[Asherweef]

Afternoon,

I've had a quick search on the forums but can't find the answer that I'm looking for... I have today bought a bag of 'horticultural grit/alpine grit'. It was bigger than I was expecting; perhaps a little smaller than hamster food (I have a hamster!). I was wondering if anyone knew whether this was what size the grit should be as I'm looking to propagate various bits and pieces in the next couple of weeks and would rather my cuttings not go down the pan!

Also, any advice on general usage would be appreciated.

[Agatha]

I mix it in to compost when potting on anything that likes really good drainage such as alpines and also use it as a mulch on my pots, especially ericaceous plants as it stops the mosses growing.

I tend to use vermiculite or perlite for cuttings, but I've used grit sometimes for alpine/pelargonium/succulent cuttings.

[Asherweef]

Hi Agatha,

What are the substantive differences between using grit and perlite/vermiculite? I did consider getting a bag of one or the other but couldn't justify the £8.95 price tag!

A

[Kleftiwallah]

You could try grit sand from the builders yard,  cheaper too I should think.

Cheers,   Tony.

[allotmentann]

Perlite and Vermiculite are also different from each other:
http://worldseedsupply.org/blog/?p=113   

[Agatha]

What sort of things are you wanting to propagate?

[Asherweef]

Most importantly for me is a Japanese Acer but also blackcurrant and gooseberry (maybe other bits that I can appropriate from my step mothers garden!)