Anyone else primarily use Cactus-Soil for bonsai?

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Shohin
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Just curious... does anyone else primarily use cactus-soil?

98% of my plants are in big 5-15 gal nursery pots, development grow stages, saplings, etc. But, I use cactus-soil for pretty much everything... mostly in a 2:1 or 1:1 ratio mixed with any good potting or azalea/acid soil (cactus-soil:potting-soil ratio).

I learned this trick from a jbp sapling grower (he grows and sells hundreds if not thousands). And it makes sense, because a good cactus-soil has a high percentage of pumice, sand, other types of lava rock, mixed with a little organic matter (just add more organic to suit your taste). And, is much much cheaper than specialty bonsai soils (akadama, kanuma, etc.); esp if growing many trees in huge 5-15gal pots. Also, pumice by itself can be hard to find sometimes, and is not commonly available in big-box stores.

I use EB Stone cactus-soil, or Kellogg cactus-soil when I can’t find EB (both have real pumice, and not the cheaper perlite) + whatever good potting or azalea soil mixed in. Most other brands use perlite, which I try to avoid.

I know most here mix their own soils from scratch using individual-sole-product, and will say it’s much cheaper to mix your own... but I don’t like mixing a bunch of soils all the time (esp for many 5-15gal pots).. I really like the simplicity and ease of pre-made cactus-soil.
 

sorce

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I would like to see the results of using this soil. And watering habits to make it worth while.

I don't know that I'd use cactus soil cuz....
It's meant to be stabilizing and dry, where bonsai soil is meant to be wet and stabil doesn't matter.

I threw my cactus in Pumice and don't water it.

Sorce
 

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I would like to see the results of using this soil. And watering habits to make it worth while.

I don't know that I'd use cactus soil cuz....
It's meant to be stabilizing and dry, where bonsai soil is meant to be wet and stabil doesn't matter.

I threw my cactus in Pumice and don't water it.

Sorce

I'm a n00b to bonsai, so any results will be super short term. And, almost all my trees are very young, small, pathetic and Sharpie marker thick, lol.They all seem healthy and vigorous though.
But, for pics, pretty much all of my past posts that show a plant in a container, are in the cactus & potting soil mix.

Watering habits... since there's organic water-retaining material too, and also in big volume plastic nursery pots, I only water/drench/flood twice per week - Wed and Sat. When it gets colder, late fall, winter and early spring, I water just once per week.

Yeah... cactus soil is designed to be dry (maybe that's where mixing in organic/potting-soil comes in handy), whereas bonsai soil is designed to retain; but, both are designed to drain super well. Pumice is porous and retains water too, so it can't be that dry, I don't think. Idk lol.
 

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I find there is way too much organic in “cactus mix”.

Yes, I feel that way too. I wonder what percentage is pumice... I think around 30%. But it def feels way more aggregate than potting-soil.

But, I can't imagine using a true bonsai soil (almost all aggregate - an even mix of lava rock, pumice, akadama, a splash of organic) for growing and development in nursery-pots. Do people really do that?
I've been to different bonsai nurseries, and the only trees in true bonsai soil (almost all aggregate) are totally finished bonsai in nice bonsai pots.
All of the other trees in pre-bonsai stages, or ones growing in large 15 gal or wooden crates, look to be a mostly organic soil.
This has always confused me.
 

Shibui

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Several members of our club used cacti and succulent mix for bonsai for many years and grew good trees. At one meeting members brought in bags of different possible potting mix. The cacti mix from 3 different companies were all very different so not all cacti soil is the same.
It is possible to grow bonsai in all sorts of mixes as evidenced by the debates every time someone starts a thread. You just need to tailor your care to suit the mix.
 

rockm

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I'm a n00b to bonsai, so any results will be super short term. And, almost all my trees are very young, small, pathetic and Sharpie marker thick, lol.They all seem healthy and vigorous though.
But, for pics, pretty much all of my past posts that show a plant in a container, are in the cactus & potting soil mix.

Watering habits... since there's organic water-retaining material too, and also in big volume plastic nursery pots, I only water/drench/flood twice per week - Wed and Sat. When it gets colder, late fall, winter and early spring, I water just once per week.

