My Proven Soil Mix for Bonsai | Bonsai Heirloom

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 sandy loam
- 1 part peat moss
- 1 part perlite
- 1/2 part vermiculite

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[annadam]

I really needed to hear your last comments. As a beginner bonsai enthusiast, I struggle to form my trees as I feel like I'm expected to. I have a couple of trees that aren't standard shapes but I just like them the way they are. I love that you say they are my art. Thank you. And I have enormous stress at this stage in life so your comment about that was taken to heart. Thank you again.

[kuniphertze]

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.

[liamrymer]

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.

[MrPESensation]

Thank you Mr. Chang for the making of this video. Your information is truly blessed and received. I'm Hispanic by race BUT a Japanese Maple / Garden lover by heart.

[wildwill]

Wow, don't worry too much about the form of the tree ! It's art I love that advice!

[jjz]

Thank you for a recipe that works and is accessible/affordable to majority of the community. As you probably heard, majority of the bonsai youtubers will always recommend akadama. But it's expensive and not accessible to everyone. It's now portrayed that if you want to look like a cool experienced bonsai master, you must use akadama. I was misled by these youtubers when I first started bonsai. I now use recipe like yours with great success, at least for here in the USA.

[maxbabb]

Thank you Mr Chang from someone who’s journey has only just begun…

[TheStBlaine]

5:25 this is the best advise ever. I do mostly clip and grow technique, and this is perfect.

[erwanherve]

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.

[jeffhurst]

Just found your YouTube channel a few weeks ago. Lots of excellent and sensible aspects and approaches to Bonsai. Instead of the pricy soil ingredients, especially with todays prices, your soil mix ingredients won’t break our meager funds we have available. Getting/finding the sandy loam will be a mission for the next week or two. Thank you.

[ardenyambao]

Hi Milton, thanks for this video (and all the others you put out). I live in the Bay Area (East Bay Area) and will be using your soil recipes when I start to repot my trees. I’m new to bonsai and this answers a lot of questions I’ve had with trying to figure out what soil mix to use. Your soil recipes are proven for this area and seems to be the best combo for moisture retention and drainage for the Bay Area. Videos like this really help shorten the learning curve for new folks getting into the hobby. Appreciate it!

[ralphlindy]

Thank you for the information. This is the second year of my bonsai journey and still working on a good soil mix. Appreciate the help.

[anthonyqicuk]

From North Carolina I learned a lot watching your videos

[Hollylivengood]

I love this. I'll be re-potting this spring, some collected trees, and it's good to learn this mix. Planning three months ahead used to be a long time to me, but that's another benefit of bonsai, learning to live a lot of life in your head BEFORE you live it around innocent bystanders.

[fish]

oh, wonderful . Thank you so much for sharing . I can relate, as i to am thankful for my bonsai during stressful times .

[wahinenuiloa]

Thank you, Mr. Chang. Your videos are very informative. Great to hear the advice from someone like yourself who has been creating bonsai for so many years.

[raton_garden]

Hare Krishna. Wow so beautiful planting. Good share
🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉

[RLIUI]

Wonderful post! I love my trees and want to make sure they receive as much gratitude and pleasure as I receive from their caretaking; I know it shows when its done right. (per your examples).

[brendan]

Professional soil mix! It's a smidge better than what I found, and I've been mixing for over 20 years.

[karterfoster]

I was going to ask on the last video for something like this. Excited to see what knowledge you have to share.