How to Prepare Soil for Bonsai Trees

Totally at a loss how to prepare soil for bonsai trees? You don’t have to be a gardener or a genius to realize that different species of plants have different nutrient requirements. Even if figuring how to prepare soil for bonsai trees isn’t as easy as breathing, the formula is simple: different species of trees need specific types of soil for them to thrive. And because bonsai trees are already in an unnatural form and setting, it is even more important to ensure that you provide soil with the proper characteristics.

You may ask, “Can’t I just buy the soil my bonsai trees need and dump it into pots? I have no idea how to prepare soil for bonsai trees!” Of course you can simply buy the soil you need! There are more commercially mixed soils for bonsai trees than there are blondes in Manhattan. Even so, it pays to know how to develop your own formula. Not all bonsai trees grow equal; you just may end up with a tree that needs more tender loving care than most.

Nutrients, pH, and Moisture Content

When cultivating bonsai trees, you will have to draw a delicate balance between the nutrient needs of the parent species and the constraints of container growing. For example, a tree that normally requires a great deal of water will not do well if the soil tends to drain easily. On the other hand, stagnant water in a bonsai pot may lead to fungal infections and rotted roots.

In a similar way, you will need to consider the nutrient quality of the soil. The natural inclinations of any tree seedling will be to grow into a tree of the same size and shape as the parent trees. While reducing nutrients will help stunt the growth of a bonsai tree, it is still important to ensure that the tree has enough food for basic life processes. You will also find that different stages of development may require a different balance of nutrients. These stages include:

• initial germination;

• flowering stages;

• dormancy;

• optimal growth season.

Building Bonsai Soil Layers

Regardless of how much you try, there will be times when you need to create layers of soil in order to achieve certain goals. As an example, if you want to encourage roots to form a ball, it may be necessary to use a more sandy mixture around the edges of the container. In a similar way, if you want to spur new feeder roots, it will be to your advantage to add more organic matter. Depending on the overall shape of the tree and its species, you may have to repot the tree often in order to create the appropriate soil layers.

When you first begin working with bonsai and know zero about how to prepare soil for bonsai trees, you may want to use commercially prepared soil mixes. As you become more skilled in this art form, though, you will want to experiment with different soil formulas. You may even find that mixing your own soils will make it much easier to create attractive and healthy bonsai trees.