darkwaterdevil
Yamadori
Can old live rock aka base rock or dead rock. be used in bonsai. the reason im asking is because there very porous but there completely calcium. and i didnt know if that will mess up the acidity or alkalinity.
Old saltwater live rock
- Thread starter darkwaterdevil
- Start date
Poink88
Imperial Masterpiece
It is coral basically and from saltwater too. I won't put any of my plants on it.
darkwaterdevil
Yamadori
thats exactly what live rock is from skeletons from live coral and shells and sand and all calcium.
Poink88
Imperial Masterpiece
As I said, I won't put any of my plants on it.
UNLESS...you have salt loving plants like pemphis acidula (or something similar).
UNLESS...you have salt loving plants like pemphis acidula (or something similar).
darkwaterdevil
Yamadori
the salt shouldnt matter i can leach it out with fresh water im just worried because i know calcium messes with acidity. so i guess i just wont use it
berobinson82
Omono
If you don't mind me asking; how were you going to use the coral? As a substrate or for something like this?
darkwaterdevil
Yamadori
a root over rock. they look like this its not a coral just made from them
Attachments
darkwaterdevil
Yamadori
did you make that bonsai? that looks a lot like liverock
berobinson82
Omono
I just pulled that from the net. It does look a lot like what you are proposing. Hell man, I'm a 'why not' kind of person. If the plant is a young one, why not give it a go? Worst case scenario, it works and you have to water it for 70 years.
jk_lewis
Masterpiece
At least not until you have left it outside for 5-6 years to be exposed to the elements (rotating it frequently) and then you shouldn't try growing any ericaceous plants on it (acid lovers like azalea, etc.).
I have seen ficus used with base rock. Orlando Bonsai even has a video of putting a ficus on a huge piece of base rock.
As Jkl said acid loving you can get away with. Or maybe something hardy like a ficus.
Soak the rock in RO water for a few weeks changing it every day. The RO water will pull the salt (and other impurities) out of the rock.
As Jkl said acid loving you can get away with. Or maybe something hardy like a ficus.
Soak the rock in RO water for a few weeks changing it every day. The RO water will pull the salt (and other impurities) out of the rock.
edprocoat
Masterpiece
I put a Ficus on a similar rock I got from Florida, mine was more white with slight colors of of pink and green in it. The rock part was sealed and covered in spaghnum moss to allow the roots to grow over it. Three months later I removed the plastic and was allowing the moss to wear away and it rained a few times an I seen the tree sagging. It turned out the rock from being kept wet has turned to mush literally crumbling to shell pieces and white clay like substance.
ed
ed
Poink88
Imperial Masterpiece
Ed,
The acid from the sphagnum moss probably accelerated the breakdown some but the "rock" must be really loose to begin with for it to break that fast.
Lancaster
Mame
Depending on the size of your rock, the size of a football or less, there is a trick to help "cure" it.
Simply put it in the reservoir in the back of your toilet. It will constantly be soaking in fresh water, and you will be refreshing the water quite consistantly. Like every time you flush.
By the time you are ready for your root over rock project in the spring, it will have been soaking for a few months, and had several hundred gallons of fresh water over it.
Not a perfect solution, but it should help.....
Just don't tell your wife your soaking rock in the back of the toilet for a future bonsai project. :0
Simply put it in the reservoir in the back of your toilet. It will constantly be soaking in fresh water, and you will be refreshing the water quite consistantly. Like every time you flush.
By the time you are ready for your root over rock project in the spring, it will have been soaking for a few months, and had several hundred gallons of fresh water over it.
Not a perfect solution, but it should help.....
Just don't tell your wife your soaking rock in the back of the toilet for a future bonsai project. :0
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
Then again she just might say it's redundant.
