Dry Bonsai Soil

You ll want to feed your bonsai bougainvillea regularly.

Dry bonsai soil. Excessive water in the soil may also cause the plant s roots to rot leading to a weakening and the possible death of your bonsai plant. Although gardenias gardenia spp are prized as ornamental shrubs in the landscape several gardenia species also are used as bonsai plants. Conifer bark as a soil conditioner can add bulk to the mix and can retain moisture. This material is really used.

How the soil dries isn t important. While allowing excess water to drain. Preparing bonsai tree soil mix is not so difficult if you know the components to be added according to the plant type and growing environment. The best bonsai soil meets the prerequisites of supporting a miniature tree which include good drainage proper aeration and retention of water.

Planted in normal garden soil. It is our experience that unhealthy trees that lack vigor are very often planted in a poor often organic bonsai soil. My usual approach is to spread the soil out on a warm day and let the sun do the rest. Soils lacking good drainage are too water intensive lack aeration and promote a buildup of salts.

Only water the plant when the top of the soil is dry to the touch. First i clean a cement pad. Peat moss humus is what retains the most water and therefore should be used sparingly. Excess water must be able to drain immediately from the bonsai pot.

Why are my gardenia bonsai tree stems turning brown. A good water retentive but free draining mix also gives you more control over the watering needs of your bonsai generally drying out easier than normal potting soil compost. Prune your bougainvillea bonsai plants every month during the growing season. Use a 12 10 10 every two weeks during the growing season and a 2 10 10 fertilizer during winter.

The quality of soil used directly affects the health and vigor of your tree. Most bonsai trees like to dry out a little between watering. To go into further detail. Dry dust free bonsai soil is easy to work with and drains well.

It insures the tree isn t sitting in wet soggy soil permanently. Such soil easily hardens when it gets dry which give no advantage to the growth of bonsai in fact it is very harmful to the tree. Bonsai soil is balanced so that it drains quickly and does not hold as much water as normal gardening soil.