名媛直播

FrisseForgeswithFire wrote: What a great topic with great information! I was thinking this morning "I'll ask the folks on BE their opinion on mosses" and whaddya know! Here's a post on mosses.

Do most of you guys do air layering for starting moss? I read the section on here and a few other places about using bricks and such, and I also read about the harvest technique where you harvest some locally, remove the soil from the bottom as much as possible, and apply it to the bonsai soil making sure you press it into the soil. I didn't want to order some, so I tried this technique. Hopefully they take. I grabbed different textures and stuff. Have you guys tried this before?

Maybe next time start a separate thread?
As I do not have trees that i want too exhibit, I do not grow moss. But I would locally collect; Loads of moss everywhere where I live. I work hard keeping it from growing in and around the pot naturally..

Hi guys,

Sorry if I reopen this thread but I just found it for the first time and I believe it is a worthy debate.

brkirkland22 wrote: Peat moss is one of bonsai's primary materials for soil mixtures & rooting mediums

I think options need to be considered. Feel free to discuss, rant, or advise.

Not the only ones, but some other articles on peat moss loss:

To expand a little bit on it, I do not use either Turface on any of my trees, I don?t like the possibility of a hydrophobic substrate. Michael Hagedorn in an article posted on his blog states:

"If volcanic soils are unavailable, keep experimenting, keep exploring, but don’t settle for Turface (and Oil-dri.) It’s not impossible to grow a tree in it, that’s not the point, it’s just not ideal."

This article, plus another one posted also on Michael Hagedorn?s blog might clarify a bit on this matter:




Alain

alainleon1983 wrote: To expand a little bit on it, I do not use either Turface on any of my trees, I don?t like the possibility of a hydrophobic substrate. Michael Hagedorn in an article posted on his blog states:

Well... that's Michael's Hagedorn's opinion. If you read that article, this one is a must-read too:



"Michael's observations ("Life without Turface") have been quite a surprise to me. In 47 years of experience using Turface as a soil mix ingredient – including in trials using a variety of ingredients in many combinations -- I have never had the experience Michael describes, and have always recommended its use without hesitation"

And the floor is open. Who wants to discuss substrates :evil:

leatherback wrote: And the floor is open. Who wants to discuss substrates :evil:

Yes please!

My Juniper, my best tree that I've been working on since 2001, is dying. Very slowly, a process that has been taking a few months now.

I have followed the advise of more knowledgeable club members - and I wish I hadn't. I wanted to repot it beginning of last year - but didn't. The tree deteriorated. I wanted to repot again beginning of autumn. Again, I took the advise to wait and didn't. It's deteriorating more. With the current weather, I will hope it will make it till spring - as now is definately not a good time to repot. I wish I had followed my own instincts though, and that I had repotted it beginning of last year.

Now... this is the problem:
The foliage is dying off, beginning at the tips. This is now visible at almost all tips. There are some new buds, but they don't seem to develop (yet... I hope that's just because it is winter).

The probable cause is a combination of Akadama that has fallen apart, and over-fertilization. The biggest problem is not that the (organic) fertilizer itself, but the fact that that too falls apart. My guess is that the combination of broken down akadama and fertilizer has clogged up my soil mixture, suffocating the roots.

Now... what soil mixture should I use when I repot (if I get the chance to do that)?

I'm thinking of a mixture of:

- Crushed lava
- Japanese split
- cocopeat or sphagnum moss

Idea is to get a mixture that is VERY well draining, but does retain some moisture.

What would you recommend?

Forgot to mention:
To try and improve drainage a bit, without repotting, I have removed the tree from its pot and planted it - without disturbing the roots - into a larger (and ugly...) pot, filled with split.

leatherback wrote: And the floor is open. Who wants to discuss substrates :evil:

Yes, I do have a question. You see I found some old fashioned bricks in the creek out back, sort of like the old cobblestone things they paved streets with. Bare in mind, i'm still in the seedling stage ...


Crushed them up, mixed them with gravel, and those samples lived all summer long, along with most of the other trials.

Is this a good way, to test, what I can do with what I have.

or should i solely only go by what everyone says to do???

What I use now seems to work well:

rigips - rigidur as core of the substrate, . Probabbly 70%. The rest an even mixture of fine pine bark & kitty litter. The latter two components retain moisture well. The pine bark provides an organic element, which feels better to me, but probably is not needed.

You dod not disturb the roots. But could you see the roots? I find that roots are more willing to explore beyong a break in substrate, if some roots are in it. So, if this tree is somewhat larger, I would probaly lightly scratch the outer rim of the rootball, and then place in a larger well-drained container.

Keep sheltered, spray moisture, ladiela, you know the drill. If you keep it out of the rain, you have to problem of foliage always beging dry, which might not be ideal at this stage. Alternatively, consider sheltering just the pot, and keep the foliage in the rain?

Auk wrote: Well... that's Michael's Hagedorn's opinion. If you read that article, this one is a must-read too:

Nice. Thanks Auk, I?ll give this article a further read. I always like to contrast different sources on a same subject too.

Auk wrote:
My Juniper, my best tree that I've been working on since 2001, is dying. Very slowly, a process that has been taking a few months now.

Sorry to hear that. I?ve seen all the pictures you have posted depicting your Juniper and I believe it is a very good looking tree.

Auk wrote: I will hope it will make it till spring - as now is definately not a good time to repot. I wish I had followed my own instincts though, and that I had repotted it beginning of last year.

Yes, been there and done that. That happened to me with my Mugo Pine. I delayed its repotting due to more experienced 名媛直播 Growers of my club advises and ended up dying. The reason for this it was also a defficient substrate that turned hydrophobic. I had the same feeling of: "Should have follow my guts and repotted when I had the chance"

Auk wrote: Now... what soil mixture should I use when I repot (if I get the chance to do that)?

I'm thinking of a mixture of:

- Crushed lava
- Japanese split
- cocopeat or sphagnum moss

Idea is to get a mixture that is VERY well draining, but does retain some moisture.

What would you recommend?

Can you get your hands on Pomice? I?ve noticed it drains specially well and it retains moisture quite efficiently too. And in top of that it remains incredibly cheap!

Well, please, in any case keep us updated on your Juniper?s health. That is some beautiful tree.

Alain