Acadama earth
Akadama earth ( Japanese 赤 玉 土 , Akadamatsuchi , dt. "Red balls earth") is a one or more dried purely mineral granulate without organic components. It is extracted from volcanic ash clay from the Japanese Kantō region.
Akadama is slightly acidic with a pH value of 5 to 6, can store water due to its porosity and has a high air permeability due to its coarse grain, as space remains between the granulate particles. Akadama is available in two quality levels: “hard quality” ( 硬 質 , kōshitsu ) made from clay fired at 600 to 900 ° C and “high quality” ( 上 質 , jōshitsu ) that is not burned . The former is used for bonsai and the latter for cut flowers.
The disadvantage of using unfired Akada soil for bonsai is that it disintegrates into clay when exposed to frost, which in turn is largely impermeable to water. This behavior can damage bonsai or even fail, which is why professional bonsai designers use other - frost-proof - mineral substrates such as pumice, lava, zeolite, expanded clay, broken bricks and similar granulates.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b 赤 玉 土 （あ か だ ま つ ち） . In: ガ ー デ ニ ン グ ・ フ ラ ワ ー . Retrieved May 23, 2011 (Japanese).
- ↑ a b c 赤 玉 土 、 硬 質 赤 玉 土 、 焼 き 赤 玉 土 と は？ 使 い 方 や 鹿 沼 土 と の 違 い は？ . In: horti. Retrieved April 20, 2016 (Japanese).
- ^ Colin Lewis: Mineral Components . In: Colin Lewis Bonsai Art . August. Retrieved May 25, 2016.