Hydroponic Bonsai

[TheBearded]

I want to set up some trees in a hydroponic setup but I want to use something that looks like normal bonsai soil. I have grown hydroponically in the past with success.

My real question is. What sort of bonsai soil mix should I use to allow watering 3 times per day in a hydro setup? This will be indoors under 30,000 lumens of light.

 

[rockm]

The quickest draining soil you can find . Light is still too low even under 30,000 lumens (sunlight is 100,000) for so much water in mostly any soil.

 

[Smoke]

I want to set up some trees in a hydroponic setup but I want to use something that looks like normal bonsai soil. I have grown hydroponically in the past with success.

My real question is. What sort of bonsai soil mix should I use to allow watering 3 times per day in a hydro setup? This will be indoors under 30,000 lumens of light.

What would be the advantage? I can list many disavantages.

 

[PaulH]

I want to set up some trees in a hydroponic setup but I want to use something that looks like normal bonsai soil. I have grown hydroponically in the past with success.

My real question is. What sort of bonsai soil mix should I use to allow watering 3 times per day in a hydro setup? This will be indoors under 30,000 lumens of light.

Why would you want to do this? Doesn't seem like bonsai to me.

 

[Bill S]

Aquarium gravel.
I have seen pix of a nice canabis bonsai.

 

[Stan Kengai]

I would use only hard, inorganic material like scoria (lava), good-quality pumice, coarse sand, etc. But the most important aspect of obtaining well draining soil is to screen all of your material to a uniform size.
I don't think there's any soil mix that would need watered 3 times a day, except for a few days during the heat of summer (unless you live in the desert). Indoors, I would think you'd only need to water once a day.

 

[Smoke]

Just so I am on the same page? You wish to grow a plant indoors under lights, grow it in a soil like medium, drown it, and call it hydroponic bonsai. Is that about right or am I missing something.

Maybe we need your definition of what hydroponics is to you? Maybe that might clear up some confusion???

 

[Kevster]

This is a great reason to use hydroponics with bonsai. The growth rate is out the roof because it provides fertilizer in low doses throughout the day. What better way to speed up growth on some young plants. I considered doing it just don't have the space.
Here is another link of how to http://www.bonsaihunk.8m.com/info/MattsHydro.html

 

[Baldemotions]

I would think Turface or Mule Mix. But indoors you are not going to need to water three times a day.

If you were watering that much, would #2 chicken grit be an answer as it does not absorb as much water as the rest? Or even river rock pebbles?

 

[stacy allen muse]

???????????????

 

[TheBearded]

It is exactly what was seen in http://www.bonsaihunk.8m.com/info/MattsHydro.html that made me want to do this. I want to be able to keep them in that setup
permanently. I just do not like the look of the LECA.

I really have no choice I have to grow inside. Every time I leave something outside it vanishes.

I am leaving the lights on for 16 hours. According to http://www.bonsaihunk.8m.com/ that should work. He has pictured much less light than I have on his site.

 

[rockm]

Yeah, but basically the stuff there is really just houseplants...I really wouldn't call them bonsai--note plastic cups for pots, small cutting, etc.

Indoor bonsai is roughest way to do bonsai. Add the hydroponic stuff in and you complicate things even more..


I'd bet a plain old ficus in a real bonsai pot would do just as well in a greenhouse window as it would in an unattractive, unweildy set up as this one...

 

[iant]

I'd stay away from turface if you're watering 3 times a day. I'd go straight sifted pumice (>1/8 in) or pumice/lava. Indoors sounds rough even if you had sufficient light. You have to think about canopy size of anything you're trying to grow out. Do you really have indoor space for a bunch of canopies? I'm sure you could fit the pots but you gotta think about what's above them if you're growing stuff out.
Also is it going to get winter chill?

 

[TheBearded]

It really is impossible for me to have anything of value outside. I have even had azalea bushes that I planted in the ground get stolen.

 

[stacy allen muse]

??????????????

 

[TheBearded]

Still inside, if I have security cameras it will attract attention. I will get broken into then. . I have planted them in several experimental mixes. 2 in 100% small lava rock. 2 in 100% coconut husk chips, 1 in a 50/50 of the same. Then I have several cuttings. I am going to test some in a diatomite mix too.

Just as a starting place how many times per week should I be thinking of watering these different mixes inside under lights? I know when they area almost dry but I still have a hard time telling when that is in bonsai mix.
red lava looks dry to me the next day but I know its not totally dry.

I have several Scheflerra that I have had for over a year in normal potting soil. I can tell when thats dry. Can that work for ficus and Texas ebony?

 

[evolve]

Perhaps one should invest in security cameras then...

Or a dog. I would think a Cane Corso would suffice.

 

[JudyB]

I still have a hard time telling when that is in bonsai mix.
red lava looks dry to me the next day but I know its not totally dry.

I put a wooden skewer (some people use chopsticks) in the soil. Pull it out and feel it every day, when it feels dry or almost, then it's time to water...

 

[Jason]

It really is impossible for me to have anything of value outside. I have even had azalea bushes that I planted in the ground get stolen.

I think there's a thread on poison ivy bonsai. Be sure to put out lots of them.

 

[edprocoat]

TheBearded, I think you could pull this off. The Ficus cuttings shown on the link would indeed do just as well indoors in a window with a grow light on them. I fully understand the stolen plant thing, I have lost more plants that way that I care to count. If I were to do it I would use aquarium gravel or river rock as the weight would stabilize the plants root system holding the tree, and would allow it to drain freely. The fact that there is no wind inside to dry the soil would be offset by the indoor air conditioning and heating which dry out soil even faster. The constant fertlizer would be a bonus for your plants and most new soil mixes used these days are really Hydroponic any way. If you think about it all the inorganic mixes get the nutrients from the fertilizer as there is no dirt, so its a slightly altered form of hydroponics.

It would be easier to get some tropicals as they grow well indoors, the Scheffelera Arboricola as well as the Ficus work well, I had a Surinam Cherry years ago that would bloom and fruit indoors. After several years the trunk developed a covering of green moss from watering it, I moved it out doors to let the sun and air dry it out, and the second morning it had walked away.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

ed