Soil mix decision

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Hey Leo!
Do you use 100% Kanuma for azalea?

Depends. I have an azalea that is pretty well developed, it was a Japanese import, it was expensive as far as my budget goes. It came in 100% kanuma, and I keep it in 100% kanuma.

Younger azalea, in larger "grow out containers & training pots" I use a blend of Kanuma & pumice or Kanuma & perlite. I top dress with a layer of long fiber sphagnum. Usually when I mix kanuma and pumice, its is roughly 50:50.

I like the water holding capability of the kanuma. My nursery origin azalea, that come in bark mixes, I pretty much bare root and switch them to "pure" kanuma.

I do need to make the 3 hour round trip to Hidden Gardens and pick up a couple bags of Kanuma, as my supply is running low.

For blueberries, Kanuma is not acidic enough. For blueberries I use seedling size fir bark, mixed with Canadian peat, and about 5% hardwood sawdust. To this mix, I will add some perlite to lighten it up. Top dressing with elemental sulfur also helps keep the mix acidic.

About the CEC of charcoal. The chemical bonding sites of charcoal are saturated fairly quickly. "Activated Charcoal" does not "stay activated" for very long when watering with municipal or well water. I like it because mycorrhiza seem to like it. Roots and mycorrhiza always seem to "hold on to" the charcoal particles. Note, I don't use charcoal at a high rate, I try to keep it around 5% to 10% of the total volume of the mix.

 

[Starfox]

nope, sold out everywehere

I may have stumbled across a similar local product.

Sustrato Ceramica triturada Grano pequeño 1 Litro

naturdecora.com

It´s called ceramica triturada or crushed ceramic however that is a misleading name. Apparently it is a clay mined in Murcia and then high fired. I think it´s this company. https://www.trituradosromeral.com/producto/ceramica-triturada/
Supposed to not break down much like the Danish Moler and does have a similar look. I may have to get some to compare because making too much info public about a product online is not the way it´s done here.

 

[badatusernames]

do folks have any thoughts on this brand of akadama?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

do folks have any thoughts on this brand of akadama?

Sorry, I had not revisited this thread for a while. I am not familiar with that brand of Akadama, but I do read enough Japanese to know you have the bag upside down. !!! LOL

Seriously, I can't read it. I might be able to "cipher it out" if I dug out my old books I have not touched in 30 years, and paged through "ciphering" each character. Just that label would take me 10 hours or more to cipher out. It looks a lot like a bag I have in the basement. It is probably good enough. Remember, sift to remove fines.

 

[Katie0317]

do folks have any thoughts on this brand of akadama?

Can you share where you bought it? Akadama is hard to source right now.

On this entire topic....I forced myself to read study everything I could about perched water and it was incredibly dull, (I'm very right brained) but I got it. Genuinely, finally got it. So after using an akadama, pumice and lava mix I'm sticking with it.

On the other hand...I bought a 'batch' of serissas on Ebay and they're healthy as a horse and 9 years old but planted in pure dirt. I've let them get acclimated before I've dared to transplant but they are happy, happy, happy. The Ebay seller referred me to his youtube videos and I was pleased to see an African-American gentleman growing tons of bonsai. I seriously doubt he was using anything 'bought' for substrate. He grows some very interesting trees...a lot of root over rock and air layers from a maple tree in his back yard so I can't argue with success.

For now though I'm going to stick with a mixture that's been working for me but I've learned plenty on this thread.

For those that buy pure pumice what source are you using?

Do you strain your akadama even when buying a medium sized grain?

Btw, meant to add...Bonsai started in China and not in Japan just as an fyi for the person who stated otherwise.

 

[Potawatomi13]

What decision process do you go through when deciding which soil mix to use?

As someone newly taking a look at this, it seems as though everyone has their own formula that they tend to use, and I'm curious to hear from folks as to why they settled on what they did.

So far, my experience has primarily been with tropicals, and I've simply used Tinyroots tropical blend. As I branch into conifers and deciduous trees more, I want to make sure I'm thinking about this appropriately.

To use the Tinyroots tropical blend as an example (as I know they also have conifer and deciduous blends), is the purpose for mixing your own primarily around quality of soil, or is it simply that buying pre-made soil becomes prohibitively expensive?

