BCSS - Forum

I thought that about Brexit too.. Anyway, let me know what you find Chris. I luckily have a bag in stock, and a lot of cat litter!

BryanW wrote:

chris25 wrote: In which case, can anyone recommend an alternative source of suitable pumice?!

Chris

I had to resort to Bonsai pumice Chris, I couldn't collect from Surrey and eventually purchased from a seller on ebay named 'tannashad' - they were the only ones selling 16ltr bags with delivery by UPS included in the price. When my Son riddled it using grading screens I ended up with 3 sizes of grain, I ended up with around 11Ltr 3-4mm which i used for the potting mix, 5.5Ltr larger grain (5-6mm for top dressing) and around 0.5ltr of 2-3mm grain. It did have minor dust content and had to be riddled in the open air.

I've taken the same route, Bryan, except I bought from Kaizen, whom I have dealt with before. There seems little difference in price. Riddling it seems like a good idea but I'm probably too lazy. In any case, I have some fine pumice already, from Bob Potter, for use with small plants/pots, and the mixed sizes in the Kaizen stuff seems OK for most of the larger plants. Cat litter is the obvious alternative, and I do use it for rooting cuttings, etc. but I'm not sure about the colour. I fear I may be getting a bit obsessive about all this!



Chris

I know what you mean by obsessive Chris I've become much the same.
Before I got into succulents all I had to buy was JI#1 & JI#3 mixes with a bag of perlite thrown in.
Now I've got cornish grit, coarse grit, 2 types of pumice, JI1,2,& 3, coconut coir, charcoal, distilled water, a PH tester, a larger electric bill, more square pots than I care to mention and I still need moss peat and cat litter. Oh and last but not least - more room to put my incoming plants

Oh dear. Now I'm feeling under-equipped.
Having seen quite a few cacti and succulents in habitat, growing in dirt, I sometimes wonder if we over-complicate things!

yes, there really is no need to complicate things. Other than for seed raising, all that I use for all the plants that I grow are bags of good quality John Innes No 3 and coarse grit. The proportions can just be adjusted for the requirements of different species.

I tend to over complicate things, unfortunately it's an illness.