My first cottoneaster!! (cranberry) let me know what you think.

Cypress

Shohin
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what a great soil explanation!

Lava rock is great because it does well with water retention while still being free draining. It seems to reliably aid in the production of many fine feeder roots. It also does not break down and, because of this, can be reused over and over though it must be washed and allowed to dry before reusing.

Pumic has a very high cec (cationic exchange capacity) which means it is very good at absorbing nutrients for later release (helpful when using a primarily inorganic soil and a fertilizer regimen).

Akadama does breakdown over time but because it is not clay based (like turface), it still has sufficient drainage capacity even in it's broken down state (similar to sand). Akadama is arguably the best medium for creating fine feeder root growth which is essential for the health and vigor of the tree.

ok... WOW MidMich thank you so much for actually giving me a somewhat scientific breakdown of why these components work so well... So I suppose lava rock and pumice are comparable to the perlite and the lesser amount of grit i'm using... but superior in that perlite will crumble apart after a while, and I don't know if granite grit really holds anything at all (moisture or nutrients?!)

I find it very helpful to know that Pumice absorbs and holds nutrients I will definitely try this soil combo out in the future (once I run out of my current stuff, or just try some out next spring.)

One more question... So if Akadama isn't clay based what is it made of?? because i know it is 'fired' just like turface... ?

Basically since this has been my first season delving into the art of bonsai I've been using the best soil I can make, made of readily available substrates. I'm not too sure how available or pricey Lava Rock, Pumice, and especially Akadama are here in upstate NY.

Most of my trees are in pre-bonsai stage right now as well so I think my current soil is ok, but would definitely want a higher caliber soil to repot them in as they develop. THANKS again for all the wisdom!!
 
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lordy

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FYI, and I apologize if I missed this in earlier posts in this thread, but the tree of discussion is not pronounced "cotton Easter" but correctly pronounced "cotoney aster", spelled "cotoneaster".
 

Cypress

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too funny...

FYI, and I apologize if I missed this in earlier posts in this thread, but the tree of discussion is not pronounced "cotton Easter" but correctly pronounced "cotoney aster", spelled "cotoneaster".

hahaha, I had no idea, yea pronouncing it 'cotton easter' just makes me think of fluffy bunny rabbits and easter baskets. BAH. I went to school for wildlife/conservation biology so I've been highly trained in pronouncing species names correctly.... so thanks for enlightening me!
 

MidMichBonsai

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ok... WOW MidMich thank you so much
One more question... So if Akadama isn't clay based what is it made of?? because i know it is 'fired' just like turface... ?

In answer to your question, this is a quote from meushi on a different bonsainut thread.

"Akadama is the commercial name of Imaichi Pumice

Shichihonzakura is a yellowish pumice found as a top pumice strata in some parts of the prefecture
Imaichi is the red pumice on top of kanuma pumice
Kanuma is the light yellow to totally white (slightly different properties) pumice at the bottom"

One other note. If you do choose to go with Akadama, go with the high fired, double red-line, variety. This is high-fired and will not break down as quickly. The one other nice thing about Akadama is that it changes colors when wet so it's easier to tell when to water.

1 caveat: It does not hold up very well to regular freezes and thaws so it can be slightly problematic if you use it by itself in an area where that happens frequently.

Best of Luck!
 
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