Why we don't use Akadama | The Bonsai Supply 

Thanks for addressing it, Jerome. I've had this question about your soil. Been using your soil in different trees over the past couple of years, and I gradually used it more often when I repot something from old akadama mix. I know there are many opinions out there, and people in my club are pro akadama but I got no complaints so far.

wow!!! I was impressed with your video, you use the same mixture that I have used for a long time. I substitute the bark for a little hummus or peat moss. It has cost me a lot to convince people of this substrate because they are very purist in bonsai. I am 100% agree with you. A hug

I actually like the akadama for the fact that it brakes down, when you have very advanced trees after a couple years you get smaller internodes and smaller roots(they brake akadama and get smaller and smaller) the problem is that you have to repot but you have to repot anyways every 2-3 years. When you substitute akadama you need something with High CEC and in your case you use pine bark. I’d say that as long as the diameter of the grains is correct (small for shohin and refined, big for prebonsai and plants that need high vigor) every mix with some CEC, very airy, that prevents rotting is fine

I used it once, that was that. Personally I tend to use a lot more actual peat based compost for my trees than most do. I cannot afford trees drying out at the rate they would with your mix or similar ones. Volcanic rock, perlite, grit and clay based cat litter (interchangeably depending what I have) as 1 part with one part compost. Often I’ll use more compost for trees which like to be damp or smaller pots and more of the aggregates for larger pots. Only problem is wet in the winter but my best trees go under cover. Whatever works. For me this does because I need to be able to leave trees for a few days even in summer.

I have a 7 month old ficus that was a cutting of 3 cm. Now its finger thick and absolutely huge already. Crazy roots. It grows in pure akadama. Indoor in Norway.

That was a really interesting video. As a novice I got into Bonsai 2 years ago at the start of the pandemic. Whilst there appears to be general consensus on tree styles, types and pot matching, the issue of ´soil mix’ seems to be the one which generates the widest difference of opinion amongst Bonsai enthusiasts. I have been very fortunate to have the guidance of a local Bonsai nursery in the North of England and, whilst they use some Akadama in their soil mix they also use Pine Bark and locally sourced Baked Expanded Clay.

I have 3 trees that I recently repotted using akadama supplied by my bonsai club. My other trees have a mix. I will have to observe the differences over time. Thanks Jerome.

I like you have found Acadama tends to break down far to quickly, half way down the bag it is almost dust, when I sieve it I finish up with loads of dust which I can’t use and I have paid for. Thanks for making your video’s.

Thank you for you video, I appreciated it. I use akadama only for mature shohin mixed with pumice, because it lets the soul drying most evenly. For chuhin I use only pumice and a bit of sand, about 10%.

I totally get it. It’s hit or miss when I get a new bag of akadama. When I do get a good bag, I’ll usually save it for shohin . It does well for me up here in Virginia. I’m definitely gonna look into the calcined clay though. Thanks for your videos, it’s all good.

Your soil mix its a success for my desert roses and I truly thank u for that😊

Dude, very interesting. Thanks for posting experience that goes against the grain. Taking your experiences with Akadama into serious consideration.

Thanks for totally new knowledge on using native media for bonsai. Yes I am the one have suffered a lot from buying Akadama. I now use pumice, lava grain (pasir malang) plus activated carbon ( burn husk) and brick grain.

Thanks for making this video. I’ve been done with akadama for a couple years. I only have one tree left to repot out of akadama. The drainage is awful.

Thanks for sharing your personal experiences. You are indeed a brave man! As Michael Hagadorn put it in Bonsai Heresy, talking about Akadama "...is a touchy thing in many places outside of Japan where strapping on body armor before entering the argumentative fray is considered wise, along with a cell phone to call for backup." I personally never liked the cost or "behavior" of akadama. I use pumice, scoria (volcanic grit), decomposed granite as my base. I can get all either free from the Idaho mountains or from the pumice mine less than 100 miles away. I might add Surface (calcined clay), pine bark and in a pinch sphagnum moss. I don't repot as frequent as many do and my trees do nicely. Its OK to take off the body armor now.....

Thank´s for te tip bro .. it´s so interesting, i´m going to prove it 👍👍👍👍👍👍

High quality akadama doesn't break easily. Look for the 3 line hard akadama. You will be thrilled when you see the root growth. Roots grow easily on outer part of the root ball but it is important to keep them ramified inside. Akadama is quite effective having a good root system in short time.

