Anybody have an opinion about stalite for semi hydro?

[JScott]

I was out of LECA and had a Cattleya I wanted to try in semi hydro. I used stalite because I had a lot on hand. It's just been a day, so I can't tell anything yet, but the water wicks up through the stalite, and it is moist just under the surface of the stalite. My only concern is that stalite might compact more than LECA and not allow as much air to the roots, but I'm not sure about that. I might be worried about nothing. But has anybody used stalite for semi hydro?

[Leafmite]

Here is the link to what Repot me says about it:

Medium Stalite

– rePotme

It seems as if it should work very well as a medium as long as the size is comparable to the size of medium that you usually use. Looks as though you can treat it just like red lava rock.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

Here is the link to what Repot me says about it:

Medium Stalite

– rePotme

It seems as if it should work very well as a medium as long as the size is comparable to the size of medium that you usually use. Looks as though you can treat it just like red lava rock.

It is the medium I usually use. I have a number of plants doing great growing in pure stalite. In fact the plant I transferred to semi hydro today was already growing in stalite. So I guess I should be good. Thanks!

[estación seca]

I think there's a comparison of Stalite and regular LECA in the free information section of the First Ray's Web site.

[Ray]

It’s the “Inert Media Comparison” article in the Semi-Hydroponics section. There’s also an “Inert Media Comparison 2020” comparing several currently available brands of LECA and other inorganic media most often used for bonsai.

Stalite is heat-expanded shale. It holds quite a bit of water, but less than LECA, and has about 20% less free void space. With extended exposure to water and dissolved ions, those expanded layers will collapse, reducing its absorption capacity.