Healthy Bonsai From The Ground, Up
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- Carol Wallace
- bunabayashi
- Carol Wallace
- bunabayashi
- ZAC
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» Carol Wallace - Oakleaf mold
I can see my husband will have to repot the new bonsai he started right off the bat. But I have a question about the oak lead mould. We haven't got a stand of oaks. We have about a hundred old maples instead - and a huge heap of well decomposed maple leaves (shredded first.) Will that do as well, or whould I add some Holly-Tone?-- posted by Carol Wallace
» bunabayashi - Re: Oak Leaf mold
Hi Carol,Unfortunately there are very good reasons why oak leaf in particular is choice organic material. It is the slowest of all organic material to break down in the soil, making the soil recipe more stable and less likely that the tree will need repotting because of clogged or non-aerating soil. Oak leaf also is high in tannins; it has been documented that recordable levels of oak leaf tannin can prevent harmful fungi and virii from taking up residence in your soil while at the same time promoting beneficial fungi such as mycorrhiza. (Cornell University, Long Island Research Facility)
Since I have no experience with maple leaf mold I cannot say what results you can expect. If I couldn't have access to oak leaf I would choose Beech or Elm leaves next, as these two deciduous trees also promote mycorrhiza growth as well.
Decomposed pine needles also work well. Let us know how maple works if you give them a try!
-- posted by bunabayashi
» Carol Wallace - OK, ok
I'll crawl under the big old pines and grab some needles. Better to be safe than sorry. We do have one oak on the property, but I never seem to find leaves - or they are so mixed in with birch leaves that they are hard to separate. But pines we have plenty of, some with a bed of needles beneath themt hat haven't been touched for decades. So we'll go with that! Thanks.-- posted by Carol Wallace
» bunabayashi - Pine needles
Hi Carol,If I might suggest: Go fo the decomposed needles that lie about and inch or so into the layer of litter. They're dark brown in color, and with any luck there will be grayish to white fuzzy mold growing on them-- that's the mycorrhiza as I'm sure you know (I'm stating the obvious for the benefit of newcomers).
-- posted by bunabayashi
» ZAC - Soil mix
I was doing some research on fall care for our local club meeting and stumbled across your articles on bonsai. Very nice. I wanted to add to this discussion my growing media successes. I use a mix of 2/3 turface and 1/3 used coffee grounds by volume. A little less coffee for pines and a little more for things like maples or ficus. I get a lot of comment on this at the meetings but it works for me in the central Ohio area. After three years the coffee has started to breakdown but drainage is still no problem. No, there is no odor after about a week. The worst thing I've noticed is I tend to get a slime mold bloom the first year about mid June. This doesn't seem to harm the tree but is unsightly for a week or two.After reading your comments on Oak leaves, would sycamore or magnolia work as well? They both seem to last forever on the ground.
-- posted by ZAC
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