Bonsai Heresy’s Chapter 5 and Further Thoughts on Sand

Bonsai Heresy’s Chapter 5 and Further Thoughts on Sand

This is the first in a series of blog posts to take a chapter from Bonsai Heresy: 56 Myths Exposed Using Science and Tradition and expand on it to investigate dangling questions. Like all chapters in Bonsai Heresy, Chapter 5 is ironically titled, though this one is the longest title in the book and is nearly […]

Jonas Dupuich on Akadama-

Jonas Dupuich on Akadama-

I rarely do this. In fact, this might be the first time, to reblog something. But, I have a reason. I think Jonas Dupuich’s post on Bonsai Tonight about akadama is a very clear, inclusive, and informational LONG post that anyone who is curious about this weird and wonderful stuff should probably give a careful […]

Further Thoughts on Turface

Further Thoughts on Turface

A couple years back I wrote a post which became one of most viewed posts I’ve ever written. It was about Turface and similar soil ingredients like Oil-Dri and Profile, and my skepticism about their qualities as a bonsai soil ingredient, following 30 years of experience with many different soil types. The post was meant to […]

Life Without Turface…

Life Without Turface…

…is full of sweet birdsong and rainbows. I feel the need to comment on Turface, which is still, unfortunately, a common bonsai soil component. I used Turface and Oil-Dri for years before starting to use pumice and akadama. Some have had good results with Turface and deciduous trees—I had fairly good results with deciduous while using […]