LiddleBuddha

Hello Everyone!

I received some bad news today. I attempted to purchase bagged Haydite from the Hydraulic Press Brick Company in Brooklyn, IN, as I've done in the past. However, it is currently unavailable.

This was the response to my email...

"...At this time, we do not have the means to handle small quantity purchases of sized material for bonsai soil modification. However, with some anticipated changes in our production methods, we hope to have available in the near future a high quality, clean, ¼ -inch sized material..."

They're putting me on a list for notification of when it becomes available.

Does anyone know if there are any other places that might have Haydite for sale for use as a bonsai soil component?

I currently still have plenty of chicken grit (crushed granite), and Turface as the i/o components. Looks like I might be stuck using only those ingredients for now.

Best,
- LB

Prowler

LB.
You have made a mistake, Never !! mention the word Bonsai, it upsets certain people.
One reason i don't mention about them when i visit a garden centre, this way i can get cheaper trees if they have been outside and get a bit brown. Cheers.

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Its hell out there, give them hell back.

LiddleBuddha

Oops. My bad. Is that why the woman who answered the phone when I first called let a big sigh, then hung up on me? haha... j/k

I like your method, Prowler! Good way to get some nice bonsai material I bet!

Best,
- LB

Prowler

Yep, if you go to a garden centre tell them " I ain't paying that price for a tree half dead " also let rip at them about the condition they are selling them at. You can save a few bucks this way, just don't buy a wreck. Turn the tree upside down, give it a whack on the bench they are sitting on, if the roots are okay that's good enough, no instant Bonsai, but a good start. Cheers.

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Its hell out there, give them hell back.

Kansai

I have purchased haydite from HPB several times and they were never anything but delighted to help. The bag it came in even had a picture of a JBP in a bonsai pot. Maybe it's just not worth it for them to mess with it anymore, but I hope they start up again, because all my local sources for haydite seem to have dried up. I consider haydite to be far superior to Turface--it's harder, sharper and it looks better--and I'm starting to run low myself.

I used to be able to find it at a couple of nurseries under the name of Buildex. They sold it as a permanent ground cover. It was a large size, up to an inch diameter, and it was dirty as politics, but it was so cheap that I didn't mind screening and washing it myself. Its relatively light weight compared to gravel and its moisture-retention properties make it an excellent mulch in problem areas and it's also good for surfacing paths and work areas.

Another source for haydite is concrete batch plants. They use it as a lightweight aggregate for specialty applications, and if you're lucky enough to find it they might even have it in a smaller size, like 3/8" and smaller. Take your pickup, or borrow a friends, because they'll want to load it with a skid loader. Of coarse you can always take a few five-gallon buckets and a shovel and load them into the trunk of your car. They'll probably think you're crazy at the scales, but they'll just charge you for what you get at the per-ton rate.

I called around just a couple of weeks ago trying to find some haydite, and no one had any. I'm not sure what the deal is. Maybe it's just getting too expensive to have it trucked in.

Good luck--DR

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Bonsai is easy! All you have to do is stare at a little tree until drops of blood form on your forehead.--paraphrased from Gene Fowler