Choosing Perlite

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brp7

Sapling
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Hello,

Today when I went to buy perlite, the shop owner offered me a packet which has only three-quarters the price of the ones I bought earlier. This one is heavier, has less volume for the same weight, the granules are bigger, and looks off-white in color.

Has anybody used one like the above? Would it be of the same quality as the pure white, lighter granules?

Thanks
 
brp7 said:
Hello,

Today when I went to buy perlite, the shop owner offered me a packet which has only three-quarters the price of the ones I bought earlier. This one is heavier, has less volume for the same weight, the granules are bigger, and looks off-white in color.

Has anybody used one like the above? Would it be of the same quality as the pure white, lighter granules?

Thanks
Click to expand...
You don't perhaps have the name of the packet he offered you, difficult to know what it is based on "off-white" colouring, could be anything from gravel to pumice. In my experience pumice tends to be more expensive though than perlite. Just a fyi which may lead to people disagreeing, but more and more i am learning that perlite might not be the best option for bonsai, it is extremely light, resulting in not adding much weight to already small trees which more often than not, results in the tree being blown over. And it also gets washed away from proper water flushes. But yes, i use it myself for the cheaper seedling/saplings for the initial growth...but this is mostly because of the cost associated
 
eugenev2 said:
You don't perhaps have the name of the packet he offered you, difficult to know what it is based on "off-white" colouring, could be anything from gravel to pumice. In my experience pumice tends to be more expensive though than perlite. Just a fyi which may lead to people disagreeing, but more and more i am learning that perlite might not be the best option for bonsai, it is extremely light, resulting in not adding much weight to already small trees which more often than not, results in the tree being blown over. And it also gets washed away from proper water flushes. But yes, i use it myself for the cheaper seedling/saplings for the initial growth...but this is mostly because of the cost associated
Click to expand...
The packet does not have any label. I bought one packet to put on the top layer of soil with perlite mixed with soil underneath it. I thought I would take it to the usual shop where I get perlite and ask them. I would just take a snap tomorrow and add it here and probably you could identify it.
 
brp7 said:
The packet does not have any label. I bought one packet to put on the top layer of soil with perlite mixed with soil underneath it. I thought I would take it to the usual shop where I get perlite and ask them. I would just take a snap tomorrow and add it here and probably you could identify it.
Click to expand...
check to see if it floats easily

Rinse some of it thoroughly and check to see if it has visible pores.
 
In the USA perlite is made from obsidian with a very high water content. The obsidian is quarried and then flash heated, under heat the water expands, like pop corn, and the resulting particles are perlite. Pumice is volcanic glass with high entrainment of gas and air. Chemically, obsidian, perlite and pumice are pretty much identical, the difference is the amount of gas bubbles that were trapped in the particle when it was liquid. For pumice, it was liquid while being ejected from the volcano. For perlite, it is the industrial process where they apply heat to high water content obsidian. Chemically for horticulture purposes Perlite and pumice are pretty much inert, the main difference is weight per cubic meter. Perlite has much more air entrained, so its is much less dense, it will be lighter per cubic meter.

For most uses they are interchangeable. In a shallow bonsai pot, pumice will hold a tree in place, perlite will be too light to hold a tree stable in a shallow pot. In large pots for growing out young trees in training, perlite is preferred because it is lighter, making the pot easier for the grower to pick up and move around when necessary.
 
Leo in N E Illinois said:
In the USA perlite is made from obsidian with a very high water content. The obsidian is quarried and then flash heated, under heat the water expands, like pop corn, and the resulting particles are perlite. Pumice is volcanic glass with high entrainment of gas and air. Chemically, obsidian, perlite and pumice are pretty much identical, the difference is the amount of gas bubbles that were trapped in the particle when it was liquid. For pumice, it was liquid while being ejected from the volcano. For perlite, it is the industrial process where they apply heat to high water content obsidian. Chemically for horticulture purposes Perlite and pumice are pretty much inert, the main difference is weight per cubic meter. Perlite has much more air entrained, so its is much less dense, it will be lighter per cubic meter.

