Marianna Marinda

Okay, so we have Lava Rock!

I've got 3 sizes of pumice (fine, medium, & large) plus a fine size of red scoria (otherwise known as cinders) to offer; both are porous lava rock with similar qualities

I'll ship up to 20 lbs worth at a time in 12x10x7" boxes (just shy of 1/2 cu.ft) for $22.47 (pumice) or $24.97 (scoria) plus shipping per box, and if you happen to be close enough to pick up larger quantities (from central PA, or potentially southern upstate NY):  you can save on shipping.

Just mooseage me here or through my website at onmyownroots.com


Here's some great info about porous lava rock:

   A perfect 100% natural planting media or ingredient
   pumice has a neutral pH, and a natural white to gray color when dry
   porous texture makes it lightweight, while rock nature holds its shape
   acts as a rigid sponge to hold nutrients and water
   excellent drainage for sensitive crops (succulents, bonsai, tree cuttings)
   a permanent aspect of soil structure; not prone to break down
   full of minerals from deep in the earth; any rock dust produced is a great addition to compost

   In comparison to other porous Lava Rocks:
       Pumice comes from the froth at the top of lava, while Scoria is solidified from the lava itself
       Scoria is more acidic than pumice, as well as more dense and thus heavier
       Though both are porous, pumice is light enough to float on water and scoria will sink
       Pumice is more riddled with air pockets inside it to hold water, and thus dries out slower than Scoria
       Scoria tends to be more harsh and angular, while pumice is more rounded and smooth
       Pumice has some tendency to be dislodged when watering, and thus scoria works better as a top dressing
       The darker colors of scoria warm up quicker in the sun to hold heat around roots
       Darker colors of scoria also hide the dirty look of algae and moss better than pumice does
       Red scoria gets its color from the iron it contains, Black scoria also contains magnesium rich minerals

   sourced from a volcanic quarry on USA's west coast
   use as is for cactus and succulents, or combine with other ingredients for an ideal potting mix
   will not float to the top of a potting mix or smash between your fingers like perlite does
   improves the quality and grow-friendly nature of any soil mix
   excellent for use with hydroponic or aquaponic systems that keep plants watered but not waterlogged by capillary action
       1/8" size is ideal for propagation trays; as the pot gets bigger, so can the rock size used within it
       1/4" size is most common for horticulture use as a potting soil ingredient
       larger sizes are great for large planters and indoor planting beds
   weighs about 30-40 lbs to the cubic foot, which is just under about 7 gallons of volume


Thank you!  🙂

Okay, so this is a little early since the website is still under construction...
https://www.onmyownroots.com/


but it is so very pretty!  
and highly searchable (or getting there, I've still got lots to enter)
you can get an idea of what kind of organized visual content I plan to keep posting there as we grow (cultivar feature comparisons, a bloom calendar, various farm milestones and cultivar lists...)
plus my On My Own Roots plant shop, of course  
with Rainbow Arboretum project themes
a Honeymoon Tree Farm blog (and a link to our silent YouTube beginnings: )
even a few potential ideas for our Growing Home
plus more!

Basically: what I hope makes a great introduction to what this whole thing is set up to become!

...as soon as I can figure out how to put all this media content into my post.  
and as we build up the farm enough to move it all out of the back yard.

I'd love to know what you think!  
Thanks a bunch!

Being nitrogen fixers is one of the major things that make the locusts desirable for permaculture.  But also, I think, is the ability to grow them from seed... as I doubt there are many permaculturists taking the route of cloning all their support trees, when sowing seeds can be quicker and much less expensive.  That's where the non-invasive and thornless qualities stand out, as these are traits you need of every seedling you grow.  (It's a given that wild-gathered seeds are not likely to produce seedless/fruitless trees, so you have to pay attention to ones that are tame about it.)  I believe that's where the honeylocust shines, in that it does have a thornless variety that grows from seed, while being apparently tame enough as to be the alternative recommended when black locust is too invasive to consider.

As it turns out, this winter I'll be getting in a selection of thornless honeylocust cultivars to grow into propagation stock (alongside the 2 Robinia I have), and it'll be interesting to see how they all compare to each other as support plants.

All the rest of the suggestions offered (I think) were not legumes... and so then it boils down to which wood qualities you're looking for and what site conditions you have to grow them in.

