And a Vileda replacement mop head made of microfiber is your friend for wicks. Doesn't get any cheaper than that. And when you cut all the strings off, the plastic bit with the cut-offs makes a great "brush" to clean the leaves.
Just wanted to share an alternative for the budget conscious, I bought a water level indicator (local price 1.50, abt US$1) from a local nursery and stuck it in a translucent pot, filled it with diy pon and it works! Yes I was sceptical lol, so it was a pleasant surprise. My florida ghost is currently living in it, so far so good.🌱
I bought one of these off Amazon thinking it was for soil and was about to throw it so 5hanks for writing what you did. Now I know what to do with it.xxSarah
I have actually emailed them directly to see if there is any chance they can bring us some smaller ones 😂 I'll let you know the reply. If I get one that is.
Since I've discovered Elho pots, I've not looked back. The self-watering insert is on my wishlist for when I get my first calathea (well, the first since I've gone all planty, I've killed two before). They also have brilliant hanging baskets! My favourite pot brand is Elho.
Very useful video. I only have one self watering pot and it is the 17cm Elho insert with an Elho pot. I love it! But as most of my plants don’t need one that big, like you, I wish they did smaller sizes. Thanks for sharing as it has probably stopped me from buying some of the others and regretting it.💚
Yeah, I cut strips of microfiber for the strings, and often will only use one string so it doesn't wick up too much, depending on how wide the string is. Excellent info - thanks!!
I love Elho pots ❤they are all i use now . They are a two pot system. Their water indicator is a cute little leaf ...so cute . Its taken a bit to convert them all to Elho . They are a bit pricey but worth it i feel .
OMG the choice of pots. I have just managed to get the Elho inserts from NZ, I'm in Australia. I think I am going to love them. Thanks for the reviews, really appreciate it 🌻
I think elho pots and inserts are the best quality for money. I also like that as its an insert, you can change the cover pot easily, the vibes range is my favourite 🙂 but do wish they made them smaller as most of my plants are smaller
I use Orthex self-watering pots. They are sold everywhere in Finland. They used to be very boring looking, but now there's more product lines. I use them for both indoor plants and for balcony plants. You can get all sizes from very small to really big. I grow chili peppers in 25 and 30 cm wide ones. The water reservoir makes my summer so much easier so that I don't have to water every day...
15:55 take from that what you will? i think that was what you were thinking of? anyway i love this video im so excited to get more into self watering and semi-hydro planting
Thank you so much for doing these reviews ❣️ I jumped back in to plants this year and now dealing with gnats when I brought them all in, so I commiserate with your bug treatment hassle😢 Sending much bugless hugs, thank you again 💛
Great video they black ones are really cool I have similar I ordered some from temu to as couldn't find them again and although the planters a bit smaller they work great with my smaller plants tfs
Thanks for the video. I love the Lechuza, but yeah... Baller priced. I have a few of them, and I am now looking at the Elho line. The Classico 28 though does not have a removable insert like the smaller ones. I just put a 4' tall, 1 year old monstera in there last weekend.
I watched this video right before yours this evening. I think I'm going to give his method a try. I only have a few that I'd like to transfer into self- watering pots.
Wow thank you so much. I have been loving pon recently and have had a lot of trouble deciding what self-watering pots to purchase. I have been trying to fashion my own like nick pileggi does, but I never have the right size plastic nursery pots that fit perfectly into the cache pots lol! Just went on to amazon and bought ones that had the functionality you described. Thank you!!!!
They sell wicks on Ebay. Also, i agree with you on #3. Yours may be a bit different than mine but the bottom does not fit well so you better carry the pot holding on to bottom. Unfortunately i bought a bunch of them. They do the job though. The ones that hang on the wall work fine. I have 4 on the wall in my kitchen. All using Pon. 3 plants are Hoyas and one is a variegated Thanksgiving cactus. I just pull them off the wall and you can tell by the weight if it needs water or not. You didnt show my 2 favorites. A lot of people will find this video helpful. Thank you!
i like lechuza cubes and slowly buy them to put my collection in them, however they are indeed pricey and at least in my country it is impossible to get less than 14cm size unless you get wholesale...
