Debco Plugger

[Paul W]

Anyone out there used Plugger with success, I bought some yesterday from Winston at Vineyard as he swears by it, it looks pretty good (plenty of grit etc) but don`t want to use it and kill my trees till I find out a bit more about it.
Thought about mixing a bit of other stuff in it like zeolite to retain the moisture but would appreciate any opinions,I know this is a contentious issue that gets peoples back up, but only being a mug Bonsai enthusiast would like to know of peoples success (or not) with it.
Tried to do a search on it but could not find a lot of comments on it.
Thanks
Paul

[Bretts]

People who use it swear it is a great product. I haven't been able to get hold of it myself. I always thought it was sifted and then added with another grit such as zeolite but then others I know do use something that sounds similar to this straight and it works great for them.
Hmm that didn't help any did it

[treeman]

Hi Paul, I've never used it but you can be confident that anything from Debco conforms with the Australian Standard and you won't have any issues with it (unless its too fine)

[Paul W]

Yeah it does help Bretts as you seem to understand media`s and you did say that some people swear by it, thousands wouldn`t believe you but I do,thanks

[reddoggy]

Hi Paul W Been using it for a few years and I have not killed a tree yet but I find it retains water a bit too much so would not recommend adding zeolite, I put some course sand in it ,get it from Turtle Nursery Supplies at Rouse Hill, they call it P course sand, I think it is only river sand used for propagating. Hope that helps.

[Bretts]

Hi Red Dog
So you use it as is from the bag unsifted?

[reddoggy]

Yep, I usually water the plants in well after re-potting and find a lot of the finds come out the drain holes.

[Bretts]

Ok that's interesting. I guess you don't fertilise that heavily when using this. I reckon Dennis McDermott uses a similar type of mix.

[reddoggy]

I just soak the trees for about an hour in a weak mix of Charlie Carp seems to work for me, about a month and then every month if they are lucky, later I sprinkle a little slow release into the top of the mix and rake in, I do this once a year until I re-pot every other year if I get time.
Yeah I think Dennis uses some thing similar, I might ask him when I see him next time.

[Graeme]

Have used Plugger straight from the bag without problem. Haven't experienced the over water problem, mind you, probably a bit warmer here than your place.

Only issue I have with the product is the 2 hour drive I have to replenish my stocks.

[Crossroads]

I use plugger for all my bonsai.though I haven't been doing bonsai for that long,everyone in my club swears by it and some of these members have been practicing for a long time and boast some impressive specimens and swear by it.i recently attended an amazing penjing exhibition and the artist who was displaying also used it so judging by his produce(which was breathtaking!)it's a sure thing.furthermore,I know it
Is sold at a bonsai nursery at Canley vale not far from
The train station.there are two mixes.a standard mix and a conifer mix with more grit.

[Isitangus]

I use plugger for all my bonsai.though I haven't been doing bonsai for that long,everyone in my club swears by it and some of these members have been practicing for a long time and boast some impressive specimens and swear by it.i recently attended an amazing penjing exhibition and the artist who was displaying also used it so judging by his produce(which was breathtaking!)it's a sure thing.furthermore,I know it
Is sold at a bonsai nursery at Canley vale not far from
The train station.there are two mixes.a standard mix and a conifer mix with more grit.

Crossroads do you have the details of this nursery?

I was at the same exhibition and not a grain (?) of zeolite or anything else in site. Plugger is normally only available to commercial nurseries as that's what they use to pot up their plants.Unsifted, straight outta the bag.

[Chris H]

I used it a couple of years ago.
Repotted out of it pretty much the next year.
Problem for me is it stayed too wet and then went too dry. Because my other trees were in an open mix and I didnt have time to remember which trees needed less water than the ones in diatomite and crushed marble chips.
I dont find Zeolite holds too much water if its with other really open materials.
The real problem with Debco was if it dries out, then its a real bugger to get wet again.
All trees potted out of it had roots around the edge of the pot and nothing in the middle.

Its unlikely you will kill your trees just because of the soil mix, but you must adapt your watering and feeding schedules.

I prefer a much more open mix.

[Stewart_Toowoomba]

Hi all

Tess and Selby at Northside Bonsai nursery (Qld) use it on all their trees i am led to believe, so it must be worthwhile for a commercial nursery to use. Someone correct me if i'm wrong

Also, more experienced members in our club use it either solely or as a base mix.

Stew

[marleey73]

Cannot go wrong with this mix have been using it for years. No need to mix anything with it it is the complete mix.