New to Companion Planting - how to start?

[DandyFluff]

I just found out about Kusamono/Companion planting and I am enchanted.

I'd like to start but I don't want to kill the plants immediately. I'm not new to bonsai or container gardening so mostly its just learning about soils, and how to maintain the plant in smaller pots long term. I have quite a few Hostas I can start with, a saxifrage cross that would be perfect, columbine I want to start from seed for next year and I'm thinking of experimenting with plants I find in my yard.

How did you start? What are the best basics to know when beginning to learn about companion planting? can they stay in the small pots long term? I'm expecting it to be long bonsai trees where they need to have attention to their roots from time to time.

Happy to hear all your advice!!

 

[zens]

Lols be warned its addictive i have around 60-80 odd accents, with many more little pots yet to fill

I use similar soil to my bonsai tho a lot of my accents live in a small greenhouse so i can protect from the heat/cold here.

Try and find plants that grow local to your trees and do research on where they grow best. I started with one species in each pot but have now evolved to multiple in each pot and often combine multiple pots together. They are like bonsai in that with time/maintenance they are better and better.

 

[Shogun610]

Oooh this can be a loaded question up to the “ it depends answer” you can use any soil you wish , I use top soil and mix with whatever bonsai soil I have left .. sometimes I just use potting soil from the nursery can the different plants came from!
What I like to do is create companion plants for my different Bonsai depending on where their native habitat would be. Such as I have pitch pine , and where I collect I see sedums and high ish blue berry so I have one for that. Whereas a spruce I have an aster companion and fern.
Or even Larch I have bog pitcher plant .. for riparian existing American hornbeam, it have grasses