I'm in Cork and have a Zelkova I'm trying not to kill. Also it's not just a Zelkova - it's an M & S Zelkova, ( it was in poor quality, compacted soil and the leaves were turning yellow and some, reddish, in spite of plenty of light, a humidity tray and careful attempts made by me to water it right . ) So having read the article on cat litter I went and made the same mistake as Richard Gomm on another thread and bought Tesco Premium Cat Litter ( before reading his admonishment ). I carefully cleaned and trimmed the roots and had it potted it in that stuff before I realised it was breaking up when pressed down and turning mushy. It doesn't say 'Lightweight' on the pack but other than that the pack looks the same as the picture of the stuff recommended in the article. ( White pack, exactly the same cat! )
There are 2 own brand choices available in the Tesco here - Tesco Premium Cat Litter - Natural Clay, ( the one that turns mushy ) and Tesco Value Lightweight Cat Litter. Does anyone know if the other one is suitable?
I'd just order some of the recommended Akadama stuff online and be done with it, but the tree as it is now, would be dead by the time it arrived by the sound of the warning against the mushy stuff given on the other thread.
I guess I could put it back into its bad compost for now if that would be better but I don't want to annoy it further - it's probably already quite pissed off at me.
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indigociar
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In today's market, especially in the States, it's difficult to find your run-of-the-mill, no frills cat litter. What you want is something that doesn't clump, doesn't have any dyes, and doesn't have any perfumes. In other words, you want a pure clay cat litter. It may be easier to find clay in pebbled form in garden centers/nurseries.
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Kenshin14435
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Even though I haven't read the other thread on cat litter, I must agree with kdodds here. I own 3 cats and it can be a pain in da ya' know what.
so we have looked ALL over the place for the right cat litter. 95 percent of todays cat litter is a clumpaqble kind, 40-50 percent is perfumed, and 70-80 percent has some kind of dyed rock in it. Now I know a guy who takes out the dyed rock by hand(personally I think this is insane)and he uses it in his garden outside. don't ask me why 'cause I have no idea. You could do what this guy does or you can do what kdodds says and go buy some clay pebbles. In one of the books I'm reading, it says that you should always have some kind of clay in your soil. It helps absorb water for later so your tree can have water that is stored in the clay. It's kinda like a time release but all natural.
Hope this was helpful.
Ken
so we have looked ALL over the place for the right cat litter. 95 percent of todays cat litter is a clumpaqble kind, 40-50 percent is perfumed, and 70-80 percent has some kind of dyed rock in it. Now I know a guy who takes out the dyed rock by hand(personally I think this is insane)and he uses it in his garden outside. don't ask me why 'cause I have no idea. You could do what this guy does or you can do what kdodds says and go buy some clay pebbles. In one of the books I'm reading, it says that you should always have some kind of clay in your soil. It helps absorb water for later so your tree can have water that is stored in the clay. It's kinda like a time release but all natural.
Hope this was helpful.
Ken
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Gnome
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indigociar,
Never having used litter myself I can only suggest that you follow the authors suggestions to the letter. If you chose a differently labeled product initially try the suggested one.
[url]https://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basicscatlitter.htm[/url]
Since time is of the essence I don't suppose you want to go looking for other sources for soil components but perhaps you can locate a bag of ready-mixed bonsai soil if you call around.
Norm
Never having used litter myself I can only suggest that you follow the authors suggestions to the letter. If you chose a differently labeled product initially try the suggested one.
[url]https://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basicscatlitter.htm[/url]
Since time is of the essence I don't suppose you want to go looking for other sources for soil components but perhaps you can locate a bag of ready-mixed bonsai soil if you call around.
Norm
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Kenshin14435
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indigociar
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Thanks for everyone's advice.
I couldn't find diatomaceous earth particles for oil spills, but I located Sophisticat Pink ( according to the article thats the same stuff as the Tesco Premium Lightweight available in the U.K. ) in a pet store in Donegal. They are sending it down to me but said it will take 6 days.
So I took the Zelkova back up out of the horrid muck and had to clean the roots again, and I put it temporarily back into what is now more like half a pot of compost, and put it back in its humidity tray under the window. I did Reiki on it too ( another Japanese thing I'm into! )
I hope I haven't killed it and that it can wait a week to be properly repotted.
At least I'll have the right stuff for any further trees. I DO think a footnote should be added in the article about that Tesco stuff, as, like I said - the pack myself and another poster from Ireland bought is almost exactly the same as the one in the picture.
For anyone in Ireland who is looking for the right cat litter, the name of a place that sells Sophisticat Pink is The Big Big Pet Shop online store.
I couldn't find diatomaceous earth particles for oil spills, but I located Sophisticat Pink ( according to the article thats the same stuff as the Tesco Premium Lightweight available in the U.K. ) in a pet store in Donegal. They are sending it down to me but said it will take 6 days.
So I took the Zelkova back up out of the horrid muck and had to clean the roots again, and I put it temporarily back into what is now more like half a pot of compost, and put it back in its humidity tray under the window. I did Reiki on it too ( another Japanese thing I'm into! )
I hope I haven't killed it and that it can wait a week to be properly repotted.
At least I'll have the right stuff for any further trees. I DO think a footnote should be added in the article about that Tesco stuff, as, like I said - the pack myself and another poster from Ireland bought is almost exactly the same as the one in the picture.
For anyone in Ireland who is looking for the right cat litter, the name of a place that sells Sophisticat Pink is The Big Big Pet Shop online store.