Wow, I can see your point. As the akadama breaks down it can fill in the small porous crevices of the lava rock. Also, I'm sure that the sharpness OF the lava rock scrapes against the Akadama causing breakdown and causing clogged lava rock. Good points.

great video , im a beginner by most standards (4 - 5 years) and im looking to find the most effective soil , so your explanation are very imformative thank you

Great video and your absolutely correct on buying American made products!! 🇺🇸🌳

Im not the right person to comment sin e i have been doing this for 1 1/2 years. I have never purchased a bonsai tree but i have been turning young nursery trees/plants into bonsai. I know this will take years but im enjoying every moment. I have never been taught how to do it or care for plants but i have learned from watching your videos as well as other videos from people who have knowledge. I started doing everything wrong but have learned little by little. I started also using akadama mix and did not have much results, then again i did not know as much as i know now. But…when i found out about you and your product, i was happy to save some money. To be honest i switch simply to save some cash believing what you were saying. I can tell you that the plants that i have switch to have been thriving incredibly. I just repotted my large adenium arabicum which i had for 1 1/2 years in fast draining soil and switched her for your mix. Her caudex is about 8-9 inches and have been trying to multiply her branches. Let me tell you that here in Miami it rains a lot so i was constantly pulling her in and out so the soil would be able to dry. Hopefully she will flower which she never did before. So far im very happy with your mix. Thank you

Thank you for the advice. As a beginner I'm trying to get as much knowledge from watching videos and I found your video very interesting. I too do not use acadama. It's overrated and overpriced. I use molar, clay, pine, bark, and pumice

Interesting video, personally I use a mix of lava rock, pomice and zeolite and with the calcareous water work great.

I agree with you, we hobbyists from Indonesia, rarely or not commonly use Akadama. We use our local product in the form of black volcanic soil mixed with other organic materials, such as rice husks, and the effect is amazing for plant health and growth.

Hello, I'm very grateful to watch your video and I learned a lot. May I ask your recommendation in soil mix especially in tropical areas? Thanks a lot.

Its good that we talk about this. Akadama is a specific Japanese horticultural component for Japanese Bonsai, and it doesn't make sense to ship it abroad as an absolute part of Bonsai. All the science behind Akadama is great and it is for sure the most amazing soil particle that cant be beat 1:1 with anything, but it is non-renewable and such a circumstantial thing to even exist that to become reliant on it for the art is irresponsible. It does also come with some inherent limitations that i think are detrimental overall to its rating as a good component. Different species work better in different mixtures; different local climates cause a diversity of weather erosion differences acting upon Akadama; and as mentioned- its guaranteed breakdown forces repotting, that if forced on a tree due to akadama breakdown at the wrong time in the year or in the trees health circumstances, can doom the tree to death. because of all this its wise to take some hints from interesting example of techniques. Dan Robinson doesn't repot at all, ever. while certainly a bit radical, his trees don't die and continue to thrive because root disruption is always risky and damaging to the most vital part of a tree. the balance of choice is: using akadama allows to produce that super refined form in a tree for at least a period of time but at the expense of more extensive care and careful health consideration and observation- more caution, meanwhile using Aggregates and fine Mulch allow for sustainable thriving trees that require less caution for potential repots with longer spans between them but at the expense of having a some refinement limitations. Just how significant the refinement differences are between developed trees in Japan and those in America, is probably arguable. it may be more a debate on short-term competitive perfection vrs timeless natural beauty.

gratulations, your the first big bonsai supplyers that tells the truth about akadama i seen. hope you make it. you deserve it after being lied to for 13 years.

Thanks For Sharing!

Here in South Africa’s Western Cape, where the climate is similar to San Diego, I use Akadama, along with Pumice and Coconut Fibre (1/3 each) for potting South Africa’s indigenous succulent plants. I add a very small amount of a slow-release cactus/succulent fertilizer. Plants respond quite well to the mix. I also repot every two to three years, and annually, add more slow-release fertilizer. Fresh/vital soil mixes require turnover. Otherwise, soil mix can become quite depleted leading to plant disease etc.

Appreciate the tip, I have been concerned about using calcined clay as I heard it can break down into fine dust.

Hi Jerome, great video and thanks for sharing. What mix would you recommend for the South coast of England (dry summers, warm wet winters) Thanks.