For most uses they are interchangeable. In a shallow bonsai pot, pumice will hold a tree in place, perlite will be too light to hold a tree stable in a shallow pot. In large pots for growing out young trees in training, perlite is preferred because it is lighter, making the pot easier for the grower to pick up and move around when necessary.
Click to expand...
and the price point for sure, perlite being substantially cheaper (and hence the go to for nursery can mixes)
 
eugenev2 said:
You don't perhaps have the name of the packet he offered you, difficult to know what it is based on "off-white" colouring, could be anything from gravel to pumice. In my experience pumice tends to be more expensive though than perlite. Just a fyi which may lead to people disagreeing, but more and more i am learning that perlite might not be the best option for bonsai, it is extremely light, resulting in not adding much weight to already small trees which more often than not, results in the tree being blown over. And it also gets washed away from proper water flushes. But yes, i use it myself for the cheaper seedling/saplings for the initial growth...but this is mostly because of the cost associated
Click to expand...
I am adding the picture of that packet. The pieces are an average of 1 centimeter in length (some are 3/4 cm and some more than a centimeter) and can be easily broken with fingers. The usual shop owner where I buy Perlite told me neither he knows what it is nor has seen such ones.
IMG_20231011_114015.jpgIMG_20231011_114021.jpg IMG_20231011_114015.jpgIMG_20231011_114021.jpg
 
Leo in N E Illinois said:
In the USA perlite is made from obsidian with a very high water content. The obsidian is quarried and then flash heated, under heat the water expands, like pop corn, and the resulting particles are perlite. Pumice is volcanic glass with high entrainment of gas and air. Chemically, obsidian, perlite and pumice are pretty much identical, the difference is the amount of gas bubbles that were trapped in the particle when it was liquid. For pumice, it was liquid while being ejected from the volcano. For perlite, it is the industrial process where they apply heat to high water content obsidian. Chemically for horticulture purposes Perlite and pumice are pretty much inert, the main difference is weight per cubic meter. Perlite has much more air entrained, so its is much less dense, it will be lighter per cubic meter.

For most uses they are interchangeable. In a shallow bonsai pot, pumice will hold a tree in place, perlite will be too light to hold a tree stable in a shallow pot. In large pots for growing out young trees in training, perlite is preferred because it is lighter, making the pot easier for the grower to pick up and move around when necessary.
Click to expand...
Nice to have a scientist around! Leo always amazes me. Thanks Leo!
 
seems like a very light pumice, not a perlite. Perlite will tend to not have jagged edges and be rounder. I have ordered pumice from superfly (not easy to break with fingers), the 'gantessa stone' brand (easy to break with fingers), and Tank's (not easy to break with fingers) so the density can vary.
 
i didnt know that DE was commonly available that chunky, after searching online, yes it does look like it. No visible pores or craters
 
Baku1875 said:
i didnt know that DE was commonly available that chunky, after searching online, yes it does look like it. No visible pores or craters
Click to expand...
What the hey...could you post a link of where u saw DE that looked like OP material pls. TU
 
Hi all,

Is it worth buying DE - as far as the nutrients are concerned - and mixing it with Perlite or should I go for Perlite? The price I paid for a Kg of this is equivalent to a dollar and I buy Perlite for 1.5$ per Kg.
 
August44 said:
Thanks for posting the links. That etsy product is $36.00 per gallon and the Walmart one is $28.99 per gallon. I don't know the particle size. That seems like a lot of money. Can't you buy akadama for a bit more maybe?
Click to expand...
The NAPA product is about $12 for a bag that would about fill a 5 gallon bucket. The downside is particle size and quality is hit or miss. I still have a few bags I got a couple years ago that were part of a very nice pallet that was about 60-70% usable for bonsai and I just mix the fines into my garden.
 
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