Perlite is an excellent amendment that is often added to growing media when cultivating cannabis. It makes a brilliant addition to products like coco coir and helps improve the structure of your favorite soil.
One of the best things about perlite is that it is completely neutral and will not affect the nutrient EC level or the water pH level.
Many growers use perlite in their growing media to reduce the weight, which has two advantages; one, when used in potted plants it makes the plants much more maneuverable and two; helps provide much-needed aeration for the plants.
Without further ado let’s see what brands made the list for best perlite for cannabis.
Mother Earth Perlite
For growers looking for a premium grade, excellent quality perlite, Mother Earths Perlite should be definitely one that you consider.
Widely agreed to be one of the best perlite mixes on the market today, the Mother Earths Perlite is perfect for anyone worried about over-watering.
Exceptionally well aerated and designed for optimal drainage, the mixture allows growers to continuously feed without the soil/medium becoming too compacted or waterlogged.
An excellent alternative to potting soil and other growing media, in consumer tests the Mother Earth Perlite actually lasts considerably longer than other media when used for container planting.
Competitively priced and highly regarded as one of the best perlite mixes on the market, the Mother Earth Perlite is a premium purchase that any budding grower should be pleased with.
Pros
- Adds porosity to soil and soilless mixes
- Odorless
- Versatile
Cons
- Larger perlite products are available
Harvest Hero Enhanced Perlite Mix
For anyone looking for a premium, top of the range, breakthrough perlite mix, then look no further than the Harvest Hero Enhanced Perlite Mix.
Currently awaiting patent approval, this one of the kind, innovative soil amendment is comprised of the best perlite, delicately mixed with diatomaceous earth and containing all the essential nutrients to help optimize growth in your plants.
Scientifically designed by Harvest Hero’s experienced growing engineers, the Harvest Hero Enhanced Perlite Mix has been specifically created to lead to greater yields by focussing on improving the soil structure and thereby boosting plant growth.
Throughout the critical first six weeks of plant growth, the Harvest Hero Enhanced Perlite Mix will help provide all of the essential nutrients necessary for strong, consistent growth whilst at the same time noticeably improving the actual growing environment so that the plant will find it easier to absorb moisture and nutrients through its root system.
The Harvest Hero Enhanced Perlite Mix is unlike anything on the market today and is made from the highest grade perlite and earth and available in 12 quartz bags (13.2 liters or 4.8lbs) and containing all the important nutrients that will help you to perfect your growing environment and produce greater yields.
Pros
- Reduced salinity
- Promotes a neutral PH
- Improves overall soil quality
- Prevents compaction
- Lightweight
- Improves moisture retention
Cons
- None
xGarden Premium Perlite
The xGarden 8 Quarts Horticultural Grade Premium Perlite is one of the most well-known and highly sought-after perlites on the market.
Perfect for improving plant root health, xGarden Premium Perlite helps make soil loose and aerated, thus additionally improving drainage and preventing soil compaction.
Able to expand up to 20 times its original size when heated at high temperatures, each perlite rock contains thousands of tiny holes that help retain moisture and prevent dry soil.
The xGarden Perlite provides the perfect balance of moisture and aeration whilst still being sterile, non-toxic, and pH neutral.
Easy to use and perfect for budget-conscious growers looking for a top-of-the-range soil-like media, xGarden 8 Quarts Horticultural Grade Premium Perlite can help optimize plant growth in any garden.
Pros
- Sterile
- Excellent aeration qualities
- Helps prevent soil compaction
Cons
- The odd complaint of excessive sand
Cz Garden Organic Coarse Perlite
For any hydroponic enthusiasts looking for a coarser, stronger, and lightweight perlite then look no further than Cz Garden Organic Coarse Perlite soil additive.
This horticulture grade perlite is pH neutral, sterile, and odorless, and as well as promoting good root aeration, this perlite also allows growers to easily deal with the problem of overwatering.
Able to help growers prevent root rotting as well as deter excess acidity, Cz Garden Organic Coarse Perlite is incredibly easy to use, safe to handle and assists plants in retaining both water and nutrients.
The incredible design structure of each perlite grain, with its ingenious capillarity and its scientifically tested absorption abilities, means that growers can be confident of ensuring the perfect balance in aeration and hydration levels.
Competitively priced and extremely versatile, perlite can help growers of all experience levels ensure that their growing environment is optimized perfectly.
Pros
- Safe to handle
- Prevents root rotting
- Excellent absorption
Cons
- Some complaints of the perlite not being as coarse as advertized
PLANT!T Perlite
For growers looking for a consistent, effective, easy-to-use growing media, PLANT!T Perlite is definitely worth a look.
PLANT!T Perlite is incredibly lightweight and with its porous and irregular surface, is perfect for water retention and promoting optimal plant growth.
The amazing thing about the PLANT!T Perlite is the fact it has been designed to work with and improve other growing media when it is used as an addition.
