Is Akadama Worth Buying For Bonsai?

Akadama is a soil component that is used in Japan and it is very highly spoken of in the bonsai world, but as it’s only found in Japan it has to be imported to other countries …which means it can be pretty expensive at times.   

This leads many people to wonder if it is worth paying the extra to get this soil. The truth is it can certainly be worth it, but it is always important to remember that it is not the way you can do things.

You will get great results with akadama, but you can use plenty of other components that can rival it.    

Why Is Akadama Worth It?

If you speak to anyone who uses akadama they will all say it is absolutely worth getting, so let’s look at some reasons why this might be the case.

Akadama Is Used By Bonsai Professionals

You will hear a lot of people say “akadama is the best” which is fair enough but when you actually take a step back and look at what people are doing …especially the professionals  …they are actually using akadama.

Akadama is popular in Japan and pretty much used by everyone there, which is not surprising as it is readily available, but when you see professionals around the world also using it you have to take note of that.

It is clearly offering something that anything local cannot. As much as I want to say “they are just copying the Japanese” I don’t think it is. These guys are well trained and even if that training took place in Japan, they can clearly see something in akadama that isn’t found elsewhere. I think if there was, they would be using it.     

Akadama Holds Water

As a soil component, akadama will hold water which is exactly what we want.

We want our soil to be balanced and just remain damp. We don’t want it to hold too much water and we don’t want it to be drying out extremely quickly and akadama offers this balance.

The amount of water it holds is really ideal and this is why it can make such a good soil for trees in shallow pots. These types of pots can be hard to work with as their shallow nature makes them dry out very quickly. However, akadama can be the perfect soil for this situation and allows us to keep the water content balanced. 

Akadama Allows is Good for Aeration

Akadama will also offer you great aeration. If you look at akadama it just looks like little stones, or lumps of clay. This means that when you put it into a pot there will be little air gaps between all the particles.

This is exactly what we want in our bonsai soil. All these little gaps allow for air to be in the soil that can be used up by the tree.

When we water the pot the water will flush through using these gaps and will drag oxygen in behind it keeping the soil both wet and full of air …which can result in very healthy and happy trees.

Akadama Is Soft Enough To Break Down

As akadama is a clay, it is actually soft enough to break down. This may sound like a bad thing, but it’s not. The clay is porous enough that roots can start to grow into it. Again this sounds bad, but it is not.

As the roots swell inside the akadama, it causes both the clay and the root to break …which isn’t bad. This is actually great as it allows the roots to split and divide when this happens.

Normally to achieve this you would need to trim the roots with scissors, which you can really only do when you repot. Using akadama will allow this to happen naturally throughout the growing season and it will result in you having a very fine and dense root ball which is full of roots that have multiple divisions.

This is exactly the type of root ball you want from your bonsai and while other soils can get you similar results, you will always get the best results with akadama. 

Akadama Is A Good Particle Size

When you look at the akadama is it actually a great size for bonsai soil.

You can of course get different sizes and you can even sift it yourself if you want to separate it into different particle sizes to fit your needs, but in general the particle size of akadama is very every desirable and will suit all your needs.

You Can Use Just Akadama On Its Own

Akadama is also a component you can use on its own. You can add it to a mix, but if you wanted to just use 100% akadama this would be totally fine and work equally as well as a soil.

A lot of other components we use in a soil mix would not really be suitable enough to use on their own in this same way, so this really shows the versatility of akadama as a soil medium.

Akadama Looks Good

I think I should also mention that akadama is aesthetically pleasing. It works well with bonsai. It looks the right size and colour and just looks very natural in a bonsai pot.

This isn’t really the most important thing, but bonsai is an art, so we should not forget about it. A lot of the artist side of things revolve around keeping things look natural and balanced and akadama can certainly help achieve this.

Why Is Akadama Not Worth It?

While there are plenty good reasons to use akadama, it is not perfect and for some people, this makes them believe that it is not worth it and I will now go through some of those reasons why.

Akadama Is Expensive

As akadama needs to be imported from Japan and it can end up being quite expensive. Some people just think that akadama is not worth it financially and I have thought this myself too.

When you look at the bigger picture, akadama isn’t too expensive, but when you start to compare it with other options it can just seem like an illogical purchase. I have generally found that it is about twice the price of similar alternatives and then to worsen the deal, you get half as much product.

If you have a lot of trees or just need a lot of soil, this can really make akadama a less appealing option. 

Akadama Is Not Readily Available

Due to akadama being imported and also being quite a niche product, it is not as readily available as some other options.

A lot of us are going to find it difficult to find it in person. I really don’t think I could go out and buy it, certainly not locally. I think I would have to travel quite far to get some and even then I don’t think I would find it.

However, you can buy it online. This does make things easier but you then have to deal with waiting for your delivery, shipping costs and also just taking the risk of buying from the website you might not know if you can trust.

For some people that’s too annoying. They want to see the akadama, see what it looks like and check the particle size and the weight of the bag. It is just something they would rather buy in person.

I think in today’s world we are all pretty used to buying stuff online, so I think these people are in the vast minority but if you feel this way, that is totally understandable and it is reason why some people don’t think akadama is worth it, it’s just easier to get something else down at the local hardware shop.

Akadama Will Break Down Over Time

When it comes to actually using akadama, it will break down over time.

This is a good thing as it can help with the root development, but this is only up until a certain point where it will break down too much and basically it becomes mush and is no longer an effective soil.

How quickly it breaks down will really depend on your weather (freezing and thawing) and how aggressively your roots are growing but on average it is about 2 years. This is plenty of time and you may be repotting your tree anyway at this point, so it is not really a huge concern that the soil breaks down.

This does make its price more relevant though, as you can use components that will not break down, which are cheaper. So, paying more for something that will break down isn’t always as appealing as the cheaper, more robust alternatives. 

(You can read more about – Can You Reuse Bonsai Soil?)

There Are Plenty Of Other Soil Options

You have to remember that while akadama is great, it is not the only option. There are plenty of other things you can use for soil and get equally as good results.

When you start taking everything above into consideration and compare akadama with these other alternatives, you may think these are the better option for you. 

You can find readily available products such as molar clay, which are much cheaper, longer lasting and do a very similar job when compared to akadama.

It is down to you to add everything up and decide what is best for you, and a lot of people just don’t think akadama is worth it.

Conclusion

Hopefully now you can see why akadama may be worth using, but also why it may not be.

Really only you can decide if it is going to be right for your trees or not. You have to weigh everything up and make your choice, but either way, you have to remember that it is not the only option.

If you are unsure what to do, try akadama and try a few other soils and see what works best for you and what you feel is right. There is no right or wrong …just what you feel works for you and your trees.

(You can read more about – A General Guide To Bonsai Soil)