PON vs LECA vs PERLITE vs STRATUM || Semi Hydro Media Comparison
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- Опубликовано: 20 янв 2023
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:20 What is Lechuza Pon / Pon Overview
1:07 Guaranteed Analysis of Lechuza Pon / What is in Lechuza Pon?
2:20 What is LECA / LECA Overview
2:53 LECA vs PON
3:54 What is Perlite?
4:27 How to use Perlite AND LECA
5:00 Monstera deliciosa albo variegata in LECA
5:22 What is Fluval Stratum
5:48 How to use Fluval Stratum
6:07 Variegated Musa Banana Leaf
6:35 Does Stratum have nutrients in it?
7:00 Lechuza pon might be idiot proof?
7:50 THE Best media for Monstera is LECA
8:36 Price of Pon Vs LECA Vs Perlite Vs Stratum
9:00 COME TO THE ALBO SHOW yall
In this video we go over:
LECA vs Pon
What is LECA
What is PON
Should I use Pon or leca
#Pon #LECA #semihydro
I do earn a small amount money from amazon affiliate links if purchases are made (and I mean pennies). This does not create incentive to make videos like this. My goal is to make reliable, honest, plant content viewers can trust. 
Хобби
Pon isn't perlite with pumice, it is pumice, lava rock, and zeolite. Slow release fertilizer is added. The fertilizer is used up over time, but the three primary ingredients are re-usable.
Right on! Thanks for clearing this up
@Pretty in Green i want to just point out that I love whenever someone comes with an information correction you accept it and don't argue. Always sharing so much information readily and learning. 😊
@@milkymoonmama369and this is when you really learn, when you accept your mistakes ❤
There is also Basicpon without fertilizer (not sure if it is new tho)
I love the plant community, so helpful.
My solution is a DIY PON. I bought:
pumice: 20L; 8-16mm for 20 CHF
lava: 25L; 8-25mm for 9 CHF
zeolite: 10L, 5mm for 36 CHF
This comes out to 1.18 CHF/L for 55L of substrate.
The advantage is, that I can choose the grain size myself.
I planted all of my alocasia in a mix of perlite, stratum, and vermiculite. They are thriving.
Where I'm living, garden centers have a store-brand Pon without the fertilizer and larger grain size that is a little cheaper than Lechuza (all advantages I think). Might be worth looking out for such an alternative instead of going for the expensive brand
does it have a name for this mix?
Thanks for this video, it answered a lot of my questions!
Awesome! I love to hear this!! 😄
Awesome info. Thanks for sharing!
Great information! Since you have those substrate at hand, you should do a rooting experiment with them…like a 1 leaf pothos. Thanks for sharing.
That’s a great idea!!! Will do!!!
Lechuza sells pon without fertilizer in it too (at least they used to). In the UK, Soil Ninja sells their version of pon without it too and they sell their slow release on the side. Other websites sell their versions of pon too, with/without slow release in it.
Great information. Now I know more about them, thanks
😄
I use LECA for larger rooted plants like Monstera & Philodendron. I make homemade PON for Hoya and to root leaf cuttings. Finally I use perlite in prop boxes for wet sticks, etc.
Love this! This is pretty much what I do, except for coco husk instead of Pon
You can use LECA for many decades even!
They sell crushed LECA too, so doesn't matter much if even most is broken. Fine crushed LECA is a nice, finer substrate too after all.
Great info, if anyone is in Australia pon is stupid expensive if you can get it. There is a medium called MABgrow, it comes in 2 different sizes and no fertiliser, (because I too am a control freak) atm I’m using it for Hoya and Alocasia, the Alocasia especially are loving it. 🌱
Great tip!
You can just make your own - Pumice, Lava and Clinoptilolite/most other Zeolites just as well most probably. Those things are usually available everywhere + you can even vary the mix according to needs.
No added fert is a plus for me as well.
Not sure if someone has mentioned already but Lechuza Pon also has an inert variety.
Yup! I learned that from some folks down in the comments 😅
Thanks again!