Great informative video thank you. What do you recommend specifically for indoor Bonsai soil mix (I have a Ficus Retusa, Chinese Privet and a Fukien tree)? Your Universal Bonsai Soil Mix?

Hey Jerome, Brave man you are to take on this topic- it’s a controversial one for sure. I have been working to put together a soil mix that works in my climate, coastal South Carolina, super humid and very wet thru the summer and fall, the first 3 years I was here my trees struggled with to much water retention no matter what I put them in. Two years ago I was introduced to expanded shale, by the guys at Underhill Bonsai. I have substituted this now for akadama in my soil mix and it has worked beautifully, providing nice ion exchange, but is super stabile, and provides great drainage to prevent water logging. Only down side to it is it is heavy, so big trees can be rough on the back to move around. Nice video explanation, brave man ! Cheers!

My figs go absolutely nuts with akadama, perlite and coir peat. My junipers (squamata) love it too. Elms not so much.

In Germany it is kind of popular (at least for some and people on a budget) to use expanded clay, the brand is "Fibotherm". It doesn't break down and can be used in all kind of mix. I bought Akadama when I started Bonsai, but it's way too expensive, at least for my trees. Works good in the German climate though.

Hello, thanks for the lesson,

Awesome video…thank you….what ratios are you using. I was thinking 0.5:0.5:1:1 (clay .5, pine fines .5, pumice 1, lava 1) I have several freeze thaw cycles where I live and akadama does not hold up well. I currently use kiryu on all my junipers, but would love to get away from that cost also. I’m thinking this is definitely worth the try. Thank you for your knowledge.

I've never used Akadama in my potting media mix. When I started bonsai many years ago I don't think it was even available here in the MidWest. I used Turface, shredded pine bark, and crushed granite (chicken grit) as the main ingredients. Turface, a fired clay particle, has become ridiculously expensive, so I started experimenting with clay particle kitty litter; some brands of it break down and turn to "concrete" much as you described the Akadama, but some seem to have firmer particles. More recently I started experimenting with a clay based SafetySorb meant for soaking up oil and chemical spills. It seems to work pretty well. The past few years I have bought 50 lb bags of lava rock from the home improvement store and crushed it with a sledge hammer into 1/4 inch particles (1 cm.), more or less. It is a lot of work but works great. Recently I have also experimented with perlite additions to the mix. For deciduous trees I will add some peat moss to the mix to aid moisture retention. The main advantage I see in pumice, lava rock, and perllite over crushed granite is lighter weight. Large pots filled with the clay particle, pine bark, crushed granite mix are extremely heavy. Lava, perlite, and pumice are much less dense and make a noticeable difference when lifting pots. Of courses if you only have small trees this doesn't matter much but if you like big trees like I do it is a big deal.

Hi jerome thanks for the sharing, i would say that a good presentations, well i am living in the place where extremly hot here in malaysia (asean) in my place we have 2 seasons which is dry and wet, ok talking about soil, in my mix i dont use akadama as part of my blend infact i have used just lava rock pumice and sifted to fine, pine bark( equal part) over years it seems work to all type of my tree with this climates.

Lack of availability drives me to use pine bark in place of akadama. In the upper Midwest, akadama is scarce. Pine bark and akadama couldn't be more different, yet they share very important attributes. You can grow trees without akadama, but I wouldn't grow a tree without a little pine bark in the mix. CEC, water storage and availability, particle size, sturdy host for microbial life, predictable PH. Huzzah for pine bark. Great video!

this is an amazing video 👍

Great video. I use pumice, turface, and pine fines. Sometimes lava rock when I can get it at my local shops.

If akadama was not so expensive I would use it exclusively. Akadam has the perfect retention, ion exchange capacity, aeration qualities and has one of the best color changes from dry to wet. It needs to be sifted and the size particles determine how often soil should be replaced. Growing without organic soil has a lot of advantages. Without organic content you can water more often woo it root rot. I can’t just using it for all plants and for many I don’t use it at all. My go to soil for conifers is 95% medium/large pumice 5% coco coir per Eric Shrader experience/ments. Sone trees like Willows, wisteria and bald cypress stand in water and for these I use lots of organic material bc the roots don’t have the same need for air exposure. There’s a lot to take into consideration but to me particle size is just as important as content. Pot size, weather and watering schedules and also in the end probably more important than what’s in the soil. White pines got root rot so easily if over watered. For these I do not use large particle organic like bark. Doing so is a recipe for dying roots. In the end I think most people overwater and cutting back on that and letting our plants roots breath is probably the best thing we can do. When used correctly akadama does this really well. Look at what the best growers in the world use. In Japan it’s local and akadama has a long standing history. The Japanese are slow to change but also probably still the best in the world at growing healthy small trees in pots.

