Now that you have a plant and a pot, you will need some soil before
potting. After years of sifting soil to get different size particles for
the upper and lower portion of the container, and collecting leaf mould
and river sand for a special bonsai potting mix, I have come to the
conclusion that a regular potting soil works just as well for me. The
regular potting soil does make it necessary to feed the plants
occasionally but I enjoy doing that anyway. I feel like I'm really
getting in on the act of making the plant grow. My soil mix is simply
one-third coarse sand, one-third soil and one-third peat moss. Leaf
mould is better than peat moss if you are able to locate it at your
garden center.
If you buy a prepared potting soil, add one-third coarse sand to two
thirds potting soil. Perlite is often substituted for sand in prepared
potting mixes but it is not as good as sand for bonsai growing. For best
long-range results, try to buy mixes that do not have synthetic
materials in them. The potting mix I have described works well for me
with little variation, but I do add one cup of small gravel to a gallon
of the potting mix to facilitate quick drainage when I am potting a
large plant or a conifer of any size. |
