Hello, I’m bonsai master Dr. Milton Chang! One of the questions I get asked the most is: What soil mix do you use? Today, I will share my proven soil mix recipe with you, along with adjustments for pine and maple trees.
Standard Soil Mix:
– 1 part sandy loam
– 1 part peat moss
– 1 part perlite
For Pine trees:
– 1 part sandy loam
– 1 part peat moss
– 2 parts perlite
For moisture loving trees, like Maple:
– 1 part peat moss
– 1 part peat moss
– 1 part perlite
– 1/2 part vermiculite
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17 Comments
I was going to ask on the last video for something like this. Excited to see what knowledge you have to share.
SAMATABONSAI my chabel.
Perfect video everyone makes soil mix so complicated
I love this. You're so different, knowing you're successful with this makes me feel better about potting/nursery soil.
Mr. Chang, do you intend on selling your sandy loam on your website? I would be very interested in aquireing some to test out.
Funny how everyone uses his own recipe for bonsai soil and still manage to have great result. That show why there's no such thing as perfect bonsai soil and why it is important to know the properties of the mix we're using to have the most optimal aeration, drainage and water retention possible.
Hello Mr. Chang, I really enjoyed your video. As a fellow bonsai enthusiast, I am happy that you are advocating an alternative soil mix that's cheap and easy to make. Mainstream bonsai community would just repeat the same akadama, pumice, volcanic rocks, etc. mix. Those work great but can be very hefty in terms of cost (12-15 L akadama can cost up to 80 dollars). Your soil is very economical and most importantly, beginner-friendly and I really appreciate that.
A friendly note to anyone who wants to begin doing bonsai and wants to look into how to do soil mix. Soil mix is very dependent on your climate and make sure your soil doesn't dry out too fast. But most importantly, make sure it doesn't stay wet for too long (this can cause root rot and kill your tree). So you should always test your soil mix in a bonsai pot first.
Thanks it makes a lot of sense
Good, direct and simple information. Thank you for sharing.
I love everything about this information..thank you 🙏
Thank you for sharing
Salam bonsai indonesia
Thanks Milton, I look forward to using this on my trees in the future 🙂
Great sharing information about bonsai. Thank you for your time and effort put into it, just to shared it with us your idea and knowledge regarding this. Hope you have a wonderful day ahead. ❤🙏
Very cool
Hi Mr. Chang and thanks for sharing your knowledge! I am new to bonsai technique and i believe i will learn a lot from you! Just a question. Instead of sandy loom what else can i use as alternative? I live in Greece and it is not very easy to find this type of soil. I find loom only typed in some small balls.
This is great advice for bonsai enthusiasts who find that buying imported acadama and lava rock environmentally unsustainable. I guess here in the UK we could use John innes number two as a substitute for your sandy loam and maybe add some sharp sand to the mix.
When I watch videos of people collecting yamadori I am amazed how these decade old trees can grow in such poor soils and conditions. It just goes to show how resilient they can be. I have subscribed to your great site.
so good!