Michel Sacal (France)
For several years I use draining substrates: mainly akadama but also pumice, pouzzolan, 'terra rossa' (from Etna volcano, Italy), bark compost and blond peat of Chile. I always got satisfaction with most of these substrates since I have no bonsai diseases.

On the other hand, problems occur with akadama which cleaves in time. In spite of I use extra hard quality which I keep drying 3 years before using it. I use chabasai for more than 2 years. My first tests were with bonsai seedlings, later I extended the use of chabasai to all my bonsai trees. For conifers and leaved trees I add 30 to 50% of pouzzolan.

chabasai is becoming my "universal" substrate. For sure I will continue to use chabasai and recommend it !
(Picture: hawthorn bonsai)
Bonsai club of Nantes (France)
chabasai? I use it pure, also for leaved bonsai trees (I adore maples). Today I can say: "don't worry, let's go".

At Nantes Bonsai Club, chabasai is just the "only authorised" substrate for our bonsai cultivation. We use this mineral for 15 years, we started with homeopathic doses but today we don't hesitate anymore.
Walter Pall (Germany)
In spring of 2007 I have recieved several bags of Chabasai, the new bonsai substrate from France to test it.

Now, after one vegetation period I have the first results. In my garden I repot around 300 or more high quality bonsai every year.

I have extensive experience with all sorts of substrate since many years: soft akadama, hard akadama, pumice, lava split, baked clay and many other similar products. So I should be in a position to judge the usability of chabasai, which is on the basis of zéolithe. I must add, that I have not done a real scientific test, but only a practical one. I have potted 20 bonsai in this substrate, 10 conifers and 10 deciduous trees. As with all such substrates I have added 10 to 15 % of rough peat.

Six months later I can say that all trees survived and all trees are in good to very good condition. Compared to trees planted in baked clay, lava split or pumice they look just as healthy or better. I do not use akadama as it decomposes and is way too expensive.

At the moment my feeling is that I would use Chabasai for all my bonsai if I had it available here. Maybe a mixture with other substrates could be helpful.

I prefer Chabasai any time over akadama.

Walter Pall, October 2007