Aaron the Great - Celtis occidentalis North America - #1

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Ok what should I add to the soil or what soil should I use?

Best thing I ever dig to improve my soils was to pick up a sieve. Actually I swiped a set of sieves that were out of calibration from the concrete lab where I work. But the sieve that most bonsai supple on line retailers sells is fine.

Key is while the soil, what ever you want to use, is dry, use the sieve to remove fines. This is crucial to get good air movement to roots for your bonsai. You can use a piece of window screen, this is about the same mesh as the fine mesh of a bonsai soil sieve.

No matter what media you decide to use, it will be improved by using the sieve to remove fines before planting anything in it. You can grow trees in just about any media if you understand how to water it and make sure the media allows air to the roots.

Most common bonsai soil components are pumice, with perlite being a somewhat okay substitute for pumice if pumice is not available locally. Most good bonsai mixes in USA are at least 30% pumice up to 100% pumice for junipers and some other conifers. Generally 30% to 70 % pumice is pretty common around here. Other components can be fir bark, akadama, turface (note keep turface under 25% of the total is my personal advice) DE if you can find diatomaceous earth with the same particle size as the pumice you are using. Generally I recommend against adding Canadian peat moss, even if you can find the "chunky peat" rather than the ground to a fine flour peat. Chopped sphagnum is okay, because unlike peat it has not undergone compression and degradation. Fine Fir Bark (seedling grade) can be purchased from orchid supply vendors. There are other media that work. Key is no matter what you use, use a sieve to eliminate fines. This will improve the health of roots long term, even for tiny seedlings. In a more open mix that has been sieved, seedlings won't suffer as much from being over-potted.

So use a piece of window screen or pick up a sieve,, make up some more open, better breathing soil, then repot your seedlings.

 

[Aaron the Great]

I used one of those baskets for growing plants for ponds.

It looks like it got the fines out.

I put one of the trees in an old put that I made. I used the same soil but I sifted the fines out. I hired a couple of guys to provide security for the hackberry, but I'm not expecting that much from them considering how they dressed for their first day on the job.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Hey! Please submit your seedlings for the contest in the submission thread!! Thanks