Pre bonsai Soil

[MiguelMC]

Hello everyone
Hope all of you had a nice Christmas and had quite a lot fun at the new years celebration

I'm in need for some advise for some pre bonsai soil. Since the repoting season is about to start where I live I have some tree's that will be needing to go on some training pots.
Since some o these can be quite large Akadama seems to be an expensive solution so I was wondering what a good substitute would be.
First I thought about nursery soil but I don't like that soil, IMO doesn't allow for good root development, holds too much water making it difficult for air to circulate in the roots.
What I have available at the moment is:
Perlite (maybe lack water retention and its quite light)
Lava rock (maybe the best choice, since its heavier but lack a bit of water retention as well)
Pine bark (holds a lot of water, maybe too much)

What I was thinking was maybe a mix of pine bark with either perlite or lava rock, but I'm not sure about the ratios and which might be better as an option.
any thought?

 

[f1pt4]

Depends on what you're growing.

75% sifted perlite and 25% sifted and dried black earth. or 60/40 or 50/50 depending on your watering abilities.

It's cheap, it's cheerful and if it's just for growing out it's more than enough.

I do 33 Pumice/33 Lava/33 dried sifted black earth or dried sifted peat or sifted akadama or dried and sifted pine bark. and a pinch of horticultural charcoal.

However, with that said, most are in Promix w/mycchorizai 50% and 50% sifted perlite.. because the Promix already has about 20 percentish or so perlite in it.

At the end of the day it's what I have on hand, but watering has to be regulated depending on substrate.

It's hot in Lisbon so maybe go with something that has more water retention.

 

[River's Edge]

Hello everyone
Hope all of you had a nice Christmas and had quite a lot fun at the new years celebration

I'm in need for some advise for some pre bonsai soil. Since the repoting season is about to start where I live I have some tree's that will be needing to go on some training pots.
Since some o these can be quite large Akadama seems to be an expensive solution so I was wondering what a good substitute would be.
First I thought about nursery soil but I don't like that soil, IMO doesn't allow for good root development, holds too much water making it difficult for air to circulate in the roots.
What I have available at the moment is:
Perlite (maybe lack water retention and its quite light)
Lava rock (maybe the best choice, since its heavier but lack a bit of water retention as well)
Pine bark (holds a lot of water, maybe too much)

What I was thinking was maybe a mix of pine bark with either perlite or lava rock, but I'm not sure about the ratios and which might be better as an option.
any thought?

Do you have access to coarse sand? Give consideration to particle size when you choose components.
Based on the options you listed i would experiment with the Pine bark and Lava. Combinations using similar particle size.

 

[Soldano666]

This is a very touchy subject... For material I am growing out. Wether it's seedlings to gain size, bulk up a new leader, need primary branches to thicken etc. I will use a larger pot to allow room for roots to run. My mix is typicallu 70% coarse #4 perlite because it's cheap, 20% bark pieces sifted from typical potting soil. I like the Earth grow brand Walmart sells, has the perfect sized pieces, I hate supporting them but sometimes it's all about the product. Then i add about 10% chopped fresh spagnum to help water retention. The perlite floats which is a pain so I add a layer of lava rock and chopped spagnum on top. Again this is for stuff that needs to grow. More refined material gets proper lava, pumice, de and a pinch of chopped spagnum. Good luck man. I'm sure this will yeild all kinds of different people mixes and opinions.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I don't use anything different for my non-bonsai, pre-bonsai and bonsai. They all go in the same mixture, adapted to the type of plant.
If you are going to use perlite, it's going to blow away by the wind unless you treat it first.
I found the following treatment to be pretty effective:
get a bucket of water, add a few tablespoons of plant nutrients and some drops of dishwashing detergent.
Pour in the perlite and let it soak for 2 days. Then put it in a transparent plastic bag in the shade.
Algae will grow quite fast on your perlite! Some moss might show up too.
This weighs the stuff down rapidly without compromising the structure, and the algae later become plant food.

 

[Ali Raza]

I went through internet for climate of Lisbon. It is pleasant all year round and do not exceeds 25 C. So i think use potting mix with less organic material and more inorganic. You should go with lava rock (80%) and pine bark (20%).

 

[Potsofgreen]

Im going to be re potting alot of prebonsai this year as well and will be using Brents mix for his prebonsai its a 1:1 bark and perlite mix with like a half part peat moss thrown in, i will be substituting the peat moss for Earth worm castings and coco coir because it is what i have on hand...heres the link https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/soils.htm

 

[coh]

However, with that said, most are in Promix w/mycchorizai 50% and 50% sifted perlite.. because the Promix already has about 20 percentish or so perlite in it.

This is pretty much what I use for large "growing out" containers. It used to be promix but my local nursery changed over to another brand, but
it's similar. It's basically a mix of bark (composted probably), peat and various other ingredients (including perlite). Not too heavy, holds water
and nutrients well but is also fairly open. By adding coarse perlite or some other aggregate you can adjust the air/water holding ratio.

 

[Potsofgreen]

Im going to be re potting alot of prebonsai this year as well and will be using Brents mix for his prebonsai its a 1:1 bark and perlite mix with like a half part peat moss thrown in, i will be substituting the peat moss for Earth worm castings and coco coir because it is what i have on hand...heres the link https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/soils.htm

actually before i get crucified for posting the wrong recipe its 1/8 part peat moss not half part

 

[bonsaidave]

for posting the wrong recipe

Too late !!!

Rabble ! Rabble Rabble Rabble !!!

 

[Potsofgreen]

Too late !!!

Rabble ! Rabble Rabble Rabble !!!

i knew it! lol

 

[brentwood]

I'm looking at doing a juniper and a small jbp, growing both out. Think Brent's mix is ok, any tweaking for pine? I also like saying I'm using Brent's mix, people think I'm referring to myself in the third person ?
Brent

 

[Potsofgreen]

I'm looking at doing a juniper and a small jbp, growing both out. Think Brent's mix is ok, any tweaking for pine? I also like saying I'm using Brent's mix, people think I'm referring to myself in the third person ?
Brent

lol...Yeah he recommends using that mix for up to a 15 gallon pot, i actually contacted him recently because the 1/8 part peat/ earth worm castings i was using was just washing out when watering, he actually said he dosent include it anymore. so for him its just 50/50 perlite and smallish bark, i used "orchid seedling size" works great and mix drains immediately