tiny lava rock sources

[centaura]

I've seen tiny lava rock particles, but have been mystified as to where folks are finding them that small. The smallest lava rock that I can find has quarter-sized chunks, and I've seen stuff that is smaller than peas. Are those folks just smashing up larger pieces? Or does anyone know a source of the really tiny stuff?

-Cat Nelson

[BillsBayou]

One of my favorite questions. Must be, I've been asking it for years. Here's what I finally found:

My current source: Red Dome: http://www.reddome.com/index.html I like them because the lava rock is BLACK! The downside is the price. I can't resell it at a profit. I use it only for my personal trees.

I found another supplier of black lava rock but they only sell by the TRAIN CAR load.

My former source: A local nursery will order "Colorado Soil Conditioner" from Gonzalez Supply in Pensacola. That lava rock is a dark red. Gonzales Supply gets it from Colorado Lava: http://www.coloradolava.com/. I'd order it from Colorado Lava, but their prices are
"FOB" (freight on board). I'd have to arrange the freight transport myself.

I did find a company on the web that would ship to a reseller in Louisiana, but when I asked them about it, they told me the product had been discontinued.

Now that I've finally got a business license to sell my soil, I'm thinking about making a trip to Pensacola to pick up a pallet of the Colorado Soil Conditioner. They only sell wholesale to businesses. I'm thinking of making a lava rock/haydite soil mix.

[centaura]

Thanks for the info. I do a lot with shohin and mame, and had wanted to work with some of the drainage capabilities that lava rock gave, but in a smaller scale. I will look into your sources.

-Cat

[bunjingi]

Hi Cat,
I don't know about red dome.com but I'm pretty sure colorado lava will only sell wholesale. The red lava that is sold at New England Bonsai Gardens (and used in our premium shohin soil mix) comes from CA is smaller than the black and very nice for shohin/mame. It's not listed on their website but you can email them for large bags that can be shipped (nebonsai@nebonsai.com). I use it a lot and like it very much. The black tends to be larger sized (3/16" - 3/8") and you won't get much in the way of smaller particles. The red is consistently smaller: 1/16" -1/4" and you can screen out most of it as shohin sized particles. Good luck.
John Romano