I’ve not tried semi hydro at all but was struggling with judging my maranta watering, do you think it would appreciate this system more? Or should I stick with soil? Xx
Thank you so much for this, this is exactly the type of review i was looking for! You def avoid me mistakes! However i saw in the reviews for the white pot with a clear bottom, that someone had put think paper towel on the bottom so residue and roots wouldn’t show and the water would be left clear. Do you think that would be a good idea? Thanks!
I have six of the clear bottom pots. The first one I setup and saw that murky water I new I needed to do it differently... So what I ended up doing is I put screen, like window screens, cut to fit the bottom and put small slits in screen to thread the string through. This way no roots grow through. For first watering take the pot off the clear water cup and let it run through the pot and out. When it's stopped dripping then put the clear botton on and fill with fresh water. Over two months and haven't needed to water from the top again. Only problem I found was because I have placed pots in the window sill they do get green alge so I put a half teaspoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide in as needed and it doesn't hurt the plant but makes the water clear again.
Are you sure the wicks are rotting. I know you use LGL as do I and if water is left to sit to long in a pot without being change it starts to go stagnant. I've had a few plant where the roots have gone the same colour as the wick in your pot for this reason. It usually smells eggy, and it's a grey blue colour. I've found it happens to the plants that are in more airtight pots so there's no air flow to the water.
With the elho self watering insert, can you put a clear nursery pot inside them, so that you can monitor the roots? Im wanting to get some houseplants this year but im a novice
I am starting to use the Balconera pots. When I fill them, after a couple of days I can see the water indicator is down already, but I assume it would last a month or so. So does it mean that since I just started to use them, the soil absorbed all the water and I need to keep filling them until the water indicator stays up, meaning that the soil is hydrated enough?
One of my lechuza pots came without an inner pot, and just a "plate" in the bottom instead. I planted my monstera directly into the lechuza pot... Have I done it correctly?
Hi, I couldn't help but notice that you have a more American accent vs a brit accent. I have been thinking about moving to the UK. What i ran across researching is how expensive it is.
Ugh I wanted to order some of the things you linked but then saw it was all Amazon UK and the shipping was insane American Amazon doesn’t have the same products which sucks 😒
How do you keep algae from growing in your water reservoir? I have so many problems with algae in pots with visible water I wish Elho was available in the US. They sound great
I don’t get all these things - I’m a weirdo who actually likes plant chores. I love watering my plants. Taking care of them keeps me up on how they are doing.
@@GoodGrowing I grew plants hydroponically back in the early 2000s, there was a hydroponic plant shop near me and I went crazy buying them. None are still alive today, whereas I still have plants grown in potting soil that I bought in the 1980s. This was full hydroponic, though. It went well for a while, but they eventually all declined and died. I’m intrigued by the semi hydro methods, but I don’t know…I just like old fashioned dirt.
@geslinam9703 If it works for you don't change it! Personally I have plants that are thriving in my soil mix so I am keeping them that way. Others seem to need more moisture, which I can't give them without rotting the roots while they are in their current soil mix. For those I am looking into simi hydro. I would never do full hydro. It seems too dangerous and too much work lol. Simi hydro seems to work really well for calathia for example for most people. My plant is already half dead, so I don't have anything to lose trying simi hydro at this point with it. I have tried every other trick in the book. What do I have to lose?
@@1faithchick7 I hear you! I used to live right near a full-on hydro store…they sold all the plants, all the supplies. I was fascinated…and determined to switch all my plants over. None of the plants I converted are still alive today. As for root rot issues, last year I repotted every plant i have into clear plastic orchid pots and repotme’s aroid soil, and I increased my lighting. Seems I have to water more, but I don’t mind. I guess we all have to do what’s best for our environment.
Forgetting the saying is my best talent 🤣 i also hate self watering pots, thats what I've come to realize over time. Except for this one I have thats glass and terracotta, but it's expensive 🤷🏻♀️
I am really trying to find ones with transparant indside pot so you can see the roots but not transparant outside (I don't like the algae look or as mentionen dirty water. 🫣). Does it excist?