Any time!
I make my own pon, which only has nutrients if I add it. Sometimes I add the slow release fertilizer balls like Osmocote to my mix. Otherwise, I fertilize my plants as needed when I water my plants / add water to the reservoir. Either way, you have to add fertilizer that can be used in semi-hydroponics. Lechuza pon is a brand name premix with the slow release nutrient balls added.
That’s so cool! I really want to make my own! I honestly haven’t loved the Pon experience so far. It’s tough to see the condensation for when the plant needs water :/
I use a 50/50 perlite peat mix and it's the least expensive since I buy 4 cu ft bags of each. I get superfast plant growth growth in my porch and patio in the summertime.
I love the 50/50 peat perlite mixes. There’s even one with mycorrhizae in it! Stuff works awesome for just about any plant 😄
Thanks
🙏
I use lechuza pon, monsteras do extremely well in it, I have thai, aurea, obliqua, sp Peru..
Good to know! I'll put a Monstera in it to try!
Hey man, did You have a Look at Basicpon, its inert too i think, no nutrients added and reusable, i use it and its awesome. Also its "Just" 18€ for 20liters hre germany at least 👍
Just found your channel. What fertilizer do you use for leca plants?😊
No thank you for sharing love watching your video on laca I have a question to ask I put two plants in lace on the leaves just tuned yellow please answer my question what did I did wrong
It could be too much water? If they’re sitting in water, give them an air stone
Hi. I just discovered your channel. It has some great info and I’m really enjoying it. Does the stratum have to be Fluval or can it be any brand as long as it’s stratum?
Hey!! Welcome to the channel :) I actually prefer this brand of Stratum: 🌿 Stratum Substitute: amzn.to/3Nkwa8S
Look for our recent vid on Tissue Culture acclimation :)
The cost of Lechuza pots is astronomical when you consider what it is
Agreed!! And they feel cheap and look alright
Hey Chis, thks for the infro on all these different mediums. I think they’re cool I’m learning I have a baby, Thai cancellation and she’s putting out a new leaf and I’m so excited. I don’t wanna put her in dirt as she gets bigger so I’m learning as much as I can about non-dirt solutions. 💚🍀
Awesome!! Absolutely-Thais are really delicate so you definitely want to try a good soilless media for it!! Lots of choices for it 😄
Great!
🤗
The price of PON doesn't really matter in the long term. You can reuse it a thousand times and never have to buy new substrate.
Ok so confused on what to use for my Hoya. Can you help?. I will only be a plant or two owner for awhile. Not a house plant grower so this is a trial. So don't want to invest alot of $, to try. So what do you think. Thank you
I use (since 1 week) a diy mix. 1 part lava rocks 8-16 mm, 1 part pumice 8-16 mm, 1 part pumice 4-8 mm, 1 part zeolite 8-16 mm. Since one week! And i put the plant out of the pot to see how it works. It works so well, the roots growing crazy (ah and i use pots with holes on the side, see on the leca queen) ! And it is a really chunky mix! I use it on a big monstera. They was before in a chunky aroid mix. A friend of mine works for lechuza here in bavaria and i get a gift from her, a lechuza set with this little pon mix an the pot. I use it for my string of hearts, because it have a finer root system. I do it in my transparent box with other plants i try it in the mineral substrate. It works well. Finger crossed, it works, if i put out of the box. But my monstera loves it. But i use your leca&perlite mix too. My thai constellation and syngoniums and alocasia loves it very very much :-). I would not recommend lechuza pon for all plants, this size used in the cactus community, because it so fine. We don't use a chunky mix of aroid soil mix, to transfer the plant in a lechuza pon, that have smaller sizes of mixture. It is not what i understand. Chunky mix with soil mix -> Leca (are chunky) or chunky mineral substrate.
I’ll try this out!
@@prettyingreen oh great. Let me/us know how it works for you!
