New Zealand Bonsai Soil.

[Orion]

I've been looking for pure soil mixes(100% same ingredient) but often find that everything has flaws.Ive seen oil-dri and cat litter made of pure attapulgite and cat litter made of pure zeolite.Diatomaceous earth I heard is good but i'm having trouble finding it(please suggest some brands and where to find it). I'm keen on pure attapulgite but some people reckons it breaks down too fast...is it just by brands? Please suggest things.

[Bretts]

Hey Orion I have used attapulgite kitty litter and although some have had issues I never have? I would not recommend using it 100% although I am experimenting with that at the moment.
Not all Diatomite is the same the same goes with Zeolite. Unless some Newzealanders jump on with some advice all I can offer is that you post some of the material available to you and we can go through it. I would like to see the oil dry made from attapulgite and the cat litter made from Zeolite!

[craigw60]

Hi Oroin.
The diatomite is very popular here and is mined by a company called Maidenwell in QLD. You could try orchid growers as they use it a lot for seed raising.
Whether its imported into NZ I have no idea.
While I am talking to a Kiwi do you have any experience with Lophomyrtus and can they be collected. I have some old ones in the garden which have out grown their position and have great trunk movement bark.
Craig

[Orion]

The brand that I saw(pure attapulgite) was called vitapet. I think ill have a look at their site... And lophomyrtus is good as a bonsai. I've seen a few.I saw oil-dri in mitre 10 it said made from US and I think it doesn't have chemicals.

[Orion]

oh I browsed vitapets website and found out that they sell all over NZ and AUS wich is good. They're company is called masterpet but they own big brands such as Eukanuba,Iams and vitapet(only their vitapet brand sells cat litter.

[kcpoole]

The brand that I saw(pure attapulgite) was called vitapet. I think ill have a look at their site... And lophomyrtus is good as a bonsai. I've seen a few.I saw oil-dri in mitre 10 it said made from US and I think it doesn't have chemicals.

I believe the product called Oil-Dry in the US is pure Diatomite from what i have been able to establish, and is equivalent to what we have here from Maidenwell or Mt Sylvia Diatomite

I would have no issues with using 100% diatomite as a substrate ( some here do just that), but I add 1/3 Zeolite from Castle Mountain Zeolites myself. I have had Diatomite soaking in Water for nearly 4 years now and have no sign of it breaing down as yet.

only a few brands of kitty litter are actually Diatomite but Bretts is the expert on using this here I think as I have never tried it. Those that do report most brands break down to mush in a few months

Ken

[Jamie]

i use diatomite straight and mixed, i have used zeolite in the mix but find it to retain a lot of moisture for a fair amount of time, i use about 80% diatomite now with 20% soft organic component most of the time just a standard bought bonsai soil never had a prob with it and the trees love it


jamie

[craigw60]

I have been using Diatomite for many years now and have never really seen it break down. Some of it gets used a couple of times. First on my good trees and then it gets recycled for my growing on stock. In the end it goes into my growing on beds in the garden
Just a question Jamie do you sieve the potting mix ?
Craig

[Jamie]

i use a bought bonsai mix from the big B, i dont bother seiving it, i never have and i have never had a problem either. i reuse the diatomite all the time craig, it can be reused over and again as a potting medium


jamie

[Bretts]

only a few brands of kitty litter are actually Diatomite but Bretts is the expert on using this here I think as I have never tried it. Those that do report most brands break down to mush in a few months

Ken

Thought I might shove a pic of the JBP seedling growing in 100% attapulgite kitty litter. No break down of the medium after what i think is close to 6 months. There is definitely a pH issue though. It is alkaline and I am thinking this could be from the dynamic lifter as with the Kunuma after using dynamic lifter. But I can't be sure until I have some fresh kitty litter to test. Have to grab some on the next trip to the supermarket.

kitty.jpg

[Orion]

I'm gonna buy that oil dry next time I visit mitre 10. And that cat litter.Will post results

[kcpoole]

I'm gonna buy that oil dry next time I visit mitre 10. And that cat litter.Will post results

Sweet Orion.
Nice to see we can be a good resource for our Kiwi Buddies too
Where in NZ are you from?

[dayne]

diatomite is the go its used allso as cattle feed believe it or not may be try that avenue

[Orion]

Auckland but bonsai here is all around the place even in otago.

[Orion]

I've read the oil-dri brand I was talking about and it's said it's made of natural occuring "crystalline sillica quartz" those are the key things I can remember but I don't know if it's any good... I've found pumice and also want to know if it'll be fine as pure bonsai soil??? Turface is hard to find in nz:( oh well. There is alot of things here made of zeolite but I read some stuff about it being to water retentive.I've heard that orchid soils are perfect for bonsai so doin research on that...