Shoe laces also work good as wicks. No rot and cheap
And a Vileda replacement mop head made of microfiber is your friend for wicks. Doesn't get any cheaper than that. And when you cut all the strings off, the plastic bit with the cut-offs makes a great "brush" to clean the leaves.
Just wanted to share an alternative for the budget conscious, I bought a water level indicator (local price 1.50, abt US$1) from a local nursery and stuck it in a translucent pot, filled it with diy pon and it works! Yes I was sceptical lol, so it was a pleasant surprise. My florida ghost is currently living in it, so far so good.🌱
I bought one of these off Amazon thinking it was for soil and was about to throw it so 5hanks for writing what you did. Now I know what to do with it.xxSarah
DIY Pon? Please expound ! Thank you!!
I really love Elho. I usually don't like plastic pots, but they make really nice ones that are aesthetically pleasing.
This was extremely helpful. Seriously, thank you for making this!
That’s brilliant! 7:03
Putting the smaller nursery out in the big pot! 🤯
Fully agree with you on the Elho pots!!! Elho, please make 12 and 15 cm inserts as well!!!! Would be so perfect 😀
and 9cm and 7cm?? Please 🙏
I have actually emailed them directly to see if there is any chance they can bring us some smaller ones 😂 I'll let you know the reply. If I get one that is.
Any news from elho??
@@xxvertcerizexx Not a sausage!
Since I've discovered Elho pots, I've not looked back. The self-watering insert is on my wishlist for when I get my first calathea (well, the first since I've gone all planty, I've killed two before). They also have brilliant hanging baskets! My favourite pot brand is Elho.
Oh yeah elho is one of my all time faves!!
Very useful video. I only have one self watering pot and it is the 17cm Elho insert with an Elho pot. I love it! But as most of my plants don’t need one that big, like you, I wish they did smaller sizes. Thanks for sharing as it has probably stopped me from buying some of the others and regretting it.💚
Yeah, I cut strips of microfiber for the strings, and often will only use one string so it doesn't wick up too much, depending on how wide the string is. Excellent info - thanks!!
yes!! I've started doing that now too and it works really well!!
I love Elho pots ❤they are all i use now . They are a two pot system. Their water indicator is a cute little leaf ...so cute . Its taken a bit to convert them all to Elho . They are a bit pricey but worth it i feel .
OMG the choice of pots. I have just managed to get the Elho inserts from NZ, I'm in Australia. I think I am going to love them. Thanks for the reviews, really appreciate it 🌻
Loved your honest and passionate review of self watering pots!
Think I’ll go with the Elho inserts and polyester cord.
I think elho pots and inserts are the best quality for money. I also like that as its an insert, you can change the cover pot easily, the vibes range is my favourite 🙂 but do wish they made them smaller as most of my plants are smaller
It would be dangerous for my bank account if they made smaller 😅
I use Orthex self-watering pots. They are sold everywhere in Finland. They used to be very boring looking, but now there's more product lines. I use them for both indoor plants and for balcony plants. You can get all sizes from very small to really big. I grow chili peppers in 25 and 30 cm wide ones. The water reservoir makes my summer so much easier so that I don't have to water every day...
ooh I've never heard of them before! I'll have to see if I can find them in the UK!
15:55 take from that what you will? i think that was what you were thinking of? anyway i love this video im so excited to get more into self watering and semi-hydro planting
Thank you so much for doing these reviews ❣️ I jumped back in to plants this year and now dealing with gnats when I brought them all in, so I commiserate with your bug treatment hassle😢 Sending much bugless hugs, thank you again 💛
Great Video, you honestly really helped me!
I have been looking a lot at self watering pots, so very useful indeed!!
Great video they black ones are really cool I have similar I ordered some from temu to as couldn't find them again and although the planters a bit smaller they work great with my smaller plants tfs
Thanks for this, great advices! May I ask why the Pon requires a regular flush?
