Nigel H-C Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Hi All, Has anyone in the UK managed to source laterite? I found some online, only to find it's been discontinued. Nigel HC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Anderson Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Funnily enough I've looking for laterite as well, all I've found at the moment is from aquarium shops and not really in large amounts, here's a link to API website with the product, they have a find stockist feature. http://www.apifishcare.co.uk/product.php?p=details&id=113#.WMgYsd-nzqAMark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel H-C Posted March 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Hi Mark, I called these guys yesterday and they say they no longer produce it! If you hear of another source, do shout! Thanks Nigel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Anderson Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Hi Nigel, cheers for the heads up. I'll definitely let you know once i find a source, bonsai tree specialists usually have a lot of different rock and clay products, that's where I've sourced pumice, other volcanic rock and moler in different grades, here's the one I'm going to use soon http://www.kaizenbonsai.com/shop/bonsai-soil/bonsai-growing-media-straightsEven IKEA has pumice now!I really do love some nice aggregates! Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel H-C Posted March 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Of course, Akadama is clay based. I've a bonsai friend who uses it all the time - doh!!! Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Anderson Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 I'm using tesco low dust cat litter in ping mixes as well as 100%for pings and they love it! Going to try a 1 peat 1 cat litter 1 course quartz sand for my nepenthes Attenboroughii. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Anderson Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Some Bonsai growers in the UK use tesco low dust cat litter instead of the more expensive akadama and other clay products.Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danl82 Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Us in the cactus growing fraternity have been using tescos kitty litter for years and it's great! I've been experimenting with it my cp mixes and it seems to be working well. Of course the grain size is on the small side so it doesn't totally replace perlite etc but rather complements it and reduces the amount of more expensive stuff you have to use. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropicbreeze Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 I'm curious to know what's the interest in laterite. Haven't heard anything about it's use for plants, always imagined there'd be an imbalance of iron and possibly aluminium. So I'm keen to find out if it'd be useful for me (well, my plants actually). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 1 hour ago, danl82 said: Of course the grain size is on the small side so it doesn't totally replace perlite etc True Dan the Tesco stuff is fine grained (good for cuttings/leaf pullings etc though) and in my experience to be used in moderation especially where cacti and succulents are concerned but you can also get a larger grained cat litter which, if memory serves me right, is Sanikat Pink Non-Clumping. I got a 30L bag for about £12 from a pet shop in Sheffield recently. I found that the larger grains open the compost up much better than the Tesco version when used for mature plants rather than cuttings. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Anderson Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Yep gas that's the other one that's good for plants, you can get moler from the bonsai sure i posted which is the same, you can buy it in three different grades, it's about £13 for 30 litres, it's meant to be a better quality than cat litter or so they say, the pumice is the same for price and grades.Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danl82 Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 11 minutes ago, Gaz said: True Dan the Tesco stuff is fine grained (good for cuttings/leaf pullings etc though) and in my experience to be used in moderation especially where cacti and succulents are concerned but you can also get a larger grained cat litter which, if memory serves me right, is Sanikat Pink Non-Clumping. I got a 30L bag for about £12 from a pet shop in Sheffield recently. I found that the larger grains open the compost up much better than the Tesco version when used for mature plants rather than cuttings. The sanicat is good stuff too but can be trickier to find, when i've been able to get it I use a bit of both. For my cacti and succulents I'm using a mix of 2:2:1 JI3, cat litter and grit. Of course these are approximate and I vary it depending on which particular plants it's being used for, some mesembs are in almost 100% litter. As an example of what my mix typically looks like I've attached an uncropped pic with a view into the pot. With the cp's its predominantly peat with some perlite, sharp sand and litter again adjusted slightly for different things and so far so good (crosses fingers). Obviously not talking about epiphytic utrics or neps! Apologies for the swerve from purely cp talk, to make up for it..... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 4 minutes ago, danl82 said: Apologies for the swerve from purely cp talk, to make up for it..... Couple of nice plants there, no need to apologise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Anderson Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 Nice plants cheers for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel H-C Posted March 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Hi Tropic Breeze, I'm interested in trying it for some of the pygmy species, especially the likes of D. barbigera which I've never had a great deal of success with. Regards Nigel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropicbreeze Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Thanks Nigel. So I gather you're wanting to try it in the soil type it naturally grows in. I initially thought there may be some characteristics of laterite that made it good for growing CPs, but I see where you're coming from. Here I've seen D. burmanni and D. dilatatopetiolaris growing naturally in lateritic soil, though not exclusively. Cheers Zig 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel H-C Posted March 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Hi Zig, That's right, some species aren't as easy as others, as you probably know. Will be interesting to see if replicating the natural soil with those awkward customers makes a difference. Regards Nigel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Anderson Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 That's exactly why i want to get some to! I've sent a few emails off to try and find a supplier of laterite, you can get laterite clay from pottery suppliers, but that is slabs of unfired laterite, maybe see if a local clay pot maker or such can create some for you? Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel H-C Posted March 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 I'm seeing my bonsai friend on Friday, and he's got various substrates, including Akadama, which like laterite has both Al and Fe, so will be interesting to see if a few D. dichrosepala gemmae will grow in it. Nigel H-C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Anderson Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Excellent, please let me know which one you go with, I've got dichrosepala as well from gemmae earlier in the year, i used 2 parts course quartz sand to one part peat, they are doing fine at the moment but haven't grown this one before! Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel H-C Posted March 15, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 D. dichrosepala grows perfectly well in peat and sand, but it's a good one to experiment with, plus I think there are a few gemmae left on some of the plants! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tropicbreeze Posted March 15, 2017 Report Share Posted March 15, 2017 Don't hate me Nigel , but my place is just over 9 hectares with about 30% of that laterite, as a mixture of fine soil and/or fine gravels up to metre diameter rocks. Lateritic soils would be the most dominant type in this area and because we have many native CP's it's not unusual to see some of them in this type of soil. Cheers, Zig 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel H-C Posted March 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! Mine's one and a half acres of wet clay, a mix of yellow claggy slop which the brambles (Rubus fruticosus) love. It's not unusual to see me cursing this type of soil! That said, once it's broken and worked, it makes a nice soil for general gardening. Problem is, after an accident last year my days of being able to dig beds and ponds seems to be at an end. Think I'd prefer the laterite option, but there's a lack of it around Glastonbury. Cheers Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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