Nina

I have not been able to understand why you people do not add natural soil to
the Bonsai compost! I don't think it can really create problems when coarse
ingredients like turface, grit and bark are there in the mix. Soil provides
the basic nutrition to the plants and in fact all flora grow in soil. Or is
there some other reason for using the soiless compost? In India we use
coarse sand/grit, fertile soil and coarse manure in equal parts and all the
plants grow well. Yes we do provide the three meals i.e. breakfast, lunch
and dinner. I add organic fertilizer *Sterameal* which is a mixture of
bonemeal, hornmeal, hoofmeal, bloodmeal and some more organic ingredients;
three times a year, once in spring second time in mid summer and then in
autumn. Being a slow release fertilizer, it dissolves slowly providing macro
as well as micro elements.

Please answer the first sentence.

Regards

Anil Kaushik
Bonsai Club (India)
Chandigarh "The City Beautiful"



I don't know why we are discussing this; what Jim said is completely
accurate. Bonsai represent a special way of raising plants without
natural soil. In such a situation, micronutrients are necessary all
year long because the trees have no way to get them unless they are
added exogenously. Since bonsai soils don't store much nutrient, the
fertilizer needs to be added all the time.

NPK fertilizers are meant to add the top 3 limiting nutrients to soils
that otherwise DO NOT LACK for fertility. I always use a full
fertilizer complement with my bonsai because I keep them in turface,
bark and grani-grit, a mixture that lacks micronutrients.

Nina, who is putting her trees in winter storage, except that crummy
abutilon and her pathetic collection of indoor bonsai.


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