I agree Jerome. We don't need akadama. It breaks down far too quickly causing all of the issues you mentioned.

I fell in love with coco fibre bricks from pet shop or grow shops. So wet, so airy and looks like miniaturised earth. You can mound it high to protect root-overs, you can grow seeds and cuttings in it, this year I will use it for air layers too. So far all the trees I repotted into it look better than ever.

Like most things in Bonsai the use of or not Akadama is subjective to what you feel is the best for your trees . In the Uk most main dealer bonsai suppliers all have there own version of what is the best soil and suggest there's is the best. I have bought from different suppliers, when you open the bag it has a high percentage of dust. I am trying out cat litter and pine bark with a little perlite and to keep the soil open horticultural grit. This is the first year of this mixture ,but so far all my re potted trees are doing well

I agree, I recently experimented with Akadama over this past growing period and had poor results. Will never buy again. Pumice, Lava rock and small sized pine nuggets seems to work best. Thanks for the video

this is an amazing video

Is calcined clay the same as turface? What’s your ratio with your mix for conifers and deciduous? Thanks for the video!

Nice sharing bro..👏👏

thnxs for the report

I'd rather take your opinion than blindly using whatever is in the text book. I think tree care needs to be altered depending on location, climate, etc. My climate is very dry so I have to trap more moisture than normal, so I tend to use some peat mixed in and gravel in a water tray under the pot, which could cause root rot in Florida or Georgia, I'm sure. Anyways, good video!

Akadama is great for conifers. Masahiko Kimura has a famous juniper in his garden called "Toryo no Mai" (dance of the flying dragon) which is potted in akadama, Kimura says he hasn't repotted this tree in over 38+ years. Michael Hagedorn relates a story that a white pine in Shinji Suzuki's garden which was repotted after 10+ years in akadama and there was these fine,fine white roots which he says was a sight to see.

wich proportion of each soil do you use? here un Spain I've never seen this small pine bark neither this tipe of Clay. But I'm also changing my soil to lava, pomice and then a mix of soils depending on the trece species

Yo vivo en Barranquilla, Colombia. El clima es muy caluroso la mayor parte del año y viajo mucho, por lo que uso compost + gravilla de río + cascarilla de arroz en partes iguales y no he tenido inconvenientes con esta mezcla.

One hundred cultivators bonsai to ask, you will get a hundred different opinions! Great video!

Hey thanks, I never use this in Puerto Rico, I'm use fine river rock of the sand and a little portion of earth and work perfect in my ficus and junipers

This is very brave of you Jerome 😁👏👏. In the UK many of the more “experienced” growers are almost cult-like or even perhaps blinkered or misguided in their use of Akadama. My personal experience (particularly of pure Akadama) has been that it can dry out very, very quickly, particularly with shohin trees in smaller pots and requires watering every couple of hours in warmer weather. At the very least my experience is that it needs to be mixed with something organic. Also not a fan of how it degrades to a solid brick over time. I personally prefer to use a moler clay (same as calcined clay? available as certain brands of cat litter in the UK or safety absorbent for oil spills) with perlite. I also like to use agricultural sand or grit and a small element of regular compost in my mix since this makes the mix free draining and porous whilst holding pockets of water, but is very much more forgiving and not wholly inorganic. I get great root development so it appears to be working as I need in my own temperate climate, in the UK. I would not however claim to have any very mature, highly refined show stopper trees. Akadama is Japanese soil which means it has a certain mystique and prestige perhaps allowing some to think that because bonsai originates in Japan and they are using Japanese soil that they are bonsai elites. The Japanese use it because it is local, and suits their growing climate and native trees. If there are other products which have similar properties and benefits locally then why would you NOT use them? I would say that the obsession with the exact or correct soil mix is misguided. And talking in absolutes a little foolish. In nature trees grow in all sorts of different soils. The key is to know the properties of the various ingredients and aggregates you are mixing, and what they bring to the mix. Worrying about exact proportions is also a bit silly since this is not an exact science. Whether you mix a third or a quarter of a particular element is unlikely to give very significant results.

