Bonsai in Seramis
Christoph Werner
Are there any experience in planting a bonsai in Seramis Granulate?
Mike Konig
Ihave tried seramis for bosai and have found that it is far to fast
draining. It is ok if mixed with John Innes No.2, but horticultural gravel
is cheaper.
"Christoph Werner" <chri...@weinkarte.at> wrote in message
news:K_9g6.75993$eL1.2...@news.chello.at...
BonsaiBum
>>From: Christoph Werne
>>Are there any experience in planting a bonsai in Seramis Granulate?
Christoph,
Seramis is more or less the same as other calcined (baked) clay products
succh as Biosorb, Terragreen, etc. It is very free draining but each
granule holds an enormous amount of water. I know someone in Athens,
Greece, who uses pure Seramis and swears by it - even in their summer heat.
The ony problems I could foresee would be the cost (if you have several
large trees) and the fact that the very loose structure could make the trees
unstable in their pots.
Someone suggested mixing it with John Innes 2 compost... This is known as
the Death Mix! JI is little more than ordinary garden mud, and it sets
solid in bonsai pots. Trees may live for a few years in it, but they will
never thrive.
Colin Lewis
Bons...@btinternet.com
http://go.to/bonsai
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Greg Nicholas
will turn to mud.
Greg, Coastal Carolina, Zone 8.5
Snip
> After all the whole point of having cat litter is to absorb liquid! But be
> sure to use one without deodorant I'm sure that would not be good for the
> trees!
> Hope this answers your query!
> Annette, London UK
> jass...@supanet.com
Kevin Bailey
now known as Sophisticat Pink and sometimes Pink Perfection) is an
excellent cheaper alternative to Seramis, Biosorb etc. It is high fired and
does not turn to mud. I have had pines potted with this, as one soil
component, for
over four years and it's still solid/stable.
I disagree on the fact that it is not perfumed though. Every sack I have
used (I must be up to at least twenty odd by now) has a strong soapy odour.
This used to worry me, so I always weathered it for a couple of months
before use. Then I was advised by our most experienced club member that it
was perfectly usable straight from the bag.
He reported that the soap has had no harmful effects
on any of his trees but was actually beneficial in deterring insect pests.
Since he started using it without any washing or weathering he has noticed
that he no longer gets any root aphid or greenfly on his trees.
I have followed his lead for the last year and also notice no harmful
effects. The jury is still out on its pest deterrence for my trees though.
Repotting this spring should give me a better idea of this aspect.
Kev Bailey ke...@actionvideo.freeserve.co.uk
St Asaph, North Wales, UK
Club Web Site http://www.actionvideo.freeserve.co.uk/vocbsindex.htm
Snip
> However Seramis is quite expensive if you have a lot of trees. There is an
> inexpensive alternative, Danish Pink cat litter! This has no deodorant in
> it.
> I have been using it for the last two years as part of my bonsai
compost,
> very successfully. I have a lot of mame trees and I find that they do not
> dry out so easily. I also lie them on trays lined with cat litter, the
> advantage of this is that any roots grow into the trays and when they are
> lifted out you can root prune! With accent plants I also find that the
> plants migrate into the cat litter and you have instant plant division!
> After all the whole point of having cat litter is to absorb liquid! But be
> sure to use one without deodorant I'm sure that would not be good for the
> trees!
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