5 Reasons to Transfer Your Houseplants into LECA

LECA stands for Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate.

These little clay balls are firm and baked, they expand slightly but do not get soft when wet. Think of them like little ceramic beads. 

You may be wondering why anyone would want to grow their houseplants in LECA? I’ll give you a few great reasons.

1. Watering

• With LECA, there is no guesswork involved. I just have to make sure there is some water in the reservoir and that’s that.
• The balls absorb water and it is wicked up, passing through each layer. This is called capillary action.
• The plant will develop water roots which will grow towards the water and will drink only what they need. 

2. Healthier plants
   • I have found that my houseplants in LECA grow much faster and healthier. I attribute this to the fact that LECA allows for more airflow around the roots. The LECA balls have voids within them in addition to the voids between the balls. 

• Even chunky soil mixes break down over time and need to be aerated and conditioned with more substrate.
• Growing plants in water alone doesn’t allow the roots to anchor to anything, therefore they may be healthy but will not grow to their largest potential. This set up will also require some sort of aeration like an air stone or you will need to continuously change out the water so that there is oxygen in it, or the roots will suffocate.

3. Infinite use
   • The LECA can be used time and time again, never getting compacted or depleted the way soil does.
   • If you are worried about harmful bacteria or fungus from a previous plant, you can either boil your LECA or soak in some peroxide water and then rinse before reusing.

4. Fertilizing
   • LECA is an inorganic, sterile substrate, so it doesn’t have any nutrients. This may seem like a negative quality, but I find it to be helpful. When you buy a soil mix it is hard to know what the composition is and when it will be depleted enough to need fertilizer. Because of this people over fertilize and their plants get chemical burns.
   • Since LECA doesn’t have nutrients I use a semi-hydroponic fertilizer each time I water my plants and know exactly what they are getting.
     • I’ve experimented with a few different fertilizers are these are a few of my favorites.
       
5. Pests
   • Because LECA isn’t an organic substrate it’s not exactly a hospitable environment for pests to live. For instance, fungus gnats prefer to lay their eggs in the top layer of moist soil.
   •  I won’t say that it is impossible for pests problems to occur, but they are far less likely and infinitely easier to eradicate.
   • If you do happen to notice a pest issue all you need to do is rinse your plants leaves thoroughly and flush water through the LECA to rinse them out.
   • The only insect I ever seem to get are beneficial insects like springtails that eat dead roots and are so small you can barely see them. They are like the clean up crew for those soil roots that die off as your water roots grow.

There are so many other benefits of growing houseplants in LECA.

• Like not needing to use a moisture meter or digging your fingers into your soil to see if it needs watering.
• It’s easier to have someone care for your plants if you go on vacation. Just tell them to water any containers to the 1/3 mark.
• Or you can even just use a larger cache pot so there is more water but not too high and you won’t need anyone to check on your plants for longer. I once put a bunch of my LECA houseplants in a large storage container with water in it.
• No guessing what is going on below the surface. You can tell pretty easily if you are having root issues when you use a clear container.

LECA is not without faults, but I find that the pros out weight the cons ten-fold.

If you are interested in the cons, here are a few minor ones

1. Algae build up
   • Many people like to place their LECA in glass containers, because it looks quite beautiful. The issue here is that if you have your container close to a light source, like right up against a window, or under a plant light, algae can start to grow.
   • The algae on it’s own isn’t a big issue, it’s mostly just unattractive. But, if the algae gets out of hand it can compete with the plant for nutrients. For my plants in glass containers- I just put a shorter pot inbetween it and the light source to mitigate this phenomenon.
2. Mold
   • If you use a short container then the moisture level will stay quite high and mold is more likely. To prevent this either use a deeper container or increase the airflow around the plant with a small fan. I like this one which is small, rechargeable and adjustable so I can put it wherever I need it, no problem.
3. Delicate roots
   • Some plants like peperomias, strings of things, and succulents have very fine, delicate roots. These don’t seem to agree with LECA due to the voids being too large. There is an easy solution to this. MINI LECA. Mini LECA can be used exactly the same way and is perfect for plants with small roots.
4. Mineral Build up
   • Just like the algae situation this is really not a big deal, it’s just not very attractive. Depending where you live your city tap water may have chlorine, flouride and other minerals in it. These minerals can build up on the LECA and look like little salt crystals. To avoid this you can “flush” your container (run water through it to wash it away), or use distilled or water that has set out for atleast 24 hours (so the minerals can evaporate off the water).

These issues that can arise with houseplants in LECA are minimal and can be avoided/ easily remedied.

Have I convinced you to give it a shot? If so, check out my post on How to Grow Houseplants in LECA.