Hallo Jerome, ich schreib in deutsch wenn das ok ist. Ich bin noch nicht lang dabei und mein Substrat mich ich erst seit etwas über einem Jahr selber unter anderem auch Akadama. Was ich jetzt aber schon feststellen musste,es zerfällt unglaublich schnell,genau wie du es beschrieben hast. Nichtmal ein Jahrund jetzt muss ich leider wieder umtopfen,was mir gar nicht gefällt. Ich hab hab noch einen Sack davon da,den brauch ich noch auf,war ja auch teuer,aber dann werde ich mich davon trennen. Preis Leistung passt gar nicht. Kann nur zu 100% deiner Meinung zustimmen und werde deinen mix anstreben zumindest mal testen. Verspreche mir viel mehr davon weil deine Erfahrungen und Ergebnisse sprechen ja voll dafür. Bin froh das ein Profi es genau so sieht wie ich als blutiger Anfänger 🙈😅. Alles gute für dich und bis zum nächsten Video🙋🏻‍♂️

Nice video !

It all come down to what works best for you. Some people use Akadama have very good results. Know some people been growing bonsai for over 30 years who always use Akadama.

I only just started using acadama and was really surprised how quickly it started breaking down.....within weeks it was soft.

I generally use perlite, compost, coco, volcanic rock and some clay. For fertilizer I use cow dung pellets with an added source of calcium (usually from my water boiler or from the sewage treatment plant in town).

What ratios are you supposed to use? If we go with these instead of akadama

I m agree with you, i don t have any problem with akadama , i never use it, i m in Guadeloupe, West indies, and i choose to use only native soil because of my view of the nature and it s time to be careful for our planet , reduce importation

When you use pine bark, is it fine or just regular cheap pine bark? And do you sift it at all? Thanks I enjoy your videos. Nancy

Few months ago I tried to repot a Carmona that was having some roots problems ,and I've noticed that brick situation you was talking about in this video. Unfortunately I was late and the bonsai died BUT I learned how akadama is a fuckin mess once it becames an old soil.

I'll use your experience as a guide. Thanks you save me some$$$

Hi, good video. I'm located in Europe and I use domestic plants and domestic soil.

Akadama is the best 👍🏼😀

I agree with u. I feel like my maples love it though. Although it's a must that the particle size is a Lil bigger than what u show here.i live in NY and get a fair amount of rain and akadama of that size turns to muck in a year or year and a half. My beginner maples I use ur soil and add pumice and a small amount of akadama along with Scott's potting mix and a layer of rocks at the bottom of my pot. They are still in development. With all my other trees I've been using ur soil mixed with pumice and that's it . Not sure if it was better in the past but if anyone is going to use it I suggest a bigger particle size. I would also love to know has anyone used kelp or superthrive before ?

The akadama available to me is very high quality, as good as the best stuff in Japan. I don't use it at 100%, at most 1:1 with other substrates. Breaking down is a feature, not a problem, as it leads to fine roots. You should not have to touch the shin of an old root ball for decades if ever, so it really doesn't matter if the soil has broken down. I don't find that it impedes water flow, even after many years.

I agree with you.. I don't know the quality of akadama in Japan, but same with you, the quality of akadama in my country is very bad. Plus in tropical countries like Indonesia, frequent rains make akadama destroyed faster

Instead of akadama, I use a local marlstone. It also does break up with time, but it takes long time for it to break into dust, and it has quite a lot of minerals. Usually I use a mix of 1/4 of marlstone, 1/2 terramol (a kind of terracotta substrate, made in Denmark), 1/4 of perlite and 1/4 of organic substrate. It seem to work fine, though I mostly grow sub/tropical and succulent trees.

Hi, Jerome! Thank you for all your videos! What do you recommend I use in a country that is very hot and dry? I am in Egypt! Here we only have Pete moss send, rocks, perlite, And compost. I’m not even entirely sure what the rocks are made of, but they are very good for succulents. In summer we have temperatures that often get above 35 Celsius, In which case I bring certain trees indoors. It is actually scary to use completely free draining soil, because things then dry out super fast, and I can’t really water trees three times a day 😂 do you think it might still be OK to use just regular potting mix and add in a lot more perlite and send and rocks? I am experimenting, but would love to know your opinion! Thanks again.

