LECA (hydro clay balls, my media of choice) isn't LECA. There are many different brands and types around on the market.
TL;DR: The best brand is...
It doesn't matter! Just use the cheapest one you can find. I made an overview about the different types at the end.
Here are the properties that matter tho:
- Size:
- Small balls have a stronger capillary action. They pull up the nutrient solution stronger, which results in a wetter medium, and sometimes more salt buildup at the top.
- There's less space between the balls the smaller they are.
This results in less airflow, but more contact area for the roots.
For bigger plants and epiphytes (Orchids, monstera, etc.) you might prefer bigger clumps, and for stuff like ferns or small pots in general smaller beads are better.
- Shape:
- Irregular shaped beads anchor the roots better
- Rounder ones have more airflow and are easier to sift
- When you spill some, the round balls will roll all over your apartment, while the irregular shaped ones stay more in place. Easier to clean up ;)
- Reusing: speaking of cleaning up, rounder balls will be easier to remove the roots. But, I just throw them into the pressure cooker, and the roots turn into mush and remove themselves.
- Porousity/ Density:
- They are all working fine, doesn't matter much
- Some will float forever, some will sink to the bottom when submerged
- Some types crack in the oven and explode when cleaning for reuse. You'll have to be careful and increase the temperature slowly to burn off plant matter. That step usually isn't needed tho.
How can you tell if a brand is high quality or not?
- Size variation:
A good product has beads that are uniformly sized. If there are a lot of small balls, they fill the gaps and worsen the aeration.
- Amount of "junk" in there:
I've had some bags where I found some wood chips, plastic stuff and unpopped kernels/ pieces of clay in there.
They usually aren't a huge problem, but still kinda annoying.
And that's it!
Overview and pictures
Overview
I live in Germany, so many of the brands probably aren't available to you. That doesn't matter tho, since the "type" matters more than the brand.
A
I got this one from Dehner, a local garden store.
- Expensive
- Good median size distribution, very round shaped and smooth surface.
- Doesn't float
B
- Cheap
- I got this from Action, a local dollarstore
- Very bad size distribution. Lots of very small beads.
- Dense
- Uniformly round
C
Brand: Floragard
- Cheapest, from Amazon
- Irregular shaped, rough surface
- Good size distribution, but some are very big
- Floats, very light
- Explodes in oven
- Still one of my favourites
D
- Also from Dehner
- Very uniform size distribution, but very small
- Very dense
E
