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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

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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-straights

Even IKEA has pumice now!

I really do love some nice aggregates!

Ā 

Mark

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Us in the cactus growing fraternity have been using tescos kitty litter for years and it's great!Ā 

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.

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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.Ā  I got a 30L bag for about Ā£12 from a pet shop in Sheffield recently.Ā  I found that the larger grains open the compost up much better than the Tesco version when used for mature plants rather than cuttings.Ā 

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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 Ā£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

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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.Ā  I got a 30L bag for about Ā£12 from a pet shop in Sheffield recently.Ā  I found that the larger grains open the compost up much better than the Tesco version when used for mature plants rather than cuttings.Ā 

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. Ā As an example of what myĀ mix typicallyĀ looks like I've attached an uncropped pic with a view into the pot.

Ā 

58c86b7143107_Mammillariaguelowzianasplendens.jpg.d2c2164ab801d64a7754021e4c593c55.jpg

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.....

58c86c5a6dbf1_Darlingtoniacalifornica.jpg.3765757ab6e3c6e5d2ac4ba655e446e2.jpg

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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 :yes:

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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!

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Don't hate me NigelĀ  :wink:, 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

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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

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