In our local Bonsai group the experts have recipes for soil that uses pine bark. With orchids we use fir bark (I read on the west coast people use redwood bark?); some people use cork bark.
Anyway, I wonder if there is a better bark to use than another for particular plants? Is it preference, availability, or something one type of plants needs that is found in a specific bark like a trace element or some microbial that prefers one over another? All barks of course must be aged/composted so they don't rob nitrogen, but outside of that I have no idea what one would bring to the party over another.
I use different things in my mixes for structure, aeration, & water retention depending on the needs of the plant and the type of container. In the ground I generally just use compost but I'm curious about potted/containerized improvements and if one bark would be better than another. I've always looked at bark as just a carbon source that retains some water, aerates, and benefits microbes as part of a food source. I certainly don't want to complicate my gardening but if types of plants do better with one bark over another it might be an excuse to experiment a little.
Any thoughts?
