Recycled plastic pellets for those eager to water?
 

Hey, gang!

This is a thought I had looking around Etsy, coming across DavesGardenObsession (I've had good experience with Dave) and I've seen this note on many of his listings:

Out of curiousity, how many of you have had experiences using plastic pellets and is it a good choice of medium for people who like to eagerly water?

My wife likes the idea of keeping some plants (I have the green thumb in our relationship), but she tends to overwater. Some succulents instead of orchids are an obvious choice for anyone new to keeping plants, but succulents can be overwatered as well. There's other people I know that tend to overwater as well, so maybe plastic pellets might work as a medium for those who like to water too much.

Not clear on what you mean. Foam packing pellets/peanuts?

https://static.recycle-plant.com/wp-...c-pellets.webp

recycled plastic pellets. :(

Looks a little small to me. I don’t know if or how well the pellets are wetted, but if they hold water between the pellets, they are not particularly advantageous.

I am finding that LECA + rock wool cubes works quite well for me, since the mix can be “tuned”, and am working toward moving some tropical houseplants into it.

Apologies, I should've upload a picture of the listing to give a better idea.

The pellets a bigger than what RJSquirrel found.

I don’t think there is any chance of overwatering in those!

I do want to add that, technically, there is no such thing as “overwatering” if the plant has replaced its roots with those attuned to the wetter conditions. Most of the time, what folks label as overwatering is actually “under-airing”, also known as suffocation.

Being able to water heavily is actually a growth advantage.

Good point.

I might look into these kinds of pellets for some plants, if they aren't too expensive (they probably are with my luck). Medium pumice stone probably works fine as well.

I'll message Dave and see if there's a particular brand he buys.

Very low density media are easy to float or splash out of pots when watering. Extra-large horticultural perlite (#4 grade) has this issue.

If you’re looking for an inert medium that can take a lot of watering without bridging water suffocating the roots, why not consider good old LECA?

I have a Vanda I could actually wrestle it's root into a pot comfortably with leca in it. It seems to like it.

I think I'm slowly becoming anti-sphagnum moss for my orchids, not because I've had bad experiences, but because there's always the worry about things going south.
Also it's a tad pricey.
Also also because making moss mounds for all of my Neos and Dendrobium moniliforme is going to be a pain in the ass this spring. Something like leca and/or pumice/lava rock makes it to where I don't have to repot for a minute, and I'd be more confident that there's enough aeration.

If you are into displaying your Neos in the traditional Japanese pots, then go for the moss mound. It's an aesthetic decision that than drives the cultural approach. If you just enjoy watching them grow, they grow very happily when treated like the Vandas that they are. I have some in baskets with minimal media hanging on my patio with 2-3 ft. roots dangling down. (Being fortunate that I live where the climate is suitable for that approach) No matter what your approach, the goal is the same - humid air in the root zone. There are many, many ways to achieve that.

I like this idea if they don't decompose or retain minerals. Would be willing to try for my delicate Cattleyas since I always seem to be rotting their roots.

I found something on Amazon called Arqlite, check it out.

Only disadvantage I see is, how can you sterilize it and reuse it? Heat sterilization would be out of the question, I assume.

I think I'm also trying to figure out if there's a way to use the traditional plastic Neo pots I already have. I think if I could get a small mesh screen to cover the hole on the bottom of most pots, I could use chunky mixes as opposed to the traditional sphagnum.

The traditional trumpet neo/dendrobium pots might actually work well for this, given they're deeper and give more room for roots to grow. Plus it might be easier to make look more aesthetically pleasing with chunky organic or inorganic mixes.

I'll have to just try it out at some point.

---------- Post added at 10:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:49 AM ----------

I wouldn't know. My first guess would be to start with hot water and soap. After that...maybe hydrogen peroxide? I don't think you could use rubbing alcohol. It's a very homemade cleaning, but I'm not knowledgeable about more advanced cleaning methods.

Check out drywall tape. I’ve been using it for years.

Household bleach at a 10% dilution is adequate to sanitize clean plastic. I would soak in soapy water for a few hours - which will kill almost all bacteria, fungi and viruses - agitate well, rinse, then soak in bleach solution for an hour.

You could probably toss them in an old pillow case and send them through a washing machine on a delicate cycle. Toss in some rags to dampen the noise. Use a drop of soap and bleach.

I haven’t done this, and I take no responsibility for what happens to your machine if you try it, but I’d definitely be trying it. :D

Wow! Has this thread exploded into several, or what?

• Many moons ago, I would put plastic pots in the dishwasher with a cup of bleach. Worked great, but stunk up the house. Now, I simply use Cascade pods.

• Ordinary window screen “patches” contain potting media well. Finer mesh is unnecessary.

• Back to the plastic pellet potting media for a moment, as much as I like the idea, I will avoid that Arqlite stuff for the color alone, but what concerns me more is the apparent lack of porosity.
  
  Yes, the porosity in LECA is where mineral solids collect, ultimately requiring replacement, albeit far less frequently than organic components, but there is a significant “up side” to that porosity. A pot full of LECA, even when apparently dry, holds quite a bit of water that acts to keep the air in the interstitial voids quite humid, and that can go a long way to maintaining the health of plants that are otherwise neglected.
  
  Over the years, plants have occasionally been dropped off the back of the bench, resulting in them getting no water for several weeks, but the most extreme example came when I was getting ready to move. Moving is always a busy time, but filling a 30 cubic yard roll-off dumpster with crap accumulated over 20+ years of operating First Rays out of my basement was extremely occupying.
  
  When disassembling my greenhouse for sale, I found several plants that had not seen any care for 3 months that were chugging along fine. I can only attribute that to them being sustained by that stored water.
  
  I’m not suggesting that we intentionally (or unintentionally) neglect our plants, but it seems to me that the moisture stability within the medium is a significant “plus”.

On a side note. Not everywhere household bleach contains 10% natriumhypochloriet (NaOCl)

I'm not sure but I believe the max % in the Netherlands is between 3-5%. I think to know that it's actually 4%.

If I'm not mistaken, the original recommendation was to do a 10% solution of that, resulting in a 0.3%-0.5% solution for use.

That makes sense. Thank you.

Interesting. I did purchase some leca, so I'll have to experiment and see how things go. From the sound of it, seems like things will go well.