Bonsai JackUniversal Organic Bonsai Soil Mix #221, 2 Gallons

Ordered many time. Just what I needed for my plants!

The bonsai Jack with organic material drains, drains, drains. I use it straight for cactus and succulents that are sensitive to being wet for more than a nano second. I mix it with succulent soil and perlite for the rest….1/3 each. The silver chopstick they send in my two pound order the best thing for cleaning roots and tucking them in when planting.

Well, it’s not really soil but that’s a good thing!Consisting of pumice, lava rock and bark this soil has a surprisingly small amount of dust which is awesome. I still sifted it but was pleasantly surprised with how little dust I ended up with.There are a few unwanted bits and pieces in the mix such as tan bark and what I’m guessing is a wire of some sort (see photos).They throw in a metal chopstick to help with repotting too! Nice touch.All in all I’m very pleased with my purchase! After adding some akadama and peat moss I’m going to have a quality mix for my bonsais!

Mix with other gritty mix cactus soil to help your succulent grow

Okay, so I start with this bonsai hobby nonsense. It soon begins to consume my life. The thing that you don’t get warned about, however, is that NO ONE in the entire world (and, I would imagine, other worlds) agrees on ANYTHING regarding bonsai. Ever. “Experts” will even disagree with themselves. In the same book. Maybe not on the same page, but turn a few and you’ll see it.So. What does one do? Turn to our beloved books and learn a little horticulture. Now, like every realm of science, ever, it changes constantly. That book that was published yesterday is already out-of-date. But, not really in a life or death of your bonsai kinda way, so you’re both gonna be fine (I tell myself).I began by studying substrate. My poor Ficus salicaria (which might be the current name for it) was terribly root-bound. So a repotting was in order! I think! (Still not quite sure... those “experts”, you know...) And a substrate was needed! I think! (For fun, but not accuracy, substrate will be our word for soil in this here review because this bag I bought contains substrate, not soil, even though I believe they call it soil, so...) According to the horticultural science stuff I found in books and the internet (all of which is suspect), substrate needs the following qualities: a lot of pore space for air and water to flow through, a high water-holding ability (along with good drainage, which sounds like a paradox, doesn’t it?) and an ability to store some elements and minerals until your bonsai needs them. Being completely unhelpful, my sources failed to identify an ideal mix, or better yet, a brand name. Turns out they weren’t corporate shills out to make money off of me! But, please! Take my money!! Seriously, I have pages and pages of notes on substrate and potential substrate components. When I was done, all that I was sure of was the following: organic pine bark—GOOD. oven-fired calcined clays—ALSO GOOD. (Literally, at the end of my notes, this is what it says.)This stuff has BOTH of my things I apparently decided are good! Yay! And, I forgot to mention, stability of your substrate needs to be good. So, that tends to mean more inorganic than organic components as organics break down quicker. This stuff has more inorganic than organic, too! Yay! It all seemed to fall together. And I had been planning on mixing my own substrate and just sort of guessing how much of which component I needed, until I had killed my fiftieth bonsai and then figured it out. (Also, mixing your own stuff? Super expensive. Especially when you’re in the experimental phase of mixing.) I ordered the smallest bag, I believe, as I didn’t want to keep a bunch of it around until my next repotting. But! I didn’t need it all, though the pot feels incredibly light. Filled my pot to the rim and there’s more than half left. It is just kinda... sitting there... sometimes I shovel it around for fun... but it’s not really sandy enough to be fun. Not dusty, either! Yay! That’s a good thing. Doesn’t clog the pores.Now, onward and upward to the kingdom of fertilizer! You’re supposed to wait a few weeks after repotting, right? “Yes!” “No!” “It depends!” On what? “Everything in the world! Ever!” Oh. Okay. I should start the research then.

I use this for about a dozen plants of various types (ficus, jade, fukien tea tree) and all have been doing well. I'd recommend doing a full soak initially (submerge pot in water) to hydrate and have everything settle. Watering depends on a number of factors, but I usually do tropicals every 4 days or so and succulents every 6-7 days). You'll want to dilute fertilizer in this mix too, full strength may harm roots. It's a tad pricey but worth it in my experience.

Bonsai Jacks is the best soil for succulents that like an arid rocky environment. I have found that for succulents with thick leaves this soil is perfect. Since some succulents have very shallow roots but longer stems, like some graptosedums, it can be hard to keep the plants from falling out of the pot until they have grown enough new roots to hold onto the soil. To keep them in the pot I put a few river rocks around the base of the stems to help hold them in place. The rocks can be removed later if wanted. This soil is so good for succulents because water drains through it very fast and by pooring off the overflow the plant does not sit in water which would cause root rot. There is just enough tiny pieces of pine bark and asorptive rock in the mix to hold the little bit of moisture the plant needs. The pine bark also adds a bit of acidity to the climate that the plants prefere.

My fukien tea tree seems to love this stuff. The repotting went very well.

Great for succulents! Came with a useful chopstick :) Would buy again.

Having used the product the last 2 years I am confident in recommending the mix. My bonsai are doing great. I have also used the mix on seedlings with good growth results.

Amazing product. Exactly what I was looking for. Bonus gift inside for packing down soil into the pots, so awesome! Will definitely be ordering from Bonsai Jack again!

Great media for bonsai! My plant is still alive and well.

Just replanted my 26 year Ficus Bonsai. I am praying this will bring it back healthier. Emotional attachment to this plant.