Hey everyone,
First off yes I’m aware Pumice is the go to 
. I’m curious what people’s opinions are on using perlite for initial collection for yamadori. I used it on a birch that I collected this year and it grew very well for the rest of the season. I’m curious if you’ve used it and what you think the pros and cons are. Pumice isn’t always the easiest to aquire and/or most affordable solution depending where you’re located.
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I try to use pumice as much as possible because it’s redily available here. When I repot I always save The inorganic soil rise it and heat sterilize it in my fire pit . This well draining mix works very well for collected trees . I’m sure perelite will work but it’s so light I don’t feel like the trees anchored down in it .
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Great that you’ve had success. I’ve heard in the past that perlite was originally created as an artificial pumice and basically acts the same horticulturally. The only downside is that it tends to float when it’s dry.
I don’t have a ton of experience though, as pumice is readily available in my area.
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I will substitute expanded shale or haydite for pumice when its not locally available. The cost is about the same 40lb bag is around 12-16 USD. The properties are very nearly identical with pumice holding slightly more oxygen as it has more macro porosity within the aggregate itself. Honestly, I like the color better than pumice as substrate mixes just look better without the bright white sparkling on the surface. I’ve never used perlite for the reasons already mentioned.
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Why cant somebody make coloured perlite:raised_hands:
I buy the bulk 100litre bags for £20! Yes its ugly, dusty and light but it’s cheap full of air and reflects light(until it’s green) probably the cheapest way to add oxygen to a planting mix.
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Personally the only thing I haven’t liked about it is it seems to hold a little less water then I would suspect pumice would. And yeah it does get annoying when its dry, tends to blow away easily etc. One of the reasons I asked is I’m going on my first guided yamadori hunt up north in Maine in a couple months and I’m expecting to collect and handful of larch and spruce at the very least. I realized I’m going to need a fair amount of medium to pot them into so I’ve been hunting for a somewhat reasonably priced medium. I happened to find a brand of pumice that the local Hydroponic store sells called Mother Earth Volcanite Pumice. It’s about $14 for a 1cuft bag! Way more economical then some of the stuff US bonsai retailers sell. I should be picking up a few bags tomorrow so I can upload a pic if anyone is interested. Interesting points by all, thanks for the input!
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For larger trees in larger boxes I prefer to use a higher percentage of perlite to keep the weight (and cost) down, though the top cm would be pumice to stop it blowing away (also I hate the look of perlite).
For all but the large trees, my mix may vary. The more impressive collected material or trees with fewer fine roots than I’d like would get priority to the higher percentages of pumice. Otherwise I cut pumice with some cat litter (molar clay) to keep the cost down a bit and some handfuls of composted bark.
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I’ve been mixing perlite with diatomaceous earth (bought as Floor Dry, an oil absorbant from Napa auto) with success. They’re both easier and cheaper to get, and the lighter weight makes moving the bigger plants easier. The only downside is that there’s a lot more fines once you sift everything.
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I’ve been experimenting with that same diatomaceous earth product in my actual bonsai mix. so far I like it! I agree lots of fines, but when it’s that cheap you can’t complain too much
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