Clay pebbles: yay or nay? I added soil topper to most of the plants I repotted this year (either gravel or mulch). It definitely causes water retention, which throws off the Planta watering schedule. But Amazon threw some pretty multicolor clay pebbles on my homepage, and I thought they’d be neat for succulents. Have you used them as a topper or a substrate, and if so, do you recommend them?
They are pretty. I don’t know from experience, but one person on Planta mentioned that keeping rocks on top of the soil has made it difficult for fungus gnats to get in and out of their plants soil. The only experience I have is from recently trying to have sphagnum moss over my soil for decoration like I used to love seeing in home and gardening magazines. Didn’t go well for most of my plants. Some didn’t seem effected but others made great homes fir fungus gnats. (I don’t know if maybe the gnats just hadn’t gotten as far as some plants or what)
5개 좋아요
I LOVE leca. I have some plants that are all leca and then some plants where I mix leca in with the soil. Leca is clay so it will hold water and then release it as the soil dries out. They can help soak up extra water from the soil if you get a little heavy handed with the watering can. Leca is more sustainable than soil so I have heard lots of plants people changing out their entire collection for leca. You don't get pests. They don't "go bad" like soil eventually does. You can wash and reuse them. You don't have to worry about contamination like you do potting soil. I bought the larger leca and haven't used these smaller ones. I didn't like using them to top dress because they kept too much moisture around the base of the stems and I got a few brown spots so now I mix them in or dress the bottom of the pot with them.
7개 좋아요 Thank you, this is extremely helpful!
좋아요 1개
I bought some of these exact ones from amazon in black. I’m not using them as toppers, but rather as a layer at bottom of my Pon substrate, so I can differentiate the water level mark with the change from these pearls to Pon. So 1/3 black pearls, 2/3 Pon. Also that way, it extends my Pon further, and since these specific pearls are larger than Pon, but smaller than traditional Leca, they are the perfect size for my needs. They allow for more water to sit in pot between pearls, which means longer intervals between watering.
5개 좋아요
I’ve always wanted to try but feel intimidated by them…
좋아요 1개
I’ve seen le a at the bottom of pots without drainage. Plants like it.
2개 좋아요