When you say 8-16mm or 4-8mm are you referring to the size of the lava rocks/pumice/zeolite? When I search on Amazon for 8mm lava rock it brings up lava beads 😅
@@aminatak5685 Here i have a link of lava rocks what i mean: cdn.hornbach.de/data/shop/D04/001/780/497/108/22/DV_8_5876446_01_4c_DE_20150917134314.jpg
Yea, for example 1 part lava rocks in the size 8-16 mm. My english is not so good. If you want to buy it, you will see, that is really chunky. No worry. It is ok and it works well. I use this mix and from this wonderful guy in the video hihi his 50% perlite/50% leca. Both works great. If you have questions, feel free to ask again. :-) Lava Beads i think it a little bit expensive.
Do you let the Leca or mixes dry out or do you keep a 1 inch water level at all times?
The pon you can just start using the same nutrient water you use for all other semihydro - I believe it lasts about 6 months
It would be great if you could mention why you won’t be including pumice in this comparison
I always mix my pon and leca
That’s a great idea!
I’d love to come to one of your shows, but it seems you are only on the west coast, while I’m in Maryland!
We want to come to the East Coast! Just want to make sure there’s enough interest before we come 😅
I have a question. I am in love with leca, too. It makes my life a lot easier. In my local store I can find 2 types of leca. One type is very aesthetic, the balls are perfectly round, and the other type is a lot cheaper, but looks like chunks like the leca you show in your video. When I tried both, I felt that the round ones retains more moisture than the irregular ones. The latter are not dry, but doesn't feel as wet as the round one. Did you experienced that?
Yes and I prefer the odd shaped ones! Less moisture the better 😝
Once again your prices are so much different from us here in Portugal :o I buy 100L bag of Perlite for 25€. 50L pomice for 10€. 50L of Leca for 5.50€. I don't think I'd have half as many plants if we had your local prices. Life cost probably is a lot different as well so I'm guessing those are proportional.
You’re absolutely correct. I was in Faro, Portugal in September and can confirm the prices are much more affordable-and Portugal is a beautiful country!
Lol in Australia Pon is more like $6-7/L... it's insane. $118 AUD for an 18L bag (not incl postage).
Wowwwww that’s crazy! Plant Things are so expensive in AU 🥹
i need that banana leaf plant!!
I have a 3 foot one for you 👀 😆
Hi I have a question about Leica. As nutrients have a tendency to sit in the bottom do u think they are equally distributed in root system keeping in view that Leica balls are not easily absorbing all the nutrients. I means there are chances that a big portion of nutrients go waste compare to coco where liquid and nutrients are equally distributed in the pot. Pls correct me if I am wrong
I assume they are equally distributed in water if we assume they are equally distributed in soil/coconut!
Are you doing a flood table on a bi-weekly watering with the pure leca?
Yup! And we change the schedule based on season and plant varieties too
Do you have variegated banana plants at the albo show ?
Yup!! Santa Barbara tomorrow and Bay Area next weekend. More details here: prettyingreen.com/blogs/news/the-albo-show-2
Very nice Video, what are your thoughts about LECA raising the PH after you forgott to water it and it dried out.
You have to resterelize it to not raise the PH right ?
Is this something thats a Problem for you or are you just THAT consistant with never letting it dry out ?
Hmmm interesting question. I definitely let it over dry out sometimes. And if you ever do, you can always flush it with 7.0 distilled water to reset, or water with extra amounts (2-3x container volume) through the leca with your pH corrected nutrient solution.
And the Leca pH might be dropping if more water is being evaporated, and leaving behind the salts, increasing the EC, and dropping the pH. But up or down is possible
I have a one-leaf juvenile Thai con that succumbed to root rot. Stuck it in stratum (after soaking in HP/Water of course), and rot got worse 😢 now it’s just in plain ol tap water with rooting hormone. What’s the best way to get this rooted. Short nub of an aerial root left and I don’t want to lose that either
I can’t tell you how many times this has happened to me with Thai TC, and how many I’ve killed (probably 30-40+?).
Best method is likely to mix in a good amount of perlite, or even go to 100% perlite. Maybe even a sterile moss that is keep well on the dry/damp side. Good luck!
