In a more urban setting, the Lan Su Chinese Garden in downtown Portland is among the state’s most beautiful gardens (and is often considered the most authentic Chinese garden outside of China). Here you will see many species of flowers and plants, including beautifully formed bonsai in shallow pots.

So what do massive boulders of volcanic basalt have to do with delicately shaped bonsai plants?

Unlike trees with roots in the ground, bonsai depend on a relatively small amount of potting soil from which to draw essential minerals and nutrients. Factor in a frequent watering schedule, and the soil in a bonsai pot can quickly become depleted.

That’s where volcanic basalt comes in. Rich in calcium, iron and magnesium, basalt breaks down readily in soil and is available to plant roots when they need it. Adding finely ground basalt powder to bonsai is like giving them a long lasting source of natural minerals, which in turn improves their root systems and benefits their overall health and beauty.

Growing and shaping a bonsai takes dedication and patience. In many cultures, it is considered to be one of the highest forms of art and bonsai are babied into maturity (some bonsai can live for hundreds of years!). For good reason, bonsai experts avoid harsh chemicals and synthetics and rely instead on all-natural products including volcanic rock dust made of basalt.

This is what one bonsai grower experienced using our all-natural Cascade Minerals Remineralizing Soil Booster:

“The leaves on my six-year-old upright Cotoneaster bonsai tree looked so unhealthy that I thought it was dying. My guess was that the tree was lacking important trace elements in its largely inorganic soil. I thought volcanic rock dust might provide the valuable nutrients it needed so I scratched Cascade Minerals Remineralizing Soil Booster into the surface around the tree. It perked up very quickly and soon it actually flowered – something that had not happened in years. Today, the tree is healthy and gets many compliments.”

Ready to give bonsai a try? Don’t forget the basalt!

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