Longwinded LECA Lady

  • Cost comparison: DIY pon versus premixed options

    UPDATED: December 2024

    There’s been a lot of folks looking for DIY options given that Lechuza is once again out of stock as they periodically are. I thought it would be helpful to bring together information on making your own pon, including a cost comparison with links to products (no affiliate links). All product links are U.S.-specific so keep that in mind. The cost comparison is also anchored in the U.S. market at this moment in time (subject to change with price fluctuations and availability based on location).

    RECIPE

    My recipe: The exact proportions aren’t super important but what I use is. A “part” can be any unit of measure you’d like to use but for me, I have a scoop like this and one scoop = 1 part:

    • 4 parts pumice
    • 3 parts lava rock
    • 1 part zeolite
    • 1-2 parts leca

    SIZE OF INDIVIDUAL PIECES

    You do NOT have to have all pieces be uniform in size. Obviously, my mix is not at all uniform and it’s always worked great for me). Some people aesthetically prefer uniformity but having different size pieces will not make or break success.

    I tend to like my pumice and lava rock to be about 1/4″-3/8″ size with zeolite usually being sold a tad smaller or about the same size. LECA can vary in size as well but generally ranges from 1/2″-3/4″ in size.

    The bottom line on size: The overall mix matters more than individual pieces, i.e., number of big pieces in relation to number of small pieces. The general principle is that if there are more larger pieces over all (i.e., using all LECA), the root zone will be drier and more airy versus if you’re using generally more smaller pieces over, the root zone will have more moisture and less oxygen.

    The difference between using Lechuza’s regular pon versus my DIY mix is probably negligible in terms of what the plant is feeling in its root zone even though Lechuza’s pieces are generally smaller overall. There may be bigger differences when going from Lechuza to TheBasements and definitely will be differences going from Lechuza to LECA. As always, pot set up matters a lot as I discuss here. For instance, when I use wick set ups with LECA, I see a huge difference between wick set ups with my DIY pon mix.

    COST ANALYSIS

    Again, my numbers are very specific to what was available to me at the time this comparison was done. If I ever update it in the future, I’ll always include an update date at the top. I included shipping costs as well since I consider that to be part of the overall cost. Obviously, the cost to ship can also vary widely based on where you live.

    You can find links to specific products here as well:

    It was brought to my attention after initially running this that Bonsai Jack has discontinued pumice in the 1/4″ size. The good news is Home Depot still has theirs and I found an equivalent bag/brand on Amazon for the same price/free shipping you can find it here.

    MATH DISLOSURE

    If you click on the chart, you can see where I got my numbers from and how I calculated the cost per pound.

    ADDITIONAL NOTES

    Regarding Bonsai Jack and Home Depot pumice/lava rocks: Both must be purchased in BULK to be cost effective. For Bonsai Jack, that’s a minimum of 6 gallon bulk purchase. For the Home Depot products, they come in 20 quart bags (5 gallon) for the best price.

    Home Depot and other home improvement/garden centers also sell huge bags of “landscaping” lava rock where the rocks are much, much bigger. If you’re willing to do the work of breaking up the pieces and sifting out what’s usable, that would probably be cheaper (personally, I’m not willing to go through all that work!).

    I included a product Bonsai Jack sells called “inorganic bonsai soil.” This isn’t identical to what we typically use in pon mixes but all the ingredients in it (lava rock and a couple kinds of calcined clay) do wick so it’ll work as a pon replacement. I’ve bought and used it before and others have as well. It works fine although DIY is still cheaper.