I personally don’t flush mine very often but some people recommend it
Thanks for the video. I love the Lechuza, but yeah... Baller priced. I have a few of them, and I am now looking at the Elho line. The Classico 28 though does not have a removable insert like the smaller ones. I just put a 4' tall, 1 year old monstera in there last weekend.
such a useful video thanks so much!! best video so far
I watched this video right before yours this evening. I think I'm going to give his method a try. I only have a few that I'd like to transfer into self- watering pots.
Wow thank you so much. I have been loving pon recently and have had a lot of trouble deciding what self-watering pots to purchase. I have been trying to fashion my own like nick pileggi does, but I never have the right size plastic nursery pots that fit perfectly into the cache pots lol! Just went on to amazon and bought ones that had the functionality you described. Thank you!!!!
ooh hope the ones you got work well for you!
Thanks for the review! Very helpful.
They sell wicks on Ebay. Also, i agree with you on #3. Yours may be a bit different than mine but the bottom does not fit well so you better carry the pot holding on to bottom. Unfortunately i bought a bunch of them. They do the job though. The ones that hang on the wall work fine. I have 4 on the wall in my kitchen. All using Pon. 3 plants are Hoyas and one is a variegated Thanksgiving cactus. I just pull them off the wall and you can tell by the weight if it needs water or not. You didnt show my 2 favorites. A lot of people will find this video helpful. Thank you!
I use, Earth Box’s. Trade mark. Company is from Ellington Fl.
Thank you very much...really helped me. Thank you, Emma!
the small white amazon pots are now also available with clear inner pots
i like lechuza cubes and slowly buy them to put my collection in them, however they are indeed pricey and at least in my country it is impossible to get less than 14cm size unless you get wholesale...
I’ve not tried semi hydro at all but was struggling with judging my maranta watering, do you think it would appreciate this system more? Or should I stick with soil? Xx
Same here. Also some of my other plants have yellowing leav3s coz now it's winter I'm having problems with the watering.
I've put all of my marantas in semi-hydro and now I never need to stress about when to water them. Same for alocasias! I wouldn't go back to soil
Thank you! Trying alocasia again ;) and going to use pon!
Thank you so much for this, this is exactly the type of review i was looking for! You def avoid me mistakes! However i saw in the reviews for the white pot with a clear bottom, that someone had put think paper towel on the bottom so residue and roots wouldn’t show and the water would be left clear. Do you think that would be a good idea?
Thanks!
I have six of the clear bottom pots. The first one I setup and saw that murky water I new I needed to do it differently...
So what I ended up doing is I put screen, like window screens, cut to fit the bottom and put small slits in screen to thread the string through. This way no roots grow through. For first watering take the pot off the clear water cup and let it run through the pot and out. When it's stopped dripping then put the clear botton on and fill with fresh water. Over two months and haven't needed to water from the top again. Only problem I found was because I have placed pots in the window sill they do get green alge so I put a half teaspoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide in as needed and it doesn't hurt the plant but makes the water clear again.
Are you sure the wicks are rotting. I know you use LGL as do I and if water is left to sit to long in a pot without being change it starts to go stagnant. I've had a few plant where the roots have gone the same colour as the wick in your pot for this reason. It usually smells eggy, and it's a grey blue colour. I've found it happens to the plants that are in more airtight pots so there's no air flow to the water.
no they're defo rotting, like the material will start to disintegrate...
Hi, really appreciate the info! I'd love to try the elho self-watering inserts. I tried ordering but it seems they only ship within the UK not the US?
yeah they are based in the netherlands so I'm not surprised they don't ship to the states
With the elho self watering insert, can you put a clear nursery pot inside them, so that you can monitor the roots? Im wanting to get some houseplants this year but im a novice
not sure it would be the right shape for a clear pot inside as it does have a bit cut out for the meter
I am starting to use the Balconera pots. When I fill them, after a couple of days I can see the water indicator is down already, but I assume it would last a month or so. So does it mean that since I just started to use them, the soil absorbed all the water and I need to keep filling them until the water indicator stays up, meaning that the soil is hydrated enough?
If I am potting my plant with leca in a self watering plant, should I use liquid nutrients? And how should I add them? I purchased the 216 grow.