Tried Akadama as well a few times. Wasn’t happy as my soils stayed way to wet and my pots clogged up. I’m a big fan of lava/pumice/perlite mix. Zone 13 Indonesia.

Interresting video. Do you know chabasite zeolite ? I use with pumice .

I noticed the spendy bags of it at the Bonsai club meetings for sale, was alarmed at its crushability. I use Turface with Styrofoam peanuts at the base of the pot with a self-watering wick, outstanding for my cactus, succulents, bonsai and many tropicals.

Is the calcined clay same as brick? Or the calcined clay u use is from calcinizing clay and limenstone?

Question, do use any organic soil for any of your bonsai trees, I tried all inorganic on my desert rose with not much luck. Thank you

I agree 100% I find it bothersome that I can just crush it between my fingers with very little effort

I am new to this and I have been using bonsai supply bonsai soil. I am due to get a 13 year old Fukien tree this week from Florida and what if the Nursery I am getting it from has used organic soil? Do I wait for springtime to check it? And repot if the roots are overly big?

Great video. I must say in South Africa pumice & lave rock is the same price as Akadama

I used 60/40/10 akadama/kanuma/tree bark. I tried Bonsai Supply mix and I get better results with the mix. I buy big bags of both sizes, can’t go wrong

I’m currently using 1 part red lava rock, 1 part perlite, 1 part fir bark and 1 part potting soil. The potting soil is mostly a comfort thing as when I started out I used it before I knew anything, but I plan on phasing it out next repotting, probably with clay. Is there any difference between red and black lava rock I should be concerned about?

Hi jerome, what brand of calcined clay does have a good particle size? Thanks

you said based on your plants and weather. What would suggest for tropical plants like Brazilian rain trees in south Florida?

For trees in early development, what are your thoughts on replacing the clay with fox farm ocean forest soil. My theory is the extra organic material will help young trees grow faster. Also I travel sometimes an can’t always water every day. Finally I live in coastal Southern California so weather is generally mild to warm

I want hundred percent agree I live in East Tennessee in akadama especially in smaller pots it's just not going to get the oxygen and water and mush . The same plant I will pour water in through the top two years ago and would drain free instantly now seems to be so broken down it takes forever to get any watering in

You keep saying pumice has vitamins in it. Vitamins are organic compounds and I really don’t believe there are any in an inorganic material of volcanic origin like pumice. So please can you tell me which vitamins are in pumice or do you add them?

interesting! Jerome, i think you should start making pots. or i will and send them to you! maybe i should get to work designing and building a pottery wheel! that actually is a possibility.

I have never used acadama I use mola clay, pumice ,perlite, lava rock and pine bark ,it works great for me ..

Great video do you think this mix will work well with lophophora williamsii (Cactus) 🌵

Where do you get your calcined clay? I have tried using using Turface but is a waste of money and aggregate size is very small. Any help you can provide is appreciated.

I have another question. For my jades and dwarf jade or portulacaria, what king of fertilizer should i use. Liquid or time releas.

Here, in Sweden, I always used non-clump, non-perfumed cat litter from the Danish food chain "Netto". Alas, Netto was bought out by the Swedish company COOP so now I'm screwed. Netto still exists in Denmark so I could travel over the bridge to Copenhagen but I'm not sure they even carry that product anymore. 😐

Hi Jerome, I see that the particle size is larger than average. Can you make a (short) video and then explain why you chose that size. What I usually see is a smaller particle size. In the Netherlands (Europe) where I live, the larger size is often not used. I want to use a similar soil mix as your universal soil mix, but I am unsure about particle size.

tIt also stopped using Acadama after not likng the results after using it for the first time. I am still trying to find the right soil mixture. Thank you for telling us your soil contents. what turned e off about the Akadama is the cos and lack of results. Can you telll me where to order the lava and clay?

Nice thank you

I agree--I've never understood the obsession with akadama. I've actually had bad root-rot problems with it. So I now use pumice and fir bark (about 50-50) in the PNW where we have very wet winters and very dry summers, with great results. I grow mostly maples, but even my indoor houseplants thrive on this mix. I add a little red lava too, mostly for the iron content.