Perlite

[Richard Green]

Does anyone else find that Perlite makes it extremely difficuilt to spot the Vine Weevil larvae?  I have stopped using it entirely just so I can easily identify the little devils when I am repotting !

[iann]

I also no longer use perlite (except for making lightweight concrete!), but not really because of squiggly worms which fingers crossed I don't have.  Its just too light and too messy, also a little too crushable for my taste.

[Eric Locke]

I also no longer use perlite (except for making lightweight concrete!), but not really because of squiggly worms which fingers crossed I don't have.  Its just too light and too messy, also a little too crushable for my taste.

Us Orchid growers would certainly not want to be without it.

Eric

[Rodger Whitlock]

squiggly worms [vine weevil larvae]

Vine weevil larvae are not squiggly. They are at best extremely sluggish animals and most of the time move not at all.

[Maggi Young]

They squiggle plenty when I'm picking 'em out of pots, Rodger!

[cohan]

I also no longer use perlite (except for making lightweight concrete!), but not really because of squiggly worms which fingers crossed I don't have.  Its just too light and too messy, also a little too crushable for my taste.

i also avoid it strenuously, mostly because its just so darn ugly! and insists on coming to the top, even through stone topdressing...
question--does it show when you use it in hypertufa?

[iann]

It can look quite nice in concrete.  It certainly doesn't float away!  It depends what look you want.  For example, you can make it nearly invisible with a cementy wet mix giving a smooth surface, or it will be quite prominent in a drier mix where it is allowed to stay at the surface.

[cohan]

It can look quite nice in concrete.  It certainly doesn't float away!  It depends what look you want.  For example, you can make it nearly invisible with a cementy wet mix giving a smooth surface, or it will be quite prominent in a drier mix where it is allowed to stay at the surface.

i guess i'll need to compare some formulas; but that's a subject for another thread...lol
the weight reduction would be a huge plus, i'd think...

[Anthony Darby]

They squiggle plenty when I'm picking 'em out of pots, Rodger!

They also squiggle enough to tempt chameleons to zap them!

[Rodger Whitlock]

They squiggle plenty when I'm picking 'em out of pots, Rodger!

They also squiggle enough to tempt chameleons to zap them!

You guys are going to have to stop giving your weevils those nutritional supplements that enliven them.

No more vitamin primula.

[Anthony Darby]

I collected over 100 in a strawberry tower a few weeks ago! I have drenched the nearby pots with Provado, but not convinced it is anywhere near 100% effective! These evil weevils don't seem to touch my orchids (touch wood) which are in 80% perlite (or 80% perlite/Seramis mix).

[Richard Green]

I use what I think was Ian Young's recommended method when repotting - of dribbling the old compost into a tray and them any weevils roll down the sides of the conical mound of compost and can be spotted easily and picked out.  The trouble with Perlite is that it also rolls down the sides and looks very like the blighters themselves.  I find that my hens appreciate vine weevil larvae much more than bits of Perlite.

[Rodger Whitlock]

We can get large bales of two different brands of horticultural perlite here. One I prefer over the other as it's coarser, but it can be difficult to find. The various farm supply places usually carry the one I don't like.

So thank you, Slug Killer, for the suggestion that I look into hydroponic supply places for my perlite. Good idea, one that I hope will bear fruit.