Anyways, I imagine that as with anything with variables that folks draw their own conclusions about, this could be opening a can of worms, but I was curious to hear if this is something I should delve into deeper for the health of my trees, or if I should keep my focus on other aspects of horticulture and styling as I get deeper into this world, saving soil mixing for when I'm ready to experiment with more variables.

Ask an expert. Ryan Neil in this case.

 

[Potawatomi13]

For those that buy pure pumice what source are you using?

Yard debris/recycling center sells various rock, mulch, etc in bulk. Buy by 5 gal bucket and sift at home.

 

[Potawatomi13]

THis makes me think.. Yamadori collecting, selling & earning money for pots and wire!

Genuine GOOD actually desirable from the wild Yamadori collecting is HARD work and must collect and assure health of trees over time to pass on. Better to do extra time at McDonalds and easier work.

 

[Potawatomi13]

just happens to only occur in Japan where bonsai just happened to begin,

Bonsai actually came from (china). Was known as Penjing there but is still root of Bonsai.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Can you share where you bought it? Akadama is hard to source right now..

This seems a bit off. I’m not sure how hard akadama or kanuma is to source??

Not being a purist or anything, I use either akadama or kanuma in just about every situation. Pretty much the same mix as at the museum, except that I‘m adding pumice in my azalea mix.

Anytime I need either there are at least 3-4 sources available without even trying hard. I just looked up a number of sources.
btw I haven’t got a bad batch yet…. although a couple people have reported this as an issue.

The major issue most folks, including myself, seem to have imho is the darn shipping cost.

Sources…. Try Bonsai Tonight, Etsy, eBay etc.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Maiden69]

This seems a bit off. I’m not sure how hard akadama or kanuma is to source??

Shortage of supply because of the virus. Ships are not been unloaded as they used to in precaution of bringing another outbreak... lazy people at home collecting un-employment instead of working at the piers. You know un-employment paid more than what they were making at work, so why go back.

Kanuma is still available, there are not that many people with azaleas vs any other tree. Jonas still have some available. I think he said in his blog that he should be receiving a shipment of akadama soon.

 

[badatusernames]

Sorry, I had not revisited this thread for a while. I am not familiar with that brand of Akadama, but I do read enough Japanese to know you have the bag upside down. !!! LOL

Seriously, I can't read it. I might be able to "cipher it out" if I dug out my old books I have not touched in 30 years, and paged through "ciphering" each character. Just that label would take me 10 hours or more to cipher out. It looks a lot like a bag I have in the basement. It is probably good enough. Remember, sift to remove fines.

HAH! Good call. I figured folks may know just by looking at it. I have to say that it sort of FEELS like I got more serious about bonsai as akadama is growing in popularity in their US so folks are still figuring stuff out - is that accurate by any chance? I know Hagedorn was talking about it in at least the late aughts but that’s still not a TON of time if that’s when people started being more aware of it

this is just speculation but as someone early on, it seems like prior to that was when books would talk about “river sand” and stuff like that instead of akadama, and the timing intersects well with the growing ubiquity of the internet.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Shortage of supply because of the virus.

Hmm.. I just ordered two bags of akadama last night…not a problem except for the shipping.

Our club recently bought pallets of both kanuma and akadama that is in transit. We will see when that shipment arrives! This joint action will definitely lower those pesky shipping costs,

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Maiden69]

Eastern Leaf, Jonas, Bonsai Outlet, Bonsaifly, Wigerts are sold out of medium. Bonsai Outlet have small and large, and Wigerts have small. No seller in Amazon have it, other than some overpriced small bag mix.

I definitely think that ordering in volume is the way to go, Markyscott does it with his club people as well.

 

[Katie0317]

Shortage of supply because of the virus. Ships are not been unloaded as they used to in precaution of bringing another outbreak... lazy people at home collecting un-employment instead of working at the piers. You know un-employment paid more than what they were making at work, so why go back.

Kanuma is still available, there are not that many people with azaleas vs any other tree. Jonas still have some available. I think he said in his blog that he should be receiving a shipment of akadama soon.

Exactly...Cargo ships from Asia are backed up in ports and while you can order smaller things from Japan delivered via air, heavy items that are shipped on cargo ships are unavailable and probably will be for some time.