Very helpful, thank you 😊
How much time before your wicks rotted like that? I have some that I suspect might go that way so I wanna be on the lookout or repot immediately!
I think a couple of months.. not very long
Do you still have to top water whilst using the semi hydro system? If so how often?
I only top water to make sure the reservoir has water in it, so it really varies based off the size of the pot and plant
@@GoodGrowing Thank you! 😀
One of my lechuza pots came without an inner pot, and just a "plate" in the bottom instead. I planted my monstera directly into the lechuza pot... Have I done it correctly?
Hi, I couldn't help but notice that you have a more American accent vs a brit accent. I have been thinking about moving to the UK. What i ran across researching is how expensive it is.
You mean . Take that as you will 😊
I second microfiber cloth
I am hoping you review the pot I am experiencing problems with.
If you DM me the link on instagram I can check it out!
Ugh I wanted to order some of the things you linked but then saw it was all Amazon UK and the shipping was insane American Amazon doesn’t have the same products which sucks 😒
How do you keep algae from growing in your water reservoir? I have so many problems with algae in pots with visible water
I wish Elho was available in the US. They sound great
I've honestly not had any issues with algae in my water reservoirs. I think the best bet though would be regular cleaning
I don’t get all these things - I’m a weirdo who actually likes plant chores. I love watering my plants. Taking care of them keeps me up on how they are doing.
That’s fair. I defo like doing plant chores too but there’s some plants that I’ve found actually prefer semi hydro & self watering pots
@@GoodGrowing I grew plants hydroponically back in the early 2000s, there was a hydroponic plant shop near me and I went crazy buying them. None are still alive today, whereas I still have plants grown in potting soil that I bought in the 1980s. This was full hydroponic, though. It went well for a while, but they eventually all declined and died. I’m intrigued by the semi hydro methods, but I don’t know…I just like old fashioned dirt.
@geslinam9703 If it works for you don't change it! Personally I have plants that are thriving in my soil mix so I am keeping them that way. Others seem to need more moisture, which I can't give them without rotting the roots while they are in their current soil mix. For those I am looking into simi hydro. I would never do full hydro. It seems too dangerous and too much work lol. Simi hydro seems to work really well for calathia for example for most people. My plant is already half dead, so I don't have anything to lose trying simi hydro at this point with it. I have tried every other trick in the book. What do I have to lose?
@@1faithchick7 I hear you! I used to live right near a full-on hydro store…they sold all the plants, all the supplies. I was fascinated…and determined to switch all my plants over. None of the plants I converted are still alive today. As for root rot issues, last year I repotted every plant i have into clear plastic orchid pots and repotme’s aroid soil, and I increased my lighting. Seems I have to water more, but I don’t mind. I guess we all have to do what’s best for our environment.
Why don't they make the inner pot transparent? It would be perfect 😢
Yeah that would be really helpful
Here B4 the title has changed
I thought you were gagging at the size of the inner pot 😂
Forgetting the saying is my best talent 🤣 i also hate self watering pots, thats what I've come to realize over time. Except for this one I have thats glass and terracotta, but it's expensive 🤷🏻♀️
interesting! I can't remember if you have much stuff in pon or if it's mostly soil... I really don't use them for soil at all
@@GoodGrowing I'm traditional I guess haha, I prefer dirt 🤣 I figure, that's how they grow in their native environment, right? 🤷🏻♀️
Whaaat? You mean you don't like having to candle your pots like an egg? 😂
Lechuza pots are just not my vibe. They are ugly in my opinion. It’s the shape I think…
yeah they're defo a choice...
Dirt won't get into the clear bottom if you bottom water instead of the top.
Make of that what you will:-)
Self watering pots are risky
How so?
A poor mindset attracts a poor reality.
I need to go lookup what semi hydro plants are…. Tropical? Leme look after the end
they're plants I've put into semi-hydro substrate. basically an inorganic mix with a water reservoir at the bottom
I am really trying to find ones with transparant indside pot so you can see the roots but not transparant outside (I don't like the algae look or as mentionen dirty water. 🫣). Does it excist?
I haven’t been able to find one so far! But I’d be so down for some like that!