Size is more important than the brand name.

Al

Agree with Tapla. "Coarse" perlite shouldn't be small and dusty either. I like #3 or #4.

That price is kinda high too. Do you have what's called a "grow" store near you? Sometimes called a hydroponic grow store. They sell the best perlite for the best price. They also have tons of other great stuff.

If you give me the name of a nearby big city, I bet I can find one for you.

There are several hydroponic stores in the area, will contact them tomorrow. I am mostly using this as a medium for nursery plants. What is the best coarseness for that application?

The bag I have is labeled coarse perlite. Maybe this is as coarse as it gets?

I buy the Vigoro at HD too. Hard to beat the price on their big bag.

What size bag are you buying? When I look up a 4 cubic foot bag of Vigoro perlite it;s $48.

^^ 8 qt Vigoro perlite = $6.47. The Home Depot by me carries it in stock.

There is also a 2 cu ft bag for $26.97.

ETA: Are you checking the Home Depot website directly?

Yes, the HD site. I use a lot of perlite and buy it in 4 cu ft bags.

The HD & similar store perlite don’t look like the larger # 3 type size to me. Though I might not be assessing correctly. My bags seem to have small particles & dusty. I don’t want to sift it all.

I can't clearly see the image. Al, could you post the link to where this image came from? Thanks.

That's a screen shot of a chart Supreme Perlite no longer uses on their site, but you'll find more info under the "horticultural" heading.

Link: https://www.supremeperlite.com/service/horticultural-grade-perlite/

Al

Thanks very much, Al— that is easier to see re: sizing.

I got mine on sale last spring at the greenhouse megastore. 4 bags of 4 cubic feet of coarse perlite for $107, including shipping. I probably will never have to buy a bag of petite again, lol. 🤣. Here is the link to the product. Sadly, it's not on sale right now. https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/products/perlite?variant=42767173517511

Ha! I like that you can order 33 bags a for $1k. :o)

Tomorrow I will take a pic of my perlite with a ruler an we can see if ti measures up to others.

Here's a photo.

Actually seems very comparable to the coarse perlite in the link Al posted. This was a scoop from the top part of the bag. As you go down, just like potato chips, you get smaller chunks and some dust. Is it the usual amount? No idea as I don't have much experience buying perlite. Which is why I posted to get feedback on others experience.

As for price, $40 something for a 4 cu ft bag seems about average, with the exceptional price @Atheen - 7a - in Maryland, USA was able to get on sale. Nice find!

I'd say check your local Hydro store.That PVP stuff is not consisent and more dust than #4 or #3 grade . I've used one bag of that. I suppose it depends on how it's handled but IME, if you can visually see a bag (like buying it locally at the local Hydro store), easier to see how consisten the entire 4Cu bag is