Perlite for Bonsai
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- Опубліковано 4 сер 2024
- Perlite has properties that make for a good addition to bonsai and pre-bonsai soil mixes. It is inexpensive, light weight, has a neutral pH, provides good aeration, and retains moisture. This video also has some tips for addressing concerns about the undesirable white color in bonsai applications.
See this video for moisture retention comparisons:
• Bonsai Potting Soil - ...
@NWMapleBonsai - Навчання та стиль
Thanks, great video on perlite, I've been using it for many years mixed with a fired clay product and it works great. It only floats to the surface if you use a hose to water, with a watering can it stays put. You show it actually sinking in water on your video!
A top dressing with a more natural colour product or moss fixes the white appearance. Even with the perlite over time, I find it darkens with green moss or algae growing on the white particles.
Thanks for your reply and thoughts! Great comment!
Nice vid 👍
Thx, subbed instantly 😊🐈🐾🐾
Thanks for the sub! 😀🙏
Great and thorough dive into perlite. I haven’t messed around with it much because it is light and floats away. I was surprised it has better water retention than bark fines as I use that with pumice for my substrate.
I’m local to Tacoma and can source pumice fairly cheaply from landscape supply businesses. Good luck growing!
@Treebeardbonsai Glad you found the video helpful! Pre-soaking the perlite before sizing it in with other materials can help a little with the floating problem. Where do you get your pumice from? Thanks!
Terrific video. Thank you. Looking forward to more of your videos on the subject.
I beg to differ with those that say top dressing with other materials will do away with the perlite resurfacing. The key is in the watering. If water is not allowed to fill the soil’s air spaces, the perlite will not float to the top. Moss covering does help but too much water and the perlite will find its way through.
I colored perlite with squid ink. Turned it dark grey and did not wash out. Next I plan to try other, less expensive dyes that are vegetable based.
Great comment! Thanks!
I like the mixture. Looks good. Dar
Thanks!😀
Nice video!
Thanks!👍🍁
I use perlite to root cuttings, and I mix it with Safe T Sorb clay to make bonsái soil.
I also use perlite to root cuttings and it seems to work well. I add 20%-40% pine bark fines to it. Safe T Sorb sounds like a potentially good substrate. Looks like it is 100% fired calcined Montmorillonite clay. And very inexpensive compared to akadama. In the range of $10-$20 for 50 lbs.
Great idea! I recently potted up some portulacaria in perlite with a little cocoa fiber for moisture retention; it does look hideous. If i would've seen this earlier i might have tried! Guess i'll just have to cover my pots with moss
Covering with moss or substrate is a great idea. But it is amazing how those little white bits are able to sneak their way up to the surface! 😁
Just wanted to say, very cool idea indeed. In fact I just ordered some perlite and was wondering what I was going to do about the whiteness of it and whether or not just to use it for developing young material. But I would say dyeing perlite will significantly cut some costs and reserving akadama for the more mature specimens. Thanks for the video and idea!
Thanks for the great feedback! 🙏🙏 Also take a look at one of the other comments about coloring the perlite with clay dissolved in water. I haven’t tried this yet but it seems like a great idea.
Awesome. Tried dyeing my perlite recently with coffee and it turned out pretty well. I left it in pretty concentrated coffee for over 3 days. And the outcome was great! Thank you! Looking forward to more videos!@@NWMapleBonsai
Put a thin top layer of your chosen soil over the perlite. Or a thin layer of sphagnum covered with green moss. Does away with the bright white color and stops runaway perlite chunks.
Great comment! Thanks!😀
I use the corse perlite and after a while it looks just like the pumice anyway
I thought people didn’t like perlite because it weights nothing so it floats up and over time it dissolves and washes away. I think it’s great for cuttings! 70% perlite/30% organic.
I completely agree with you about cuttings. That’s exactly what I do.
I don’t believe perlite dissolves since it is a mineral. You can minimize the floating somewhat if you soak the perlite in water first before you mix it in with other materials. That increases the density of the particles. However they will want to float again if the mix is allowed to dry out.
Perlite is great, but since it's very light and floats better, it is better not to be used on surface. Use Akadama, etc, as top layer.
I agree. I’ve also found that if you soak the perlite first before mixing it in with other materials, you get less floating and it keeps the dust down.
Have you considered using clay to color the perlite. I live in Sydney Australia, and I have red clay soil. I take a clump of clay and soak it water and use the residue to color the perlite. Clay being a nature product with nutrients will actually benefit the Bonsai. Give it a go you will be pleasantly surprised. PS Clay may come in different colors depending where you live, from reds to orange to grays. It can also be purchased from hobby stores, if you have no natural clay that you can dig up.
This is super good info! I’ll definitely give this a try! Thanks! 💯💯💯
Just caught up with your great video.
Your mix is 50/50 Akadame with Pumice or Perlite.
Do you use volcanic red rock or scoria.
Your thoughts on scoria
Thanks for your comment! I have not used scoria but I have tried black and red lava rock. I don’t personally feel that it is helpful in my area, maybe displacing materials that hold moisture in the summer. But I like it for top dressing succulents and cacti pots. 😁
I am wondering if the Squid Ink that Ryan Neil (I think...) uses to darken Sphagnum moss would work on perlite?
I think it would- the perlite would absorb any fluid.
Where instrument is playing at the beginning of your videos??
It is a tenor ukulele 😁🌴
Why not just fill your pot with perlite and put a thin top layer of your chosen soil or a bit of sphagnum moss covered with green moss. No dying or runaway perlite chunks.
Perlite is natures styrofoam.
Perlite will color green and brown soon enough if you just leave it outside and water it. I think its a bit much to actually color it.
I thinks that is true. I guess it depends on how long you want to wait and whatever seems to get the results you want in any specific situation 👍
where i am it rains quite a bit and perlite always turns a REALLY green color due to algae. Doing one bag with coffee isnt too much to ask for in my opinion
Perlite can release fluoride which is not good for some plants.
Thanks for this comment. It prompted me to look into this. There has been some research done by North Carolina State University showing that although perlite sources commonly used in North America do contain fluoride, the fluoride will quickly leach out via watering. The researchers concluded no adverse effects even on plants known to be susceptible to fluoride toxicity. So not to worry.
In the course of looking into this, I found a interesting source with more info on perlite. The most interesting is that it is categorized as "nuisance dust" with less than 1% quartz so is largely harmless to the lungs. Also it has a low CEC (cation exchange capacity) meaning that it does not hold nutrients as well as other potting media like akadama.
Sources:
fluoridealert.org/wp-content/pesticides/perlite.fluoride.levels.htm
www.gardenmyths.com/perlite-myths-gardens/
Pine bark staining would be a better stain solution to use. Water pine bark and let it soak for three to four months.
You’re saying to soak the bark in water for 4 months then use the water to color the perlite? Have you tried it? Does it work? Seems like it wouldn’t be as dark (or fast).
@NWMapleBonsai I haven't tried it on perlite but I have used it as a wood stain before. So with that information you could imagine how it might be very successful as it's an acid stain kinda how spaghetti always stains tupperware.
I jut top dress my bonsai. Problem solved