How to Make Soil for a Bonsai

Bonsai is an artistic planting technique with origins in China and Japan. The technique developed to cultivate the growth of trees in "bon" or tray-like pots. Due to this restricted access to nutrients, the soil is one of the most important considerations to the health of the tree. Too much moisture retention causes the roots to rot, while too little dries them out. Soils with a mix of mostly inorganic, fired-clay material and organic matter, in the form of bark, help maintain the proper moisture and nutrient balance.

Inorganic planting particulate (fired-clay-based soils)
Organic matter (bark) (optional)
Standard fine-mesh sifting screen

Instructions

- 1
  Sift the inorganic particulate material through the fine-mesh screen.
- 2
  Discard all material that passes through the screen. This process removes dust and minuscule particulate that clog the aeration of the soil.
- 3
  Wash the remaining soil particles to ensure cleanliness. Washing removes surface dust and possible physical contaminants from the surface of the surviving material. The inorganic soil material is now ready for potting.
- 4
  Rinse the bark using the fine-mesh screen to prepare it for combination with the inorganic material.
- 5
  Measure the inorganic and organic material as specified by the recipe recommended for your type of tree, and mix them together thoroughly. The recipe may specify more than one type of inorganic or organic material, such as Bonsai Care Basic's "General Recipe" of 1/3 fir bark, 1/3 porous clay and 1/3 stone grit.

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