My Proven Soil Mix for Bonsai | Bonsai Heirloom 

Funny how everyone uses his own recipe for bonsai soil and still manage to have great result. That show why there's no such thing as perfect bonsai soil and why it is important to know the properties of the mix we're using to have the most optimal aeration, drainage and water retention possible.

Hello Mr. Chang, I really enjoyed your video. As a fellow bonsai enthusiast, I am happy that you are advocating an alternative soil mix that's cheap and easy to make. Mainstream bonsai community would just repeat the same akadama, pumice, volcanic rocks, etc. mix. Those work great but can be very hefty in terms of cost (12-15 L akadama can cost up to 80 dollars). Your soil is very economical and most importantly, beginner-friendly and I really appreciate that. A friendly note to anyone who wants to begin doing bonsai and wants to look into how to do soil mix. Soil mix is very dependent on your climate and make sure your soil doesn't dry out too fast. But most importantly, make sure it doesn't stay wet for too long (this can cause root rot and kill your tree). So you should always test your soil mix in a bonsai pot first.

5:25 this is the best advise ever. I do mostly clip and grow technique, and this is perfect.

I really needed to hear your last comments. As a beginner bonsai enthusiast, I struggle to form my trees as I feel like I'm expected to. I have a couple of trees that aren't standard shapes but I just like them the way they are. I love that you say they are my art. Thank you. And I have enormous stress at this stage in life so your comment about that was taken to heart. Thank you again.

Thank you for a recipe that works and is accessible/affordable to majority of the community. As you probably heard, majority of the bonsai youtubers will always recommend akadama. But it's expensive and not accessible to everyone. It's now portrayed that if you want to look like a cool experienced bonsai master, you must use akadama. I was misled by these youtubers when I first started bonsai. I now use recipe like yours with great success, at least for here in the USA.

Thank you Mr. Chang for the making of this video. Your information is truly blessed and received. I'm Hispanic by race BUT a Japanese Maple / Garden lover by heart.

Hello Mr.Chang I just wanted to say thank you for all of your fantastic advice. I just found your channel a couple weeks ago but have watched many video's so far. As a novice bonsai grower it's a tremendous help. I Look forward to more content and watching past video's. Cheer's enjoy your evening. Best regards all the way from Ontario Canada

Perfect video everyone makes soil mix so complicated

Fantastic video....! Enjoyed very much the direct transfer of knowledge, very clear, and practical. I particularly loved the way you make it simple...., throwing the tree on the ground to remove the soil.... The potting mix and root advice is very very important and helpful. Thank you sir.

This is great advice for bonsai enthusiasts who find that buying imported acadama and lava rock environmentally unsustainable. I guess here in the UK we could use John innes number two as a substitute for your sandy loam and maybe add some sharp sand to the mix. When I watch videos of people collecting yamadori I am amazed how these decade old trees can grow in such poor soils and conditions. It just goes to show how resilient they can be. I have subscribed to your great site.

Wonderful post! I love my trees and want to make sure they receive as much gratitude and pleasure as I receive from their caretaking; I know it shows when its done right. (per your examples).

Thanks Milton! I really appreciate your Channel! It’s a big help!

Just found your RU-vid channel a few weeks ago. Lots of excellent and sensible aspects and approaches to Bonsai. Instead of the pricy soil ingredients, especially with todays prices, your soil mix ingredients won’t break our meager funds we have available. Getting/finding the sandy loam will be a mission for the next week or two. Thank you.

From North Carolina I learned a lot watching your videos

I love this. You're so different, knowing you're successful with this makes me feel better about potting/nursery soil.

oh , wonderful . Thank you so much for sharing . I can relate , as i to am thankful for my bonsai during stressful times .

Hare Krishna. Wow so beautiful planting. Good share 🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉

soil mixture will directly effect how frequent you must water, or how not frequent you can get away with watering. So it depends on your persona life schedule - and also (obviously) depends on your climate. If you're in a hot dry area then you probably need components that hold more water than someone in a rain forest.

Thank you, Mr. Chang. Your videos are very informative. Great to hear the advice from someone like yourself who has been creating bonsai for so many years.

Hi Milton, thanks for this video (and all the others you put out). I live in the Bay Area (East Bay Area) and will be using your soil recipes when I start to repot my trees. I’m new to bonsai and this answers a lot of questions I’ve had with trying to figure out what soil mix to use. Your soil recipes are proven for this area and seems to be the best combo for moisture retention and drainage for the Bay Area. Videos like this really help shorten the learning curve for new folks getting into the hobby. Appreciate it!

I have been looking for a video like this for a long time, thank you so much.

Hi from the UK 🇬🇧 thank you for sharing your knowledge...😊

I love everything about this information..thank you 🙏

I was going to ask on the last video for something like this. Excited to see what knowledge you have to share.

Thank you for the information. This is the second year of my bonsai journey and still working on a good soil mix. Appreciate the help.

Thank you so much very well explained

Thanks for adding item I never heard about.

Will definitely try your mix suggestion!

Great sharing information about bonsai. Thank you for your time and effort put into it, just to shared it with us your idea and knowledge regarding this. Hope you have a wonderful day ahead. ❤🙏

Thank you I NC love bonsai I learn a lot thank you

Thanks a lot Dr chang iI u work in the trees is awesome n I agree whit u about the dissainer

Hah! I was wincing, because I "knew" I would not have one of these ingredients, and would have to be buying something (always gotta buy something), but... I have them all! Thanks!

Thanks Milton, I look forward to using this on my trees in the future :)

Good, direct and simple information. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you my friend.

Thank you very much. The information about soil mix is very useful for me. I will try it.

thanks so much for your soil information, very good.

You have inspired me!