Yeah... cactus soil is designed to be dry (maybe that's where mixing in organic/potting-soil comes in handy), whereas bonsai soil is designed to retain; but, both are designed to drain super well. Pumice is porous and retains water too, so it can't be that dry, I don't think. Idk lol.
Cactus soil is not designed to be "dry." It is designed for cactus, not trees. As mentioned before, it tends to have too much organic content and fine particles of sand. Both those are not great in a bonsai mix over a period of time.

Cactus soil does offer short term application for bonsai, as you have seen, for sapling/seedling growth. Those trees tend to be repotted more frequently than established bonsai.

FWIW, real bonsai soil is designed to be DRIER than cactus soil. I use bonsai soil to grow prickly pear cactus I've collected in Texas. The bonsai soil works far better than prepared cactus mix...
 

MrWunderful

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Yes, I feel that way too. I wonder what percentage is pumice... I think around 30%. But it def feels way more aggregate than potting-soil.

But, I can't imagine using a true bonsai soil (almost all aggregate - an even mix of lava rock, pumice, akadama, a splash of organic) for growing and development in nursery-pots. Do people really do that?
I've been to different bonsai nurseries, and the only trees in true bonsai soil (almost all aggregate) are totally finished bonsai in nice bonsai pots.
All of the other trees in pre-bonsai stages, or ones growing in large 15 gal or wooden crates, look to be a mostly organic soil.
This has always confused me.
I use lava, pumice, 8822 and pine bark for my development trees. I keep Akadama for redwoods, and more refined stuff in bonsai pots.
 

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Several members of our club used cacti and succulent mix for bonsai for many years and grew good trees. At one meeting members brought in bags of different possible potting mix. The cacti mix from 3 different companies were all very different so not all cacti soil is the same.
It is possible to grow bonsai in all sorts of mixes as evidenced by the debates every time someone starts a thread. You just need to tailor your care to suit the mix.

Thats great to hear! (it gives me more re-assurance/confidence that my plants are okay, haha).
I knew there had to be some people using cactus-mix.. especially after a quick Google search and then reading cactus-mix seems to be a recommendation/alternative (many blogs/websites say they are very similar... depending on formula of course).

Do your club members use the cactus-mix straight-up out of the bag? Or, do they mix in more potting-soil (for more organic material) or mix in more pumice (for more aggregate)?

Maybe adding more organic was recommended to me (2:1, cactus:potting-soil) because I am from hot SoCal, and so is the JBP grower that recommended it to me.
 

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The cacti mix from 3 different companies were all very different so not all cacti soil is the same.

VERY very true!

I know brands will be different there in Australia (and every other country).. but here's my take on US brands:

EB Stone Cactus: Lots of Pumice, Lava, not much sand at all (if any), high quality organics. A good amount of aggregate. Looks very similar to bonsai-soil (bonsai soil formulations with organics added; obviously not those 100% aggregate bonsai soils). Looks and feels very high quality. My #1 favorite.

EB Stone Citrus & Palm: Waaay too much sand and mostly sand, a touch of pumice, lots of red stuff (bark?), high quality organics. Doesn't look/feel like bonsai soil at all. Feel like cactus-mix, but with sand replacing all the pumice. Feel like a high-quality potting-soil with tons of sand mixed in. Stays wet for a very very long time. Too wet.

Kellogg Cactus & Citrus: Lots of Pumice, a touch of sand, recycled forest organics, smelly chx manure. Maybe a little more aggregate than the EB Stone Cactus mix, also looks very similar to bonsai-soils w/ organics added. The smelly chx manure and slightly more rough organics make it feel not as high quality as EB Stone. But it's still my #2 fave because it uses lots of real pumice too.

Dr. Earth Cactus: High quality indgredients like EB Stone, but No real pumice at all. It uses perlite and/or vermiculite and/or other non-natural small particles or powder as the aggregate. The organics feel high quality. Overall look and feel is very very close to a regular potting-soil with aggregate/perlite barely detected. Perhaps there is a lot of hidden perlite, but it just blends in with the organics so it is hardly detectable. It does however, still drain very very well (just not as well as EB Stone nor Kellogg though).

Miracle-Gro Cactus Palm Citrus: Similar to DR. Earth. Uses only perlite and sand as aggregate (No real pumice). Looks and feels like regular potting-soil.
 
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I think there are a lot of us who enjoy the process of blending our growing mixes.

Yeah, I wouldn't doubt that. I would enjoy that too.

