Neo_Rokkenjima
Yamadori
Hello friends, I bought a beautiful Brazillian raintree from a local shop recently for my climate-controlled office, and I'm questioning what kind of soil I should use. My understanding is that, out in the wild, BRTs grow in sandy soil. In fact, I have often read that, when these trees are collected from the wild, they are transplanted into 100% sand. I'm sure that this is suitable for larger trees/ collection practices, but I question if that is really the optimal mixture for growing and developing bonsai. In the first place, if we were to take the "simulating a natural environment" approach for constructing a soil profile, you would assume that an "all-natural" medium would have a non-zero amount of organics (such as tree bark) in the soil-- and that the presence of these organics would be beneficial for the tree. Yet, everything I've read seems to suggest otherwise. Apparently, it can lead to root rot, and they should have completely inorganic soil. Okay, but then why are there companies like Tinyroots directly insisting that their tropical soil blends are suitable for BRTs? And yet, some others still insist on using nothing but akadama, or else an akadama/ lava rock mix? I can only imagine the answer comes down to either personal preference, misinformation-- or climate, which would be an extremely non-arbitrary distinction.
Thus, I turn to the forums once again for an answer. My BRT is decidedly an indoor-tree; she gets tons of sun from a massive south-southeast-facing picture window in my office, and the temperature is consistently kept between 65-72 degrees Fahrenheit. What sort of soil should I be using? Would akadama drain too quickly? Would adding organics be beneficial/ detrimental to the tree? Please let me know your opinions about what I should be using.
Thus, I turn to the forums once again for an answer. My BRT is decidedly an indoor-tree; she gets tons of sun from a massive south-southeast-facing picture window in my office, and the temperature is consistently kept between 65-72 degrees Fahrenheit. What sort of soil should I be using? Would akadama drain too quickly? Would adding organics be beneficial/ detrimental to the tree? Please let me know your opinions about what I should be using.