What Is Bonsai Soil Made Of - Bonsai Nature | Ideas for Bonsai

This soilless mix is designed to provide trees with fast drainage good aeration and high water retention.

What is bonsai soil made of. The different species of bonsai tree requires different soil mixtures as well. In addition potting soil is used in the bonsai soil mix. There are two fundamental requirements a bonsai plant has. Akadama is hard baked japanese clay specifically produced for bonsai purposes and available at all online bonsai shops.

Whereas inorganic oil comprises pumice volcanic soil sold as kanuma fired clay soil and granular clay sold as akadama and turface. While allowing excess water to drain. Ideal bonsai soil should be ph neutral neither acidic nor basic. It might shock you but there is no soil in a good bonsai soil mix.

The common ingredients in bonsai soil are akadama pumice lava rock organic potting compost and fine gravel. Organic components comprise of conifer bark peat moss humus potting soil and any other composted material. Multi tree bonsai may be created atop a fairly flat slab of rock with the soil mounded above the rock surface and the trees planted within the raised soil. To go into further detail.

A ph between 6 5 7 5 is ideal. As a soil ingredient for bonsai lava performs well. Both types of bonsai soil have there pluses and minuses but overall an inorganic soil appears to be the most advantageous and is usually the soil of choice for advanced bonsai hobbyists. In recent times bonsai creators have also begun to fabricate rock like slabs from raw materials including concrete 57 and glass reinforced plastic.

There are four different bonsai mix recipes with a balanced ratio of organic to inorganic mix. As the terms indicate organic soil particles include bark peat leaf litter and plant parts. What is bonsai soil made up of. Peat moss humus is what retains the most water and therefore should be used sparingly.

From left to right. Basic bonsai mix 50 should be akadama or turface 25 should be rock lava or diatomaceous earth and the remaining 25 should be organic compost. Most of the bonsai masters use soil mix that consists of fired clay river rock and some organic component like pine bark. What aggregate and what organic material becomes a matter of personal choice and often considerable debate between bonsai people.

Bonsai soil composition a good general bonsai mixture should be composed of about 75 per cent inert aggregate and 25 per cent organic materials. It requires adequate nutrition and it requires an adequate but not excessive amount of water. Conifer bark as a soil conditioner can add bulk to the mix and can retain moisture. Organic potting compost akadama pumice and lava rock.