark. His trees are beautiful and this is the only soil he uses.

Granite was the rage in California from the 60's through the 90's. People online are selling Crimson Red crushed granite for quite a lot of money so beware! It's very cheap to source. A granite mine in Alabama blew up and the granite sized itself perfectly for bonsai. People online are also calling it 'red lava' or 'crimson red lava'. The bonsai nursery I buy from sells a five pound bucket for 35.00. He doesn't do mail order.

It's very porous and there's lots of air so the roots don't get soggy. I tried akadama and another well known Fl grower sold me a bag but didn't tell me it was the small sized variety. It was during Covid and the large size was hard to come by. I'd just begun learning about bonsai and I didn't know I needed a larger sized particle for the trees I had. The soil stayed very soggy on the bottom and I lost a few trees.

 

[BobbyLane]

yep, there's a subjective/behavioral angle
(how much sun, how often do you want to water based on your schedule and availability, what kind of ferts, how much rain and humidity, what type of tree are you potting)
based on these factors, people can disagree big time on what soil works for them.

and there's the objective angle
(do your trees look awesome, grow vigorously when in development, ramify and achieve your desired density in refinement and stasis.)
From the objective side, however, I will always listen to the person with the most awesome, healthy, and vigorous collection of trees, and test things out for myself to see if it works in my climate and within the structure of my watering habits. I recently discovered Walter Pall and his no nonsense, 'do what works' approach is refreshing.

The best looking trees = that person is right about their soil mix, ferts, pruning technique

 

[leatherback]

To rephrase, the person whose 'tree custody/ownership period resulted in the most significant development and refinement that led to that tree looking world-class' is right about soil, ferts, technique.

Doesn't quite roll off the tongue tho lol. Money can buy nice trees, but it wont turn you into Pall or Ryan Neil, or Robinson overnight.

Of course. But it is a point some seem to forget. I know that in some of the big shows the price-winning trees are often reletively recent imports from Japan, where the bulk of the work was done, with the present owner not having put in a lot of work of the design and construction of the tree and only focussed on branch refinement.

 

[Michael P]

Another voice of reason.

 

[j_walker]

I use 50 50 safetsorb and chicken grit. I don't Han an issue with it staying to wet. I've been using the safetsorb the last 3 years.