If you doubt akadama is hard to source look at the usual sources...Sold out.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Eastern Leaf, Jonas, Bonsai Outlet, Bonsaifly, Wigerts are sold out of medium. Bonsai Outlet have small and large, and Wigerts have small. No seller in Amazon have it, other than some overpriced small bag mix.

I definitely think that ordering in volume is the way to go, Markyscott does it with his club people as well., I guess my PayPal account receipt is mistaken?Only folks I ever buy from on your list is Jonas…. Try house of bonsai on eBay. Be prepared to pay the going rate.

I don’t doubt you guys are having a hard time with the mainline retailers…. You might try house of bonsai on eBay. It’s where I order from. Always quality so far. Be prepared to pay the going rate. Its going fast.

Cheers
SSDO sends

 

[badatusernames]

Are we anticipating ongoing problems in the coming year / are we assuming this is a “new normal”?

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

It’s matter of a transportation issue at this point.
Best
DSD sends

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

HAH! Good call. I figured folks may know just by looking at it. I have to say that it sort of FEELS like I got more serious about bonsai as akadama is growing in popularity in their US so folks are still figuring stuff out - is that accurate by any chance? I know Hagedorn was talking about it in at least the late aughts but that’s still not a TON of time if that’s when people started being more aware of it

this is just speculation but as someone early on, it seems like prior to that was when books would talk about “river sand” and stuff like that instead of akadama, and the timing intersects well with the growing ubiquity of the internet.

If one is trying out Akadama and Kanuma, that is a sign that they are getting serious about bonsai. That they are trying to optimize their growing conditions. There is enough anecdotal testimony that "Japanese Dirt" is the best for bonsai, that anyone who is serious really needs to try Akadama and Kanuma to see for themselves if this media makes the difference, the improvement they are looking for. This is not a new phenomenon. I remember conversations with my bonsai mentor in the middle 1980's about whether it was worth the cost of importing Akadama and Kanuma back then.

Truth is, my biggest improvement in growing quality came when I added pumice to my mixes. More than anything pumice, in the right particle size(s) was a game changer. That and the use of a sieve. Uniform particle size will improve air penetration and make it nearly impossible to overwater. Those 2 changes will make a big difference in your growing. The switch to Akadama and Kanuma will not make as dramatic of a change.

If you understand the how, when and what of watering and fertilizing, and sieve your media for uniform particle size. You can grow a great tree in just about any media. There is nothing magical about Kanuma and Akadama. It's big advantage is that there is a lot of articles in print and on the web telling you how to use "Japanese Dirt". Easy to use because there is less guess work. Any other media leaves you having to work out more yourself.

When drying and then re-sifting "recycled" bonsai mix I still find occasional chunks of rubber chips from when I experimented with rubber tire mulch as an inert addition to my terrestrial orchids mix and a bonsai mix I was using at the time. Turns out, in small percentages of the total mix, shredded rubber tires are a good, or at least neutral thing. This was a 1995 experiment, and true to advertisement, the rubber chips last forever. I never bought more rubber chips, but goes to the point that almost anything in theory can work as a potting media.

Right now, pumice and "Japanese Dirt" blend is my go to, with pumice and fir bark as my bulking up the seedlings mix.

 

[Dzhokar]

What a great thread!
What I've concluded for myself is to try to tailor the mix for my environment and what I'm able and willing to do to care for my trees.
So I've been experimenting and putting together something that I can water once a day that will almost dry out by the end of the day and using chemical fertilizer.
Of course there is still some variance depending on species but I think I'm pretty close.

On the subject of akadama: My understanding of the substrate is that the structure and hardness is ideal for root health and ramification.
This is important for trees in refinement as it makes it easier to build a highly ramified canopy.
But for the stage of the hobby that I'm currently in, which is growing trunks and setting primary branch structure, a less ideal substrate is fine.
And I think Walter Pall and others would argue that it isn't even necessary for refinement. Regular root work suffices.
Though I think the smaller the tree the more important the inclusion of akadama might become. Or at least it makes the process easier.

Also loving the thoughts on hydroponics! I think once you get into the realm of 100% inorganic substrates we are also getting into the realm of hydroponics, no?