Does this look like a good/decent soil to you?

[Lawrencek]

We looked for pre mixed soils on eBay and Amazon was actually pretty hard I'm in the UK probably easier in the US; eventually we found this seller with a really good reputation called 'Ash Bonsai'. And bought a repotting kit for a bargain price.what I wanted to ask is does this look like a good soil composition to you? it is as follows - 50% levingtons compost, 25% molar clay and 25% perlite. This is for a small chinese elm, first repotting. We were just looking for a soil that's good but not expensive.

I'll put the pics down below, thank you.

 

[Shibui]

Bonsai can be grown in almost any mix provided you match your watering and care to match the soil characteristics.
Assuming Levingtons supply quality potting soil the mix should be OK.
It may be slower to drain than some modern bonsai mixes but that will depend on the composition of the 'compost' which is hard to gauge from a picture. Slower drainage can be a good thing for beginners while you get a handle on remembering to water often but causes problems if you water too often and the soil stays soggy.
You haven't mentioned whether you plan to keep this Chinese elm indoors or outside. High organic soil like this in pots indoors is more likely to be a problem with fungus gnats and root problems if it stays wet between watering.

I think it should be Ok for your Chinese elm but you need to match your watering schedule to how the soil performs.

 

[ajm55555]

causes problems if you water too often and the soil stays soggy

In my experience the problems coming with a wet soil far exceed those that come with forgetting to water. Of course forgetting to water can be a killer too but it's more controllable ;-)

 

[TomB]

This mix is going to stay pretty soggy due to the compost, so be careful with the watering as Shibui says.
For future reference, if you want a good quality premixed soil in the UK, use one of the Kaizen mixes https://www.kaizenbonsai.com/shop/bonsai-soil or even better an Ibuki akadama/pumice/lava mix - http://bonsai4me.com/shop/#!/Professional-Bonsai-Soils/c/60917033 is probably the easiest source for this but he may not have it in stock.


(incidentally, the description talks about 'molar clay for free draining' - that's only true if you use it as part of a granular mix. The fine particles in the Levington's will clog the drainage up, so you do NOT have a 'free draining' substrate there).

 

[Lawrencek]

Bonsai can be grown in almost any mix provided you match your watering and care to match the soil characteristics.
Assuming Levingtons supply quality potting soil the mix should be OK.
It may be slower to drain than some modern bonsai mixes but that will depend on the composition of the 'compost' which is hard to gauge from a picture. Slower drainage can be a good thing for beginners while you get a handle on remembering to water often but causes problems if you water too often and the soil stays soggy.
You haven't mentioned whether you plan to keep this Chinese elm indoors or outside. High organic soil like this in pots indoors is more likely to be a problem with fungus gnats and root problems if it stays wet between watering.

I think it should be Ok for your Chinese elm but you need to match your watering schedule to how the soil performs.

Yes it is being kept strictly indoors all year round. Which I know is not ideal but that's what my friend likes to keep it on the windowsill. I saw another one on eBay that was more 'traditional' I guess you could say it was a blend but mostly akadama, my worry with that was that I've seen videos of Peter Chan on YouTube say in the UK climate and indoors it's not always the best because akadama dries out very quickly and Chinese elm is a species that likes to keep more damp, correct ?

Same thing with the pumice, which I read is heavier and keeps in the pot when windy etc though the perlite does not . But if it's indoors we don't have to worry about that right

 

[Shibui]

I saw another one on eBay that was more 'traditional' I guess you could say it was a blend but mostly akadama, my worry with that was that I've seen videos of Peter Chan on YouTube say in the UK climate and indoors it's not always the best because akadama dries out very quickly and Chinese elm is a species that likes to keep more damp, correct ?

Interesting that Peter Chan believes that akadama dries out. My limited experience with it seemed that akadama stayed too wet for too long. Maybe different grades, maybe different climate, maybe different watering.
Chinese elm is like most other bonsai species - likes some moisture but will get sick if the roots are wet all the time. Some species are able to cope with drier but most need similar water well and then allow the soil to get closer to dry before watering again.
If a soil dries out quickly we just need to match watering frequency to drying. Usually easier to water more often than to get a soggy soil to dry out.

Pumice is marginally heavier than perlite depending on the source but it's usually light enough to float on water. Definitely no need to worry about wind indoors - at least not the kind that blows bonsai off the shelf.

In my experience the problems coming with a wet soil far exceed those that come with forgetting to water. Of course forgetting to water can be a killer too but it's more controllable ;-)

The problem with forgetting to water is that death is very quick - a day is enough to kill a tree. In really hot weather dry for a few hours is enough to kill trees in smaller pots and there's no coming back from dead.
Overwatering takes weeks or months to promote the fungal infections that kill the roots so that happens slow enough to see symptoms and make changes. Treatment, root prune, fresh soil and/or change of care can see many affected trees recover provided a few roots are still alive.

Maybe the problems are relative to local climate. With our very hot, dry summer down here, death from dehydration is far more common than death from root rot so I do better keeping trees slightly on the wet side rather than too dry. S.E. UK is likely to be far cooler and wetter than here so it stands to reason that wet soil is more likely to be a problem than too dry.
I guess that's another reason there's so much dispute about what makes good bonsai soil.

Your local advice on what soils are good and available is valuable. Hope @Lawrencek takes note and understands that cheap soil may not appear so cheap when the bonsai dies as a result.

 

[ajm55555]

Maybe the problems are relative to local climate.

That's for sure. UK and Germany's climate is not like yours.
In my case I'm pretty sure particle size was also a cause of root rot. This year I'm trying a larger particle mix and so far so good.

 

[Colorado]

If you’re asking for opinions - no I would not use that soil. You’re going to have fungus gnats in no time. I have about 10 trees that I grow indoors for 7-8 months of the year. Yes I water pretty much every day.

Unless you want gnats, bugs, and crap roots, I would use a real bonsai soil.

 

[crookedwoodbonsai]

If you’re asking for opinions - no I would not use that soil. You’re going to have fungus gnats in no time. I have about 10 trees that I grow indoors for 7-8 months of the year. Yes I water pretty much every day.

Unless you want gnats, bugs, and crap roots, I would use a real bonsai soil.

And once you get fungus gnats, especially with tropicals you being inside half the year, good luck getting rid of them. I've kept them at bay the last year more than usual but they are always lurking around once they set in