As for Cricket Bat Willow... my notes (gleaned from all over, in relation to new cuttings I stuck this winter) tell me that Salix alba var. caerulea is the only tree that can be used for official cricket bats (thus why it is known as the Cricket Bat Willow), being prized for its lightweight, impact-resistant wood ideal for that use.  Otherwise, it is a deciduous Tree growing to 25 m (82ft) by 10 m (32ft) at a fast rate (clearly from PFAF), and has a very straight (to 60't x 30'w) pyramidal head, attractive lance-shaped blue-green foliage and 2" yellow spring catkins (from ForestFarm).  It grows quickly, reaching maturity in 12 to 20 years. In good conditions, it can grow to be 100 ft tall and 15 to 18 ft in girth.
I thought this was an interesting find simply because it illustrates (once again) just how different a single variety can be from other members of a species just in wood quality (or any other given characteristic), enough to truly make it stand out in value.  I suppose that's why I prefer to deal so much in cloned cultivars, so as to nurture these standouts everywhere I can in the landscape.

I have found a few hybrids... and while I don't know if that actually makes them more perfect for use or not (I haven't found a lot of info on them), I think the possibility is there.  I don't know how much any of them have thorns.

Robinia slavinii 'Hillieri'
(kelseyi x pseudoacacia)
18-24' tree
shell pink flowers

Robinia x margaretta 'Pink Cascade' (Casque Rouge)

(hispida x pseudoacacia)
25-30' tree
purplish pink flowers

Robinia x ambigua 'Decaisneana'

(kelseyi x pseudoacacia)
50' tree
light pink flowers

What about the thornless honeylocust?  Wouldn't that fulfill the role you're looking for?

Jolene, this is all very new to us too.  (The new land farming part, at least; propagating landscape plants I've been doing for years now).  I know probably many people would think we're doing things out of order:  Getting trees planted before we even have a house?  Yeah, that's awkward.  But I want to get them growing already!

Lol, I think it's just important to enjoy the journey.  

Does anyone know why the roots of vegetative cloning is said to be weaker?  

I think this is because all grafting happens on a rootstock that is at least a year older than any new cutting hoping to make roots (if there are exceptions to this, then on a seedling in the prime of its life that is already well rooted).  So the comparisons that are made between newly rooted cuttings and a graft will always favor the graft if you don't account for that rootstock having a year (or more!) headstart.  If someone actually took the time to compare, time for time, conditions being equivalent, how long a seedling took to create a good root system (from the point of emerging its first root)... against how long a cutting of that seedling took to do the same (starting from the same point of emerging its first root)... I wonder if there really would be any difference?  It's important to be comparing apples with apples, so to speak.

A specifically chosen rootstock cultivar also may have been favored for the vigorous quality of its roots (among other things), which makes it an unfair comparison to think that the more normal root growth of a cultivar would be weak.

Given the time it needs to 'catch up' to where the graft started out from, I don't see any reason to believe that a cloned cultivar's roots would be inferior in any way.

It seems like a reasonable idea.  There seem to be a lot of approaches to the problem of roots circling a pot, and ridges along a round pot is one of them, along with mesh pots that have roots pruning themselves.  So this is just a variation of that suitable for ground planting.  Personally, when planting in-ground (best in fall when possible! then winter, then spring), I prefer loosening the potted soil around the roots thoroughly enough that I can unravel them to their full length, and then make a nice deep planting hole to fit that would have them much more easily reaching ground that will stay moist once summer hits.  I imagine that would help them establish best.  Of course, that also tends to address any issue of circling roots.  

Poor

We have lots of silverberry on our property, and they have very silvery leaf undersides.  (and speckled fruit in season)  Does your plant have this?  It could so easily be something else, especially if it is one of a kind.

I know on our new farm, we found lots and lots of wild honeysuckle bushes, amidst a few unfamiliar treasures that popped up in the ID app.  So I was noticing how similar some of the unfamilar things found there looked to other things.    Wouldn't want to get rid of something desirable!  Unless I'm just going to replace it anyway...  

Well I don't live over that way (central PA to central NY), but I happen to know that Mike McGroarty of Back Yard Growers lives over that direction (in northeast OH).  He was mentioned recently in another thread appreciating his propagation videos.  He runs a nursery at his home up there (Mike's Backyard Nursery), and would likely welcome your visit.  I don't know if he's closed for the season, though.