Peat peat and more peat - help please

[cuwire]

Would like to get some advice and therefor a better understanding of all products that incorporate the word --peat--

If you use Coir Peat or Coco Peat what do you generally mix it with and are these two different and if so what is the difference.

If you use Peat Moss or Sphagnum Moss -- same as above --
what do you generally mix it with and are these two different and if so what is the difference.

Any other Peats?

Cheers
David

[Bretts]

It is very confusing as you seem to have worked out. MOST peat products here are coir peat and can be too fine for great use in bonsai soil. The sphagnum peat they use in other countries is not really available here. If you search you can find a real 100% sphagnum peat but then it is not as coarse as what they use over seas and no real improvement on the coir peat we can get much cheaper.
The best bet is to get normal sphagnum moss and chop it up it will work just the same as a real coarse sphagnum peat. The other option is to get the coconut husks. I found the small in orchid mate worked well but don't add too much to your mix as it breaks down after a couple of years.
http://strathfield-nsw.australialisted. ... 10198.html
I won't be incorporating it in my mix this year I am going back to just adding a layer of sphagnum moss on the soil surface as that worked real well for me in the past.

[Gerard]

Many of the peat products become difficult to re-wet if they happen to dry out. coco peat is a product many people at my club use (including myself).
Popular mixes seem to be combinations of:
Diatamite,
cocopeat,
mini orchid nuggets,
commercial native mix.

Diatamite and cocopeat being the basic components

[cuwire]

Thank you Bretts and Gerard -

Playing around with mixes is a new dimension to this Bonsai business for me and totally interesting.

The ausbonsai Wiki link was great - (that's a lot of stuff I can put in a mix).

I bet I will have some more questions and hopefully something to report.

Cheers David

[Mitchell]

Where in Sydney you at Cuwire? If you can make it to Thornleigh Buzzings, I'll take you through what we have there.
Always helps to have TM willing to tear open packets for you

[63pmp]

Just my opinion but I don't think any potting mix needs any sort of peat.

If you are having difficulty retaining enough water in your mix, reduce the size of your particles. (But I can't see this being an issue if you use 2-5mm particle sizes) Peats don't offer anything but trouble. Because of their fine structure they hold too much water within the potting mix and clog up pore spaces, impairing air filled porosity. The most important component in your potting mix is air (if your mix dries out too quickly you can always water it more, but if your mix is clogged up and holds too much water, it is very hard to get it out, and your plant will struggle or die) peats are anti air.

Top dressing with sphagnum moss will prevent the upper layers of the soil drying out due to evaporation in summer, leaving a more even moisture level throughout the soil, that's as close as it gets to my mixes, it's simply not needed in a potting mix.

Paul

[cuwire]

Thanks Mitchell -- will have to pass (have noticed though, the verve with which some Bunnings people are happy to tear open their packets - good on you)

Paul - Thanks also for your comments will take all of this on board.
Good to get the for and against on the subject.

Cheers David