What Is Bonsai Soil

Ordinary soils are generally not good for a bonsai plant s health.

What is bonsai soil. Akadama is hard baked japanese clay specifically produced for bonsai purposes and available at all online bonsai shops. When one grows a bonsai plant often a miniature tree in a very small container or bonsai pots home depot it becomes critical that the soil the plant is growing in meets its needs for water and nutrition. Instead a mix of substrates like crushed lava rock are used which more closely resembles gravel than soil. Therefore the gist is a soil works fine as long as it provides excellent aeration and drainage.

The components normally used to create a good potting mixture are in fact soilless. Organic potting compost akadama pumice and lava rock. It is a fact that clayey soil retains water while volcanic lava allows quick drainage. As these organic materials decompose they release the nutrients necessary for trees growth.

A simple trick is to understand the basic requirements water air and nutrients of the bonsai plant which otherwise is a shrub or tree. The ingredients for bonsai soil must be large enough to allow for air pockets to provide oxygen to the roots and to microbacteria. Organic and inorganic substances mixed in a certain ratio. Soil components the most common components for bonsai soil mixtures are akadama pumice lava rock organic potting compost and fine gravel grit.

Can i use regular garden soil. Soil used in bonsai is a very widely debated issue due to every hobbyist having their own recipe mix for their soil. The soil must be able to hold and retain sufficient moisture yet water must be able to drain immediately from the pot. There is no soil in bonsai soil the term soil is really somewhat of a misnomer.

The soil must itself contribute only limited nutrients to the plant to allow the bonsai artist to control the application when quantity and type of nutrients that the tree will receive. Soil for bonsai has to meet three different criteria. What is bonsai soil made up of. This type of mix provides an environment where the tree can more easily grow feeder roots that it needs to thrive.

There are two basic types of bonsai soil a conifer mix and a tropical sub tropical mix. Generally bonsai soil include two main components. From left to right. The irony in the term bonsai soil is that there isn t really any soil in most bonsai soil mixes.

It must allow for good water retention drainage and aeration. In addition the ingredients allow the roots to breathe air and prevent compaction. Organic substances come from living things such as bark sawdust peat animal manure compost. The following tips focus on how to make bonsai soil at home.

Bonsai soil is a mixture of ingredients which allows the water to drain freely and at the same time retain moisture.