Westland 20100396 Hydroleca Clay Granules, 10L, Natural

Product Information

Hardy begonias can be left in the ground in winter in sheltered, warm locations. The most common type found in the UK is Begonia grandis subsp. evansiana. Whether you call them leca beads, hydroton balls, expanded clay balls, hydroleca, or hydroponic pebbles, they’re essentially all the same thing. (Honestly, I just call it “leca” and drop the capitals for convenience). With an average diameter of 1cm, LECA balls have a million and one functions within the world of houseplants. Most commonly used when water-propagating a cutting, you can even mix them into a potting mix to improve the overall structure and moisture-retaining profile of the soil. This is especially good with houseplants that HATE dry spells or excessively hot climates, as the balls will soak in the moisture for the roots to use at a later date. Hydroleca is both decorative and practical. It gives houseplants the perfect finish; just place a layer of the clay granules around every plant. You can also spread hydroleca over a shallow tray and place houseplants pots over the layer. Be sure your pots have drainage holes. This prevents houseplants sitting directly in water which is bad for the roots.

Now that you know Leca is just a collection of expanding clay balls, you might be wondering how this helps you to keep your plants healthy and thriving. Now that we've seen some of the greatest benefits Leca can give you and your plants, let's look at how it works! It's always helpful to know how the growing medium you use works, because this tells you if you need to change your plant care routine to best help a plant. How does Leca work?After the crop is finished, remove the aerial parts of the plant and ease the roots out of the aggregate and discard. Future Garden are not liable for any additional fees that may be incurred. Any unexpected costs must be paid by you (the customer). Pest resistant – No soil, no problem. Pests that reproduce in soil (fungus gnats, I’m looking at you) can’t get a foothold in a leca medium. If you'd like more than 10 bags of compost please call our Customer Service team who can arrange for a bespoke competitive quote on 01480 774555 (standard network charges apply)

The bed should be made far enough in advance of setting out the plants for it to warm up – two weeks should be sufficient.A layer of Hydroleca in drainage channels under lawns will improve their performance as the "pebbles" resist compaction better than other traditional materials. If you're looking for other ways to avoid overwatering your plants, have a look at "How to avoid overwatering your plants". Less risk of root rot Leca has a lot of great benefits, but how does it work? Let's look at how you can grow a large variety of plants in Leca and why it works so well. Durable – Seriously, this material is even used in construction. If it can support roads, you can be sure it can support your plants and terrariums for years to come.

If you have a species sempervivium which will come true from seed if not cross pollinated or if you want to experiment, you can grow plants from seed. Named varieties are unlikely toproduce offspring that are true to type (i.e. like the parent). Fill bottomless containers, (25cm (10in) diameter, 30cm (12in) tall) with growing media (that used in growbags is ideal) and plant young plants in April. Special pots of bituminized paper are available for this purpose, but you can use any container that is open at the base. At this point, you might be wondering: why would you even consider using this for growing your plants? This growing medium can't feed my plants on its own...why would I use this? These are excellent questions and they're the exact questions we're going to look at in this post. Leca can't feed your plants for you, but it brings a lot of fantastic benefits that make it a great growing medium for a lot of different plants and plant owners of any skill level! LECA” is actually a sexy acronym for an otherwise un-sexy product. Lightweight Expandable Clay Aggregate, to be precise. Thoroughly clean the growing area to avoid the aggregate becoming contaminated with debris from preceding crops or infected soil.

All prices shown below are per parcel with a maximum weight of 30 kg per parcel. Items over 30 kg are split into multiple boxes and charged per box. Leca is an acronym and it stands for: Lightweight expanded clay aggregate. It sounds very complicated, but when you break it down, it's a good and descriptive name. Essentially, Leca is a growing medium, like soil, in which you can grow your plants. When you're ready to water your plant that's growing in Leca, you'll need to prepare the water first. You'll need to add the hydroponic fertilizer to the water you use to water your plant and mix it well. This will help to dilute the fertilizer with the water and turn your plain old water into a hydroponic nutrient solution. You can water any of your Leca-growing plants with this nutrient solution and you're done! It's a little bit of preparation before you water your plant, but that's all you'll need to do to take care of a plant that's growing in Leca. Conclusion Use a layer of Hydroleca instead of pot shards or pebbles in the bottom of pots and other container before filling with compost to ensure excellent aeration and drainage. While sempervivum appreciate being watered in dry in spring or summer weather, they can survive happily without.