But, whenever I pot or re-pot, I pot 5-10 (sometimes more) plants at a time... in big 5-15 gal nursery pots. So using something like akadama would be way too expensive.
I have about 113 potted plants currently.
 

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Cactus soil is not designed to be "dry." It is designed for cactus, not trees. As mentioned before, it tends to have too much organic content and fine particles of sand. Both those are not great in a bonsai mix over a period of time.

Cactus soil does offer short term application for bonsai, as you have seen, for sapling/seedling growth. Those trees tend to be repotted more frequently than established bonsai.

FWIW, real bonsai soil is designed to be DRIER than cactus soil. I use bonsai soil to grow prickly pear cactus I've collected in Texas. The bonsai soil works far better than prepared cactus mix...

That's what I was thinking too... 100% aggregate bonsai-mixes (akadama, pumice, lava) def sounds dryer than cactus-mixes which contain organics.

The cactus-mixes I use (EB Stone Cactus and Kellogg Cactus/Palm) don't have much sand in them, or is hardly detectable, as other cactus-mixes I've felt (EB Stone Citrus/Palm, Miracle-Gro Cactus, etc.).

You think adding more potting-soil to the cactus-mix is not needed? ...because the cactus-mix already has organics in it?
I have been doing 2:1, cactus-mix : potting-soil ....as it was recommended to me.

Would just using pure and all cactus-mix, straight out of the bag, be better than my 2:1 mix?
 

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You guys think adding more regular-potting-soil (more organic) to the cactus-mix is not needed? ...because the cactus-mix already has organics in it?
I have been doing 2:1, cactus-mix : potting-soil ....as it was recommended to me by the JBP grower.

Would just using pure and all cactus-mix, straight out of the bag, be better than my 2:1 mix?
 
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rockm

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That's what I was thinking too... 100% aggregate bonsai-mixes (akadama, pumice, lava) def sounds dryer than cactus-mixes which contain organics.

The cactus-mixes I use (EB Stone Cactus and Kellogg Cactus/Palm) don't have much sand in them, or is hardly detectable, as other cactus-mixes I've felt (EB Stone Citrus/Palm, Miracle-Gro Cactus, etc.).

You think adding more potting-soil to the cactus-mix is not needed? ...because the cactus-mix already has organics in it?
I have been doing 2:1, cactus-mix : potting-soil ....as it was recommended to me.

Would just using pure and all cactus-mix, straight out of the bag, be better than my 2:1 mix?
Potting soil is a very very bad bonsai soil ingredient, particularly so in mixes that drain/dry quickly. Potting soil typically contains peat moss, which, once dried out, is extremely difficult to get wet all the way through again.
also when it is wet, it tends to hold on to too much water.
 

milehigh_7

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I have used cactus soil (lava/bark mix) but I sifted out the fines. I used it mixed about 50% with my coarse DE. Worked pretty well but straight cactus had way too many fines of organic and that's never good.
 

penumbra

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Yeah, I wouldn't doubt that. I would enjoy that too.

But, whenever I pot or re-pot, I pot 5-10 (sometimes more) plants at a time... in big 5-15 gal nursery pots. So using something like akadama would be way too expensive.
I have about 113 potted plants currently.
You are preaching to the choir. Sometimes, depending upon what I am planting, I mix up to 6 cubic feet at a time, and then again.
 

Shibui

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You guys think adding more regular-potting-soil (more organic) to the cactus-mix is not needed? ...because the cactus-mix already has organics in it?
I have been doing 2:1, cactus-mix : potting-soil ....as it was recommended to me by the JBP grower.

Would just using pure and all cactus-mix, straight out of the bag, be better than my 2:1 mix?
Not sure why you think more organic must be better. Look at all the growers swearing by inorganic mix and getting good results. You can grow good plants in almost any soil - just need to adjust your care to suit the mix. If you can't adjust care to the mix then keep trying until you find a mix that suits your care regime.
Use what works well for you in your conditions and don't worry so much about the 'experts' who tell you you must use such and such.

But, whenever I pot or re-pot, I pot 5-10 (sometimes more) plants at a time... in big 5-15 gal nursery pots. So using something like akadama would be way too expensive.
I have about 113 potted plants currently.
The larger and deeper the pot the less problems with drainage and aeration so you can get away with using lesser quality mix in larger pots. Take a look at what some wholesale nurseries use successfully. No need to waste expensive resources on larger grow pots.
 
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