What are those little white balls in potted plants?
Question:If you go to a garden centre and buy a tomato plant, the soil has these little white balls in it. What is it? I've gotten conflicting information whenever I've asked someone. One person told me it was styrofoam, another said it was gypsum.
Answers:
I think it depends on which brand of potting soil was used. Perlite is used in potting soil to improve drainage and aeration. Styrofoam is used as an inexpensive substitute for perlite. Beads of styrofoam help aerate potting mixes and serve as a space filler. Being extremely lightweight, they tend to float to the surface when watered. Also, unlike perlite, styrofoam will compact over time.
perlite or vermiculite see picture at:
styrafoam
It's perlite, sort of a manmade pumice stone. Its in there to help keep the soil open and help with drainage.
Perlite and/or vermiculite. Perlite is a naturally occurring type of volcanic rock. It is used to store and hold water as well as provide aeration in potted plants. Not only that, you can start seeds and plant only it perlite. Here is an article on perlite if you are interested. http://www.perlite.dk/using.htm...
Vermiculite is a mineral and it is similar to perlite in that it helps with water retention and aeration. Here is an article on Vermiculite. http://www.vermiculite.org/pdf/horticult...
Hope this helps.
it is styrofoam it help keep the soil loose and the roots spread easily in the pot if the is loose and airy.
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