Coming to Fargo?
❤
I have such difficult water when I tried using leca I got frustrated with all of the mixing to get a good PH so I basically just gave up.😢 I now have a huge bag of leca just sitting there. ❄️💚🙃
You can add the leca to other potting mixes, if you're no longer doing semi-hydro.
Absolutely!! Great for adding drainage
Oh no! I’d encourage you to try again, and simply mix a good batch of water at the suggested fertilizer level-and if it’s a good liquid fert (like ours) it will balance at the correct pH. Then, just change the water every 2 weeks (pour it on your other soil plants). Just an idea 👍
I use my leca in my soil mix to help with water drainage. What with the cost of everything going up, I don't wanna waste anything
There are videos on RUclips showing how to make your own pon. It’s only 3 different types of rocks.
Oh cool! I will check that out
Any thoughts of bringing The Albo Show to Chicago?
Yes!! It will be the first stop beyond Texas we come to!! Probably April - July weather depending. Love Chicago
Which medium would you suggest as the best option for germination of Seeds?
I like coco coir/perlite OR sphagnum moss
@@prettyingreen ok thanks. Next question what do you presoak your seeds in to speed up germination? I've been doing some research some suggest a weak hydrogen peroxide solution with a lil sucrose. Others presoaking in a Gibberlic acid solution. This is for dried seeds I've ordered from online seed stores.
Could we get a room tour?
I gotta do this! It’s just always so damn messy 😂
Can we use pumice stone for semi hydroponic?
Yup!!
@@prettyingreen thank you so much♥️
What if you mixed leca and pon? ❄️💚🙃
I was just thinking that after someone in the comments said there’s a Pon version without nutrients! Great idea
I put Lecca in the bottom of my clear vessels and my own Pon mix on top.
So far it’s working great and it looks nice.
So....I live in Texas and we have an ABUNDANCE of red sand stone.....literally it's everywhere. It's highly porous and I wonder how using this rather than pon would work. Maybe smashing into small pieces, rinsing the small particles, sanitizing, etc. And then of course adding a fertilize. It sounds like it could fulfill essentially the same purpose and quite frankly, it's free here and reusable for quite a long time. Lol. If anyone has any ideas hey this WOULDN'T work please let me know because I am no expert and only recently getting into houseplants rather than outdoor gardening. And yes, it sounds time consuming but frankly I have more time than money at the moment. Lol
I think this is a GREAT idea!! You should try it!
Have you tried this?
@@priscillaspets yes and it seems to work really well! You do have to take some things into account, for example the broken rocks are sharper or more abrasive so you do need to be a bit more careful when potting up so you don't damage the root. But as far as the absorption of the rocks and all, it works great. Also, I haven't used pon personally so I cannot give a detailed comparison but sand stone definitely works well.
It is funny that you say Stratum is the most popular because I never heard of it before. I see Leca in the english videos all the time and in the german videos everyone is using Pon or a mix with the same ingredients.
Never had good experiences with leca but all my cuttings root in pon and also all my plants I switch over thrive so much more in pon so I disagree with this video .
I'll stick with good old aroid mix.
Hey me too!! Some of these do outperform Aroid mix tho IMO
@@prettyingreen definitely. Especially on the repoting part or if you want to sell and send the plant bare root... These medium definitely make it lot easier to clean the root system. It's more "sterile" too.
I still use leca now and then for rehabing plants from root rot, but i don't use them for a plant permanently. I think I just can't deal with the fertilizing routine. 😬
I had to log in just to comment. You are "comparing" pon with other substrate and you didn't even do your homework? It doesn't have perlite, it is reusable and the fertilizer only lasts like 4-6 months. It provides a buffer to help keep a balanced PH also why not talk about the "less common" substrate (if you did your homework) there are literally thousands of videos about perlite and leca but I have yet to find one about just pumice... Okay I'm done complaining.
I think you should be the one to make a video on pumice! And on Pon while you’re at it! You seem to have a great personality for the camera 👍