Deep Sea Diver
Masterpiece
Sounds like you are learning a lot! Media is sometimes confusing. For me I look for reliability and consistency. A couple of years ago I spent countless hours trying to find the perfect mixes. In the end I found myself with four basic blends… old standbys for those working in Bonsai in the past 10 years. Yet there is always the desire to go “over the rainbow” for the perfect mix thought bouncing around in my brain…. Then I look at my work list… which includes building another little cold greenhouse and I return to Earth!
Actually if you are just growing trees out, one might question why you would even use a Bonsai mix. Ryan Neil recommends using a good nursery mix.
As I am an advocate of “the @Walter Paul Triangle” as call it (Media, Watering, Fertilizing” one day while asking him about his recent thoughts on the fertilization leg of the Triangle, I asked Walter about his thoughts on akadama.
Walter stated “ cheap akadama looses granular structure sooner or later and becomes dust which is not good for most trees. So you have to repot every couple of years as we were taught. When you have big and old collected trees you should not repot for ten years or more. Then akadama becomes dangerous. When you leave trees out in winter and they get frost on a regular basis akadama decomposes very quiclkly. Do not use when you have frost and take a long time to repot.”
Then I asked Walter, “Regarding akadama, do you have the same cautions with high temperature fired (hard) akadama?”
Walter replied, “no, only that it is expensve”
Being in a more moderate climate here I have no issues with using akadama. But I don’t buy cheap stuff. Sometimes I even recycle my media, wash it, stick it in the oven @400F for 40 minutes, cool it and sieve it. The akadama is still present, although worn down from the sieving and root breakdown. I usually have to supplement more to get my mix up to par then. Based upon these data… about 12 trials… I’d say the good stuff holds up as well as one could possibly expect.
But that said, everyone has to find their own way to the medias that work best for their trees and themselves.
Good luck on your voyage!
DSD sends
Actually if you are just growing trees out, one might question why you would even use a Bonsai mix. Ryan Neil recommends using a good nursery mix.
As I am an advocate of “the @Walter Paul Triangle” as call it (Media, Watering, Fertilizing” one day while asking him about his recent thoughts on the fertilization leg of the Triangle, I asked Walter about his thoughts on akadama.
Walter stated “ cheap akadama looses granular structure sooner or later and becomes dust which is not good for most trees. So you have to repot every couple of years as we were taught. When you have big and old collected trees you should not repot for ten years or more. Then akadama becomes dangerous. When you leave trees out in winter and they get frost on a regular basis akadama decomposes very quiclkly. Do not use when you have frost and take a long time to repot.”
Then I asked Walter, “Regarding akadama, do you have the same cautions with high temperature fired (hard) akadama?”
Walter replied, “no, only that it is expensve”
Being in a more moderate climate here I have no issues with using akadama. But I don’t buy cheap stuff. Sometimes I even recycle my media, wash it, stick it in the oven @400F for 40 minutes, cool it and sieve it. The akadama is still present, although worn down from the sieving and root breakdown. I usually have to supplement more to get my mix up to par then. Based upon these data… about 12 trials… I’d say the good stuff holds up as well as one could possibly expect.
But that said, everyone has to find their own way to the medias that work best for their trees and themselves.
Good luck on your voyage!
DSD sends