Able to be mixed with everything from coir, compost, peat moss, bark, or even native soil, PLANT!T Perlite versatility is only exceeded by its ability to produce optimal aeration and drainage environments.
Long-lasting and consistent, PLANT!T Perlite will not decompose or deplete nitrogen levels in the soil.
Perlite has a fantastic ability to create pore spaces when added to soil and other growing media, and this allows for more space to get rid of excess water and toxins.
Additionally, the space creating ability also means that roots maintain a balanced air environment and moisture level, ensuring optimal conditions for healthy biological and microbial activity, and minimizing the chances of rot.
This means that PLANT!T Perlite as well as being exceptionally well priced is also incredibly long-lasting and excellent value for money.
Pros
- Available in 10L and 100L bags
- Highly rated
Cons
- Price could be better
PVP Industries Organic Perlite
For growers looking for a clean, sterile, pH-neutral growing media, then PVP Industries Organic Perlite is a super durable, nontoxic, competitively priced option that they definitely should consider.
Such is the durability of PVP’s Perlite that it doesn’t decay or shrink and even pests such as insects or fungi have trouble destroying it.
Scientifically engineered to work in unison with compost, natural soils, or composted bark, the perlite helps anchor the roots of plants and help promote growth.
Although perlite does have a capacity to retain water, it is much better utilized to assist drainage.
Perfect for seed germination and growing cuttings, perlite allows optimal drainage conditions for plant life whilst working to create the perfect growing environment.
PVP Industries Organic Perlite is excellently priced and has garnered significant praise recently amongst the growing community.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Promotes growth
- Durable
Cons
- Some complaints of it not being as course as advertized
Perfect Plants Organic Perlite
Perfect Plants Organic Perlite is one of the most affordable, versatile, and durable perlites on the market today.
Coming in a heavy-duty, resealable bag that is perfect for storage, growers can get the most out of this perlite without having to worry about waste.
The lightweight, porous mineral rock can be used in conjunction with potting soil to create a perfect environment for aeration and drainage to suit any grower’s needs.
With its clever use of air pockets and absorbent nature, the perlite creates space for the roots to breathe and allows them to take in all necessary nutrients whilst avoiding suffocating from soil compaction.
Proper aeration of roots when growing is essential and allows for the proper drainage of not just excess water but also any harmful toxins that may be present.
Long-lasting and durable, Perfect Plants Perlite is pH neutral meaning growers can be confident of not tampering with the acidity levels of their growing media whilst also achieving perfect drainage and aeration conditions.
Well-liked amongst growers and easy to use, Perfect Plants Perlite is a boon for any grower looking to help boost plant growth with minimal fuss.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Avoids soil compaction
- Perfect for storage
Cons
- Packaging and price could be better
Best Perlite for Cannabis Buyers Guide
Perlite appears as small, white, round stones and is one of the most potent non-organic soil additives used to aerate growing media.
Many growers have heard of both perlite and vermiculite but it’s important to remember that the two aren’t always interchangeable and actually have different functions and benefits.
Although some qualities of vermiculite and perlite do cross over, vermiculite has much higher water retention abilities and is normally used to keep plants constantly hydrated.
Perlite meanwhile is much more porous and allows water to drain more efficiently. As such if you had a plant that needed only small amounts of hydration but instead of using perlite you used vermiculite you could potentially end up overwatering the plant and essentially drowning it.
Knowing the difference between perlite and vermiculite is therefore incredibly important and thankfully it’s fairly easy to tell the difference even from a cursory glance.
Perlite starts out as a volcanic glass that upon being heated to 1600 degrees Fahrenheit pops and expands to over thirteen times its former size.
But as perlite expands so does its porosity, and this means that it becomes unbelievably lightweight.
Perlite, once superheated, is made up of tiny air pockets and under a microscope the perlite surrounding these air pockets can be seen to be made up of tiny, absorbent cells that draw moisture to the exterior of the particle, thus making them perfect for transferring moisture to plant roots.
In addition to what we know about it how important it is to use perlite on the right type of plants, (ones that require limited moisture such as cacti), it’s also important to remember that growing plants in perlite can cause fluoride burns that present themselves as brown tips in most houseplants.
Prior to being used it’s always advised that perlite is sufficiently moistened to reduce dust particles but other than that perlite is very easy to use.
A perfect choice for plants that need high levels of humidity, perlites large surface area allows for increased evaporation and therefore improves humidity.
Many growers use perlite in soil mixes to change soil substructure, improve aeration and provide a well-drained, loose, noncompact growing media perfect for improving plant growth.
Recap
Perlite is an extraordinary and multifunctional additive to your growing media and providing you know what your plant needs, provides exceptional benefits with very few drawbacks.
Versatile and able to be used for cuttings under grow lights or containers in your garden, perlite should definitely be on your list when looking for an amendment to boost your plants’ growth.
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