Dave Murphy, depends on what you are growing, your exposure and what your watering program are.

Adair, there is a name for pots full of granite grit: heavy.

Back to snow removal, john

John,

LOL!!! You're right! Granite grit is heavy.  My current mix has only a little in it.  I'm going to find some Stall Dry.  (Pumice.)

Adair,
Doesn't somebody out there bring in haydite? If not there is a pumice source.

Dave, for  CT this one was pretty massive, we don't try to keep up with Northern NE. The winds from the noreaster exacerbated it, we had gusts that pegged the city meter at 70. Makes the January 2011 storm look pretty mild. I am sure that you are enjoying Georgia.

I do use a larger size particle.  I'm not a shohin kind of guy.  Most of my tree are pines which enjoy good drainage.

To be honest, I've only been using "Boon's Mix" for the past year.  I'm still transitioning into it.  (From the old style mix I used 20 years ago.)  I'm doing several "half bare-root" repots to remove Brussel's mix from trees that were sourced from there.

Last year, I barerooted my azalea (sourced from Brussel')s into straight kanuma, and it's doing great.

Thanks Chris! I will definitely look into that. I will be at MABS so could definitely swing by to get some.

I'm having some difficulty sourcing akadama locally.  Price isn't the primary concern, though I wouldn't balk at finding a cheaper alternative.  So far, all the alternatives I've seen aren't superior based on price.
In hydroponics, they seem to make some distinction between expanded shale and clay-based products.  I'm particularly interested in the clay-based products, ...as mentioned previously.


On what basis do you claim akadama to be volcanic?  Japan has many different kinds of soil in different regions.  Where's akadama (primarily) mined/produced?  Or are you saying that Japanese soil exists because it was once spewed from middle-earth? Also, what's your basis for claiming akadama to be organic?  All my research into Lava seems to indicate its inorganicity (if that's a word, ...and this browser's spell-check takes an issue with it.)  At the temperatures at which lava erupts (and is able to destroy flora/fauna) I would think the flora/fauna would be turned to smoke and released into the air before it would cling to the lava that's burning it.  Maybe I'm overthinking.  Where can I read more about this?


*groan*



I notice below that you have Akadama in your soil box.  I also notice that there isn't any kitty litter.  I've also read that you're a big proponent of humic acid ...and "broke" the news to the (online) bonsai world.  I don't think its overstating to say that many folks consider you a pioneer w/ humic acid as it relates to bonsai soil, though you've deferred to the history and experience of the hydroponics/farmers before you as the real pioneers.

Regardless, if you believe what I'm quoting you (in bold) as saying above, why do you deal with the expense of Akadama rather than recreating its properties w/ kitty litter and humic acid?

Wayne,

two points ----- Is Akadama volcanic soil ?

secondly - I have noted that if you use a glazed, but porous clay pot, you can use a richer in organic mix as the pot wicks away extra moisture at the bottom [ the Chinese sell pots that are glazed on the outside, but not underneath.]

Additionally, if I use the above philosophy, the pot becomes an expendable item, throwing away every some many years, but easily replaced.
It is also possible to glaze with a glaze designed to look like stone, see Mayco, Duncan and anyone else.
Or you might be able to apply a coat of paraffin wax to the outside of the pot, which would penetrate the exterior to say 3 mm and not grow strange stuff.

The older books kept suggesting porous pot as the growing pot for bonsai. Stoneware, I wonder when that became the normal pottery body to use?

I will ask at the cement factory, what the material they use as an ingredient is called. It is absorbent, fast draining, plants do well in it and it is resistant to decomposition by roots. Additionally this is the material the world's finest quality cocoa grows in, there is one other place in the East Indies, on the opposite side of the world.
I suspect the US or simply North America has similar deposits.
Good Morning.
Anthony 

Thank you Dave.

I did some reading on perlite and peatmoss recently. Found it interesting that the perlite holds the man-made fertilizer [ say miracle grow ] in the water it can absorb as does peatmoss. [ does that mean that a porous pot would also hold fertilizer to later release to the plant's feeder roots ?]

According to the Canadian peat moss association, they are only using some 40,000 acres [ less than 2 % of Canada's bog lands ] and they close the bogs when the sensible regrowth limits have been met. So no real harm is being done to the environment. At the same time there is cocopeat.

I wonder if what we should be looking for is apart from the obvious symbols of health, is a comparison of say Japanese quince grown to Kokofu standards, and what we grow in our backyards [ if quince grew in the tropics, but I am writing to  North American readers.]
Once our trunk, root proportions match up, how do our branchlets and leaves do [ and were are growing the same type of quince.]

So perhaps our various soils work, we just have to find a way to check our progress against the standards out there???
Good Day.
Anthony