Pumice size for succulent, potting and perennial containers
newhostalady Z6 ON, Canada
9 months ago
last modified: 9 months ago
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Stush2049 Pitts. PA, zone 6
9 months agonewhostalady Z6 ON, Canada thanked Stush2049 Pitts. PA, zone 6tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 months agonewhostalady Z6 ON, Canada thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)Related Discussions
Best Soil additive for succulents-Turface, Pumice, Decomp Granite
Comments (16)Does the Decomposed granite have clay in it?? This differs around the country. I used a washed decomposed granite compost mixture because I fave found that the unwashed clayey stuff does not drain as much as I like. They have 3 grades of DG. I add a pea gravel or crushed granite to mix into the ground for chunky ness. I also add lava sand and basalt sand for fertilizing reasons. I just leaned that the washed granite has other exotic fertile sands mixed into it. I make soil like a cook who stares at the inside of a refrigerator looking for inspiration. I also recommend the addition of blood meal for the roots . Sometimes I add expanded shale as a pumice substitute. No nitrogen I pile all this on top of broken up construction trash to get a good mound going. The guy below adds pine bark to his mixture He has a illustration in the instructions below. I think he used to be in top of Texas gumbo but has moved west. I am not sure what his ground is now. $14 per 40lb would be a steel in Texas. You can't find it in Austin. I pay that for Lava sand and more than that for basalt sand. I buy my DG and soil products from people who sell bulk ground products. where one can load it yourself or get it by the ton or 1/2 or more cubic yard. google bulk soil products for your area or bulk landscaping supplies. I have a place that lets me load up 10 gallon pots full of stuff in my little car . Yes I am a dirty car person. Here is a link that might be useful: Yuccado instructions for dry garden...See Morepumice pots and pot feet
Comments (7)An empty pumice pot with out feet. Personally I have a problem with built in pot feet on any type of pot that are to tall I preference and don't always favor using taller "feet" as they can be often be more unsteady during higher heavier winds and are easier pot tipping candidates when and if to tall or off aligned and or off center balanced. 3/4 inch feet on a 2.5 in. high fired bonsai dish Test feet ( and bottom lips) by a slight push down with an open palm firm but flexible move your palm in any and every direction to ensure the pot doesn't wobble. Even if no wobble one should consider high/strong winds if or when used outside although pot snugging will also help from high/stronger winds carry away. Agree pumice and any hand made pot may be a little out off on it'd price point for some folks but they are a worthy investment. Yet a pumice pot isn't always the ideal pot for every succulent in a modest/humble collection. I don't think any pumice pot(s) are to overly priced considering it's performance level and what they can do. They are also a little more hand crafted ( in a sense) also justifies a higher price point per pot. If you like it and you want it then buy it just keep in mind that no plant grows any better in a higher priced than it would in a lesser priced pot. The lack of a drainage hole ( in the pic seen provided by google images) isn't needed as pumice is porous enough to provide a very even and very gradual drainage Although a preference for drainage hole may be important to some it is't always centered on the bottom as one would like and usually aren't as big in size as one would expect. I would expect a higher price, personally I would pay 25.00-30.00 US for the pumice pot in pic and walk away smiling very happy if got it for less than 25.00...See MoreMaking succulent pots/containers
Comments (50)I concur with Rina. Just because a pot is billed as a "bonsai" pot, for example, that hardly means it is unsuitable for cacti/succs. Media choice and cultural practices will play a major roll in suitability. But if for some reason you must have a tall skinny pot, then you try a cymbidium pot:. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tall-unglazed-clay-orchid-pots-with-beautiful-oriental-design-handmade-/252426554962?var=551279703083&hash=item3ac5cb8e52:m:mWGRcKJgrcDeAmiJ9qdAAiw Or visit a website like: http://www.hayneedle.com/outdoor/planters_material-clay_list_187730_12407?source=msadcenter&kwid=terra%20cotta%20pots&tid=modbroad (Scroll down a few rows). But do keep in mind that you may have to pay considerably more for such....See MoreSoil in container pots drying too slowly. Should I mix in pumice?
Comments (3)There is a 'threshold' based on size that in large part determines how much change you can expect in soil porosity, which is as essential as moisture retention. Imagine a 2L flask half filled with peat, and a 1L flask filled with 20mm BBs. In your minds eye, you can see all the wonderful air spaces between the BBs. Not so much between the peat particles. If you thoroughly mix the BBs into the peat, what do you see? You see ALL the air spaces between the BBs completely filled with peat and the o/a air porosity per given volume diminished significantly. It's only when the volume of BBs is so large there is not enough peat to fill all the large spaces between the BBs that we see any notable gains in air porosity. The images below of the 2 types of media I grow in embody consideration of that 'threshold' concept to reduce water held between soil particles. If we were theorizing what a perfect container media might be, it's difficult to argue against the idea that physically, the soil would hold all of it's water inside and on the surface of soil particles, and at the interface where soil particles contact other particles, leaving the macropores between soil particles full of air, even at container capacity (a measure of the amount of water a soil holds when it has been fully saturated and passive drainage (caused by gravity) has just concluded). The only way to achieve this, or even come close, is to start with a large fraction of coarse material like pine bark or any of several inert ingredients and be cautios about the volume of fine material you include in the medium. Al...See Morenewhostalady Z6 ON, Canada
9 months agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
9 months agonewhostalady Z6 ON, Canada thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)Stush2049 Pitts. PA, zone 6
9 months agonewhostalady Z6 ON, Canada thanked Stush2049 Pitts. PA, zone 6Stush2049 Pitts. PA, zone 6
9 months agonewhostalady Z6 ON, Canada thanked Stush2049 Pitts. PA, zone 6newhostalady Z6 ON, Canada
9 months agonewhostalady Z6 ON, Canada
9 months ago
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