Pallet of pumice

Forrestford

Forrestford

Shohin
Messages
385
Reaction score
748
Location
Western CT
USDA Zone
6b
Anyone have luck or know of a source to buy a pallet of pumice?

Im trying to get several of my local club members to hop on, so we can save some money this spring. Trying to figure out logistics, pricing, quality, etc...
Thanks!
 
Leo in N E Illinois said:
One source is Jonas Dupuich, at Bonsai Tonight
contact info on website.

Bonsai Blog

Bonsai Tonight features how-to articles, tips on growing bonsai from scratch, and reports from exhibits in the U.S. and Japan.
bonsaitonight.com bonsaitonight.com
Click to expand...
The shipping to the east coast is killer. still saves some money if enough is ordered though...
James W. said:
Our club just got a pallet from General Pumice in California.
Click to expand...
it seems like bonsaitonight is better price wise. How was the quality of General Pumice?
 
Forrestford said:
Anyone have luck or know of a source to buy a pallet of pumice?
Click to expand...

Here's a source I was thinking about:

https://buildasoil.com/products/pumice?variant=335502264

For me in NC, 1000 lbs delivered for $500 exactly. That's $.50 a lb, or $15 for a 30 lb bag.

In Cal, best price I could find was a 30 lb bag locally for $12.

Mycin said:
Check a hydro store. Mine sells big bags of Mother Earth pumice for $17
Click to expand...

If those are the big 40 lb bags (28 liters), that's a great price. Anything under $.50 per lb is good.
 
Last edited:
Bonsai Nut said:
Here's a source I was thinking about:

https://buildasoil.com/products/pumice?variant=335502264

For me in NC, 1000 lbs delivered for $500 exactly. That's $.50 a lb, or $15 for a 30 lb bag.

In Cal, best price I could find was a 30 lb bag locally for $12.



If those are the big 40 lb bags (28 liters), that's a great price. Anything under $.50 per lb is good.
Click to expand...

TBH I suspect it may be a front of some sort. It's in a warehouse off the freeway, and the employees spend their time smoking cigarettes, playing cards, and tending to their grow op ("heavily guarded" I was warned). Stock is left on the pallets and the POS system has been suspiciously "down" for months, so they manually tally my invoice on a post-it. The prices are unbeatable though and I've had great talks with the employees.

But yes, I am very grateful to have such a great resource a mile from me. I'll post a complete price sheet later when I visit today
 
I get the Mother Earth pumice here in Asheville for about the same $17/bag price at 5th Season Gardening. They have other stores in NC. I also mix in VoleBlock a heat expanded slate haydite product mined just NE of Charlotte, same stuff Arthur Joura at the arboretum uses for their bonsai. You can get that presifted if you pick it up at the Gold Hill facility.
 
Forrestford said:
The shipping to the east coast is killer. still saves some money if enough is ordered though...

it seems like bonsaitonight is better price wise. How was the quality of General Pumice?
Click to expand...

I believe Jonas gets his Pumice from General pumice. I have a bag at home, I will check after work.
 
A pallet of pumice isn't likely less expensive than a truck full.

What cost are you attempting to save?

A pallet will save you $ on shipping perhaps.

The steps are , aquired, sifted, bagged, palleted, shipped. Lotta cost.

What's the price of aquired and shipped?

I don't see you saving a lot of money shipping a pallet of sifted and bagged pumice.

A truck load dumped onto your land is the cheapest.

There must be a hundred different ways to break down this cost, not excluding machinery to smash and sift.

Look to the port not the land.

Sorce
 
Most bulk places will sell by the cubic yard because they can use bulk sandbags. A cubic yard of pumice (3/8" - 1/16" grade) weighs about 1000 lbs. Even though one cubic yard bag fits neatly on a pallet (and that is how they are shipped) most of the time when people refer to a pallet they are talking "pallet of retail bags" which increases the cost substantially.

I have only found one bulk pumice place willing to sell semi loads... which is more than the entire state of NC would use for bonsai for years and years :)

bulk-fibc-bags-7.jpg

1-cubic-yard.jpg
(FWIW this graphic is incorrect - the first pile of cubic yards should be 125 cubic yards NOT 250 :) )
 
hinmo24t said:

Amazon.com : Gardening Pumice Soil Amendment | 3/8" Screened | 8 Quarts : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : Gardening Pumice Soil Amendment | 3/8" Screened | 8 Quarts : Garden & Outdoor
www.amazon.com
Click to expand...

It's not a question of whether or not you can find a source for pumice for $2, $3 or even $4 per lb. It's whether you can find a source for bulk, delivered to your door, for less than $.50 per lb. The product you linked costs $2.50 per lb delivered(!)
 
Bonsai Nut said:
It's not a question of whether or not you can find a source for pumice for $2, $3 or even $4 per lb. It's whether you can find a source for bulk, delivered to your door, for less than $.50 per lb. The product you linked costs $2.50 per lb delivered(!)
Click to expand...
oops my bad i didnt run unit price - thought it was the best deal posted in this thread
 
Bonsai Nut said:
I think they are allergic to Charlotte. They have stores in Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Greensboro and Asheville... but nothing within 1.5 hours of Charlotte - the largest city in the state :(
Click to expand...
Well, anytime you go through Asheville they are easy to get to right across from the mall. You could have picked some up on your way home from Mtn Meadows. I was out there about a month ago and they had 6-7 bags on hand.
 
Cofga said:
Well, anytime you go through Asheville they are easy to get to right across from the mall. You could have picked some up on your way home from Mtn Meadows. I was out there about a month ago and they had 6-7 bags on hand.
Click to expand...

Well, I still have a full garbage can that I brought with me from SoCal, so I'm not at panic stage yet. I am actually more upset that I had to toss 4 bags of graded lava rock :(
 
I buy my pumice in 50# bags for $20 each. I get the 1/8- 3/8 inch size with all of the fines sifted out. They told me that it costs $40/bag to ship so that’s just over $1 per pound for pumice and shipping I get it from Hess Pumice in Malad Idaho
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Pallet bench
2
Replies
35
Views
4K
HorseloverFat
HorseloverFat
JoeH
Quickie Pallet Stands
Replies
4
Views
1K
JoeH
JoeH
P
PA Lava Rock Pallet Order
Replies
0
Views
868
pwk5017
P
V
Do East Coast US folks need a source of pumice?
Replies
17
Views
528
WNC Bonsai
WNC Bonsai
RKatzin
Got pumice?
Replies
9
Views
449
Paradox
Paradox
Back
Top Bottom