I’m struggling to determine if the premium bonsai mix I purchased from a reputable bonsai nursery (equal parts akadama, pumice and lava rock) is high quality or something less. The Akadama is somewhat dusty but more importantly, crumbles easily when squeezed between my fingers. Is that what I should expect or should Akadama be harder?
Dusty, soft and crumbly would seem counterintuitive to a soil component lasting two growing seasons in a pot before breaking down, but maybe that’s a characteristic of all Akadama that I haven’t noticed in the past.
Hey,
You got it! At least this is what I remember from lectures ab soils. High quality akadama should have minimum if at all dust in the bag and doesn’t crumble easily.
Hope this helps
I’m fairly certain I’ve purchased this same ‘high quality’ bonsai soil from the same reputable source. Came in a paper bag? It was terrible. Almost killed 3 of my trees after the akadama broke down and became mud. I had to repot them only 2 months after putting them in that ‘high quality’ soil. In fact, I’m pretty sure ones not going to make it after the ordeal. I’ve been using DE as of late and love it. It’s worth checking out! Here’s a link to a DE thread on the forum.
Like Ryan says, if there’s a lot of dust on the underside of the bag then it’s likely not the best quality-unless the bag was particularly beat up for some odd reason. I’ve had good luck with the brand Clay King. Out of the five other brands i’ve tried-Clay King is the best. The black bag is for refined conifer and red bag(higher percentage of akadama) is for deciduous. I usually cut both with more pumice/scoria-red bag is a better deal if it’s the same price. This Akadama has been consistently hard over the last several years. I know it’s possible that a brand can change quality over time. Jonas at Bonsai Tonight has Clay king in stock.
I’ve never been able to find Clay King. I’ve been using Double Red Line and I’m pretty happy with it. I do the pinch test to see if I can get it to crumble and typically I cannot. Minimal amount of dust as well.
I don’t discriminate there. Although Ryan said that he’s had issues with red lava, but supposedly that was an anomaly. Something with there being an issue with too much boron in a batch of red lava.
Hey All…
I’m glad I found this thread. I just recently purchased my first two bags of Akadama. On bag of large size (1/8" - 1/2") and a bag of med/small size (1/16" - 1/4"). This is the brand it is supposed to be.
It came in a USPS flat rate box, not in the original bag but in a garbage bag. When I opened the box, the top layer looked light brown but under that top layer everything else was a darker in color and damp. I did started sifting it and the amount of dust is choking me out. This is the dust from the bag of med/small size:
This akadama also just crumbles in my fingers. It has NO hardness whatsoever! I am not sure if I should use it or not? If I don’t use it for soil, what can I do with it? Should I try and return it? I doubt they will let me. I hope I didn’t just waste $80 on these two bags.
That does look like a lot of fine particles and dust. I usually have about a handful of dust and particle after sifting. I use the sifting to make “muck”
I don’t believe there is an akadama that is “super hard” It is a little deceiving. I will say there are variations in hardness, but nothing hard like a rock or pebble. The particle has to be soft enough of a material so the roots can penetrate to achieve smaller/finer root structure, in turn giving us smaller foliage on our trees.
Shipping does not help either, the particles do not withstand being tossed around.
If I ever see moisture in the bag I like to let it completely dry out before using it.
Akadama is crushed very easily when moisture is present in the particle.
When doing a repot the soil mixture needs to be fully dry or the akadama will be crushed during the chop sticking process.
I know it is a gamble when ordering online because you can’t see the material before purchasing.
@MtBakerBonsai Thanks for the input. I will lay it out in the sun and let it dry out. I guess I should of dried it before sifting. I probably made more dust. Being that I am in my first month of bonsai, I’m going to have a big learning curve.
Just getting the backyard ready to properly take care of all my future bonsai trees is a big undertaking. LOL…
My shade cloth is going up today, don;t want to cook my trees in the hot summer sun!
Being that the item arrived in a garbage bag, and not as advertised as in the original bag I would contact the seller. After expressing my concerns to them, wrong bag, lots of dust, moisture present and offering them the opportunity to make it right I would escalate it to the site. Etsy/Ebay/Amazon ultimately want the BUYER to be treated well and will help you if you are dissatisfied and feel you were mislead in the product that you purchased. In many cases they will force a seller to refund you or they will do so themselves and kick the seller off the platform.
