Would perlite sub for pumice okay?

[Mike Corazzi]

Goal is to get a pot a LOT lighter. All lava now. I know pumice can sub for some of the lava, but was considering perlite.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

No.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

okay....just a thought

 

[Bonsai Nut]

...and pumice isn't a ton lighter than lava rock. Yes it is lighter, but not by much.

 

[A. Gorilla]

I've yet to find a plant which expressed any apparent dislike for it. When sifted, it's coarse, round, drainy and quite lovely for roots. Big box brands are very fine and you lose like half to sifting. Good stuff for hydroponics is less wasteful.

But for us humans, sifting creates a hazardous cloud of dust (wear a mask, for sure), and it floats and shifts if you don't do things to prevent that; keeping it mossed, for one. But preventable it is.

 

[Paulpash]

Perlite is a float out of the pot pain in the ass...

 

[music~maker]

Perlite is a float out of the pot pain in the ass...

Yeah, I hate perlite for bonsai purposes. I want my soil components to have some mass to them so they don't move around so much. Perlite's great for improving drainage on house plants and starting cuttings. Beyond that, I don't have much use for it.

 

[twisted trees]

Perlite breaks down too fast and clogs soil

 

[Wilson]

I would think if you don't get bad winters, it won't breakdown so fast. It can be a helpful filler if controlled, I have used a top layer of pea gravel to keep it down.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Perlite breaks down too fast and clogs soil

Sitickin with rocks here, boss.

Lava mostly.....but more pumice than I have.

no bed ticking or styrofoam though.

 

[Victorim]

Pure Perlite is fantastic on paper.. but watch it slowly wash away when it rains or pebble dash a wall with it if you hose. Didn't know perlite broke down, but i guess the point is moot.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Pure Perlite is fantastic on paper.. but watch it slowly wash away when it rains or pebble dash a wall with it if you hose. Didn't know perlite broke down, but i guess the point is moot.

Did you know that perlite is the soil equivalent of popcorn?

Perlite softens when it reaches temperatures of 850–900 °C (1,560–1,650 °F). Water trapped in the structure of the material vaporises and escapes, and this causes the expansion of the material to 7–16 times its original volume. The expanded material is a brilliant white, due to the reflectivity of the trapped bubbles. Unexpanded ("raw") perlite has a bulk density around 1100 kg/m3 (1.1 g/cm3), while typical expanded perlite has a bulk density of about 30–150 kg/m3 (0.03-0.150 g/cm3).[1]

 

[sorce]

popcorn

Sorce

 

[Mike Corazzi]

How about wheel weights? They don't blow away.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Pumice instead of lava. Is lighter than lava especially dry but holds more H2O when watered.

 

[A. Gorilla]

How about wheel weights? They don't blow away.

Neither do the lamentations of your vanquished enemies.

Wait, what were we talking about?

 

[Paradox]

Don't take any chances with this tree. It's a nice tree. It deserves to be in good soil. Keep it in good soil

 

[jeanluc83]

If you want it lighter you might consider getting rid of that big rock in the pot. That is going to make up for more weight than switching to perlite.

Unless there is a health reason for repotting this tree I would let it be for a couple of years. Wasn't this the tree that you repotted akadama then repotted it again when it had broken down in the same year.