Does plastic pebbles cause harm to indoor plants?

[Essen]

I received an email and watched their website (www.epolypebbles.com). This plastic cobblestone looks very beautiful. Can anyone tell me if it can cause damage to plants?

 

[Lloyd Gordon]

I find it's usually best to see the soil medium for watering assessment and to generally keep an eye on plant health.
The plastic shouldn't be toxic but why take a chance? The pebbles, IMHO, distract from the plants, may deteriorate, may leach toxins, would complicate repotting and cost money which can be used to buy more plants.

 

[Essen]

I find it's usually best to see the soil medium for watering assessment and to generally keep an eye on plant health.
The plastic shouldn't be toxic but why take a chance? The pebbles, IMHO, distract from the plants, may deteriorate, may leach toxins, would complicate repotting and cost money which can be used to buy more plants.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Essen]

I find it's usually best to see the soil medium for watering assessment and to generally keep an eye on plant health.
The plastic shouldn't be toxic but why take a chance? The pebbles, IMHO, distract from the plants, may deteriorate, may leach toxins, would complicate repotting and cost money which can be used to buy more plants.

But what we do is lease of plants, mainly beautification of indoor plants. It is really beautiful to arrange our plants in this way, and make our plants a landscape. We will observe the condition of the plants and hope this is a good way to beautify. Thank you！

 

[WillyCKH]

You could test it with two tests, the TDS test and acidic test.
TDS test, pass if the reading doesn't increase much:
Measure water TDS reading
Put the pebbles in water, let it sit for a week
Measure the TDS reading again

Acidic test, pass if the pebbles do not cause bubbling or reactions:
Put the pebbles in a cup of vinegar
Observe for reactions and if the pebbles change color or form

 

[Hal]

It’s not like natural pebbles are hard to find. They won’t rot, either.

 

[Eric]

I'm definitely in line with Lloyd. He has got the right attitute!

We use PP plastic pots and labels, so probably these pebbles won't hurt the plants.
But while recycled polypropylene itself won't hurt we don't know anything about additives, coatings or dyes. Usually plasticisers are the problem. They can be smelly too. So better check with some plants. The tests Willy suggests won't hurt, but they make more sense for real mineral pebbles.
Plants need light, while plastic breaks down after some time when exposed to the sun. Nowadays we are all more or less concerned about plastic and microplastic in our envirionment. Plastic pebbles are definitely the kind of product that just asks to be tossed away.
Plastic can easily be avoided here or be replaced by better and more natural materials. Consider wood, (natural) fibers, moss, ornamental companion plants, etc. That's the way to go.

 

[Essen]

I'm definitely in line with Lloyd. He has got the right attitute!

We use PP plastic pots and labels, so probably these pebbles won't hurt the plants.
But while recycled polypropylene itself won't hurt we don't know anything about additives, coatings or dyes. Usually plasticisers are the problem. They can be smelly too. So better check with some plants. The tests Willy suggests won't hurt, but they make more sense for real mineral pebbles.
Plants need light, while plastic breaks down after some time when exposed to the sun. Nowadays we are all more or less concerned about plastic and microplastic in our envirionment. Plastic pebbles are definitely the kind of product that just asks to be tossed away.
Plastic can easily be avoided here or be replaced by better and more natural materials. Consider wood, (natural) fibers, moss, ornamental companion plants, etc. That's the way to go.

I decided to buy a batch of plastic pebbles to try. The manufacturer said that plastic pebbles are made of recycled plastic and will never fade. Secondly, I like the advantage of their custom colors. The key is light, so I will be very convenient in terms of transportation, and may be helpful to my industry. I will test it according to Willy's test method. Thank you for your proposal.

 

[Lloyd Gordon]

I agree with Eric.
There's a nearby cemetery where people love artificial flowers and plants. Why? Does it make people feel better because the artificial stuff never "dies"? But it always frays, discolours, falls to pieces and blows around making a mess.
i have asked my CP's (too much social isolation) and they refused any plastic pebbles.

 

[daniella3d]

I would only use it as a cover on top of peat because of the lack of acidic buffering. Another problem I see with this is that they will get covered with green moss and algea in no time. Lots of washing and brushing to do if you want to keep them looking good.