Thanks it makes a lot of sense

I love your channel! I just discovered it! We have two Ginseng Ficuses and one Fukien! My one Ginseng is just in lava rocks and has THRIVED! My Fukien is in a premixed bonsai soil and doesnt care for it. The last Ginseng is in regular old potting soil as I bought from a store but I want to switch that one to lava rocks as well!

Thank you for a very educational video again. I will be using your advice once the new year for repotting begins. Thank you 🙏

Best advice out there.

I have always been drawn to Bonsai. I came across your channel by pure chance. So relaxing to watch. Maybe sometime down the road I will attempt my own. ❤

I have just subscribed to your channel and I am looking forward to learning a lot more from you!!

Thank you very much

Very cool

Amazing ❤

I love bonsai

Wanted to say thank you for sharing your wisdom. I get plenty of elm seeds in the spring, so I think I’ll use that type for my beginning. Take care

I like this guy I wish him long life keep blossoming

Thank you so much information. Helps me then I'm learning alot new things. I Enjoyed your videos. Please help more people and me understand about Shimpaku Of Juniper of Jin and Pruning, repotting. Thanks again.🙏

Thank You A typical topic explained very easily Thanks again Respect from India

thanks!

Thank you Sir

@4:45 "If they dry out, their done." An idea I had even though incredibly simple is to use clean wet towels and paper towels to keep roots covered when messing with the roots to avoid any unnecessary transplant shock. I don't think roots like to be exposed to direct sunlight or wind at all.

Thank you very much for the incredible information and videos. I have a question about the use of biochar in the soil. Have you ever experimented with it?

Tuyệt vời 🎉🎉🎉

I’m very new, but you’re right about the supportive community

Nice❤

Thankyou 🙏

For my maples I’ve put in some big pots I’ve done did roughly: 1part vermiculite 1 part perlite 2-3parts eracious top soil (No space for more than one 20L bag of something to be lying around my yard so chose soil over peat moss as I’ll use it for other stuff) Hopefully it goes well. Looks pleasing as a mix anyway

Great explanation! I've had trouble with soils only because of price and have used general potting mix most of the time and add river sand (free).

Very informative

thank you for time.

You are a great person and great I learned a lot you are very good 👍

Each to their own, but it's not something I would use again in Bonsai. Perlite and vermiculite hold far too much water. I tried this mix before, and my trees hated it. I lost most of the elms to root rot, and I remember emergency repotting the rest one year long ago. Since then, I just use the stuff for cuttings and seedlings! Location is also key for using this type of mix. I'm in the UK, and it's just a big red flag for me! A great thing I found was cat litter from Tesco, the cream and pink bag. It's basically akadama! I add some hortigrit and some pine bark for the pines, and my trees honestly haven't looked as healthy as they are in this mix. Haha, we all find our own mixes eventually!

Thank you for sharing Salam bonsai indonesia

This is such an inspiring video. Thank you. I’m new to bonsai and this makes me feel far less overwhelmed. The coco peat I get is compressed so have to wet it and let it expand. Do I have to wait for it to dry before measuring or while it’s wet is that volume still ok to measure?

so good!

The more I learn about substrates, the more convinced I am that everything grows well under the same conditions, other than maybe some succulents who's leaves burst if their roots get too much water. So long as the roots are in contact with something that is holding water, but never submerged in standing water, there'll be no root rot. So long as there are mineral and biological elements in the substrate, it will come with some with and be able to sequester and hold on to both mineral and biological fertilisers. Long as the materials break down slowly and are rarely disturbed, the same substrate can last for years or decades. The mix in this video is nearly identical to what you would see in a very standard tropical houseplant mix. In just another video on the same topic, as what to use for bonsais other than conventional akadama soil, I saw other very classic houseplant materials, essentially just pumice and coco coir, which are almost completely interchangeable with perlite and peat moss. Vermiculite should be interchangeable with things like sphagnum moss, bark chips, coco chips, and other sponge-like moisture retainers. The sand in your sandy loam is a very common component in terrarium mixes. I guess what I'm trying to say is that (aside from real extremophiles like cacti), a really good substrate is going to be good for any plant, with at most slight variations.

Halo good job

Hi Mr. Chang and thanks for sharing your knowledge! I am new to bonsai technique and i believe i will learn a lot from you! Just a question. Instead of sandy loom what else can i use as alternative? I live in Greece and it is not very easy to find this type of soil. I find loom only typed in some small balls.

Thank you Dr. Chang for sharing your bonsai soil mix recipe. I would like your advise on the followings: 1. Where can I get Sandy Loam soil ? 2. How often I need to water the plant ? 3. How long before I need to change the soil? I am in Huntington Beach, CA Thank you

Mr Chang thanks for your valued advice on breakup of bonsai soil

💚

Would this mix be enough for a starter? I've bought an Australian dwarf weeping willow. It hasn't arrived yet.

Can I use this type of fertilizer,(Chicken Manure Compost,Coop Poop Organic 2-4-3 Plant Fertilizer )I bought it at ACE, it has given me good results in roses, tomatoes, I want to know if it would be good in bonsai and maybe orchids Thank You

I found a local supplier for screened loam and concrete sand and I'm wondering A. is concrete sand ok to use and B. how much sand should I add to the loam to produce desirable results?

Would substituting regular potting soil mix instead of the sandy loam be fine you think?

Im from NJ, where can I buy sandy loam?

Mr. Chang, do you intend on selling your sandy loam on your website? I would be very interested in aquireing some to test out.

SAMATABONSAI my chabel.

Is fertilizer not needed if i already have these 4 components?

Would you use you bonsai mix in the at the development stage of a bonsai?

Wow i love this ❤❤❤❤ sabscribe you ❤❤❤

Master

I don't know what climate you live in but it seems to me you have a very high water retention soil mix. I would have concerns about drainage in a mix like that