Wags,

You want the white quartz sand, not silica sand. Silica sand is probably going to be too fine. I've gotten the quartz stuff at a pool place in Woodbridge, Va.

I can't remember the exact name of the quartz-based sand at the moment, but it's something "White...." I'll post if I remember the whole thing...It's heck getting old.

Any

Yup, silica sand is what we use in concrete topping, it's as fine as sugar. Makes a very nice smooth-finishing coat with portland cement.

Hey Mark, do you live in Bell, Virginia? Or Bales, or something like that? I swear I heard your name on "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" last week.

Chris

Chris, eh? what's that? You'll have to speak slowly and very loudly at me. I am pushing 45 after all;-)

Mark, I am going to have to move to Virginia. We have none of the good stuff up here in MD! I had to go thru a garden center and have them special order shade cloth for me (at an outrageous price). Now I can't find simple sand! Aside from a pool company, would there be other suppliers? Could I just get a child's "sand-box" sand? I can get that at Toys R Us.

Nooooo ;-). Sand box sand is finer than the silica stuff. Don't use it.

The shade material I use comes straight from Home Depot. They have HD in MD don't they? I bet they carry the stuff at Lowes too.

I had to poke around in the gardening section of both for quite a while before I found the stuff. The staff is of no help. The "shade cloth" isn't cloth, it's realy vinyl coated netting in every smaller weaves. It's very cheap and effective.

As for the swimming pool sand, that's a different story. I searched literally for years for appropriate stuff. I stumbled across a supply of the stuff one rainy afternoon several years ago. It takes some searching.

Get to a 'Feed' store and ask for chicken grit - it's decomposed granite for chicken digestion (!), and comes in small, med. and lge. and is perfect for goo drainage.

I think the name of the pool sand you are looking for is Mystic White. Hope this helps.

Lucy,

The sand and grit aren't interchangeable. The two can serve slightly different purposes. The sand is finer than the grit, preventing it from compacting. The sand shouldn't be too fine, but on the coarse side, to put more structure into the soil.

Donna, I believe, and will check when I get home, that the sand I bought was Mystic White. The guy called it silica sand. I haven't had a chance to look at the granule size yet.

Lucy, In Baltimore they have closed most of the feed stores. We are too urban now. Until the last few years we had Klein's feed and Southern States, but they have all closed around here now. I have friends who used to raise chickens, I may try to call them to see if they have any grit, I'll at least get a look at it to see if it might do.

THAT'S IT! Mystic White is the quartz-based sand I use--although I am apparently out of it, since I couldn't locate the stuff in my storeroom last night.

Mystic White is NOT silica. It's crushed quartz. The granule size is appropriate for bonsai soil--somewhere between a salt grain and chicken grit. It's also crushed-meaning it's got alot of jagged edge--a good thing that helps preventcompaction.

I only knew the name was Mystic White because Vance Wood had told me about it last year and I purchased it at a pool store. I have used it with no problems.

At Nebraska Bonsai we use chicken gritt which is crushed granite, this has a very nice size and has the sharp edges you need for fine root development. This can be bought at Tractor Supply Stores or your local farm & feed supply store. Be sure you are getting crushed granite because they also sell crushed oyster shells as chicken gritt also. They oyster shells are used in large tree beds to help divide roots systems. More info at our web site NebraskaBonsai.Com

Agway may carrie the grit and there everywhere.
Paul

Grit isn't a substitute for sand in bonsai mix. They are complementary ingredients that serve slightly different functions.

I just read some of the responses you had above. You want #3 or #2 pool filter sand. The white Silica sand is too fine, I have used it for cuttings but it holds too much water due to capilary action. The kind of sand you are looking for is a quartz sand, the Silica sand aka. Mystic White is TOO FINE, it may not be as fine as play sand but thats a moot point. If the place you went to told you that was all they had then go someplace else, this place can't be the only location that deals with swiming pools. Then too you may have asked someone that could not find their back side with both hands tied behind them.

Vance Wood.

Wags,

If the stuff will go through standard window screen, it's too fine for your purposes.

Amen. Go for the coursest sand you can find, you will be better off in the long run. Except Beach Sand!!!

Vance Wood.

Check out sand blasting supplies. Locally I can get many grit sized in 50lb bags.

You want #3 or #2 pool filter sand.

How big are those granules in mm?

I must be mistaken then about Mystic White. I thought the stuff I bought was Mystic White quartz sand here in N. Va.--This brings up an important issue. Many soil ingredients are extremely localized. What's common in one area, is non-existent or completely different in another.

For what it's worth, the pool filter sand that I bought at a pool supply store here was far far coarser than any silica sand I've seen. The granules were about 1 1/2 times larger than a salt grain and very jagged. The stuff was the only pool filter sand the place had. They carried no silica-based filter sand, there were no "grades" and when I asked them for #2 or #3 sand they looked at me like I was crazy.

Well, I have to agree with Mark, the ingredients are Extremely localized. I have gone to 3 pool stores and no one knows where pool sand comes in grades. So used what I got at the first store, which sounds like what Mark describes at about 2 times the size of a salt grain with rough edges. No where on the bag does it say it's silica sand (although that's what the guy in the store says it was, he probably didn't know anyway.)

Thanks to everyone for your help and comments. I started some repotting yesterday, this is the soil mix I used:

1 Part Oil Dry
1 Part Sand (mentioned above)
1 Part Spaghum Peat moss (or maybe a bit less than one part, I'm not ready to go 'soil-less' yet)

It was the best part of an otherwise lousy weekend. I potted up a new Kingville Boxwood and a tiny maple, my first Mame. I also repotted my Chinese Juniper (my first tree, now 10 years old). I wish that I'd had more time... I have so much work to do on the trees, who cares about laundry, cooking housework, etc??? =)

Wags

Did some quick research on Mystic White pool filter sand. It is crystalline silica, which is (please correct me if this is completely wrong) not the typical "sand" used in construction. It is basically crushed quartz. Says so on the label. Sand can come from many sources. This is one.

Mystic White does, indeed, come in three sizes, at least that's what's listed on the manufacturer's (U-S Silica) web site those sizes are: .49 mm, .65 mm and .80 millimeter. The last two are pretty sizeable and probably what's turning up here in the east.

I have been to several pool stores over the years looking for appropriate filter sand. Got the quizzical look from everyone of them when I asked for #2 or #3 filter sand. The last two sizes of this sand are pretty good sized for bonsai soil use. The edges of the particles are jagged and uneven--which is a good thing. The company says the sand doesn't clog and has a high flow through capability, both of which help in bonsai soil.

Wags,

I wouldn't use the "oil dry" or cat litter if I were you.
"Turface MVP" is a courser type baked or fired clay, partical size is larger than just the regular turface.

James