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@coltranem …As does Ryan Neal)
I can see the point, yet I guess I’ll have to agree to disagree on the stance of using non organic based media for young stock as far as overall actual development goes..
Like I mentioned there are numerous opinions on what media is the best. I do have a lot of young trees growing out. Watering habits are a separate issue
Overall I’ve experienced better growth with Brent’s mix for the hundred odd young stock here then in inorganic mixes. Yet it may depend on the tree species we have.
Also young stock of different species are notoriously variable for root growth as compared to others.
In fact I’m finding out, to confound this issue, even different groups of cultivars, for example azaleas have different patterns of root growth.
Here’s an example of two azaleas roots after routine washing so these can be transferred to a kanuma mix. These two plants were grown out side by side in the ground in 60/25/15 bark/peat/soil for three years. I dug these two up yesterday.
Shinnyo no Tsuki
Issho no Haru
I’ve now root washed literally over a couple hundred different trees, maples, pines, azaleas etc and seen the pattern repeated over and over.
So another variable.
The young plants I’ve gotten from various bonsai growers in inorganic media tend to have leggy root growth. When all young stock comes in I gently root wash before transferring into the standard growing media used here. Then root wash a couple years down the line before transferring into bonsai media . (For some odd reason I rarely lose a tree).
I’ve also found these organic mixes require learning a different pattern of watering them our usual bonsai skill set. Softer, less frequent and less water.
So for me there are a lot of variables, yet an organic mix does the best for the young stock I use.
So just my experience. one this topic.
Happy Easter
DSD sends