💦The Truth about Growing Houseplants in Semi-Hydro🌿 | Lechuza Pon & LECA 2 years later 🎍
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- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2024
- Welcome back, plant enthusiasts! Today's video is a must-watch if you're interested in semi-hydroponics for houseplants. After two years of almost exclusively using this method for my over 600 plant collection, I'm ready to share my top tips for growing houseplants in semi-hydro setups using Lechuza Pon and Leca.
As someone who has been through the process, I've experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of semi-hydro, and I’m here to share my journey with you all. This video will provide a real, in-depth insight into the semi-hydro method for those looking to transition or currently struggling with their setup.
In this video, I discuss six main tips for semi-hydro houseplant care, including transitioning plants, faster growth, and seasonal changes. I’ll also highlight specific plants that thrive in semi-hydro and reveal some quick tips for DIY Pon, watering, and more.
So, if you're curious about semi-hydro, join me as I navigate this exciting houseplant care method and share what I've learned along the way. Remember to hit 'Subscribe', 'Like' this video, and 'Share' it with other plant enthusiasts. Let's grow together!
For more plant content, follow me on Instagram - trojanking9
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:01 Semi-Hydro Media
06:09 Transitioning Plants to Semi-Hydro
08:50 Quick Tip 1
10:17 Quick Tip 2
14:10 Getting Faster Growth
16:38 Plants that Love Semi-Hydro
24:08 DIY Pon
25:52 Watering Pon & Leca
32:06 Quick tip 3
32:47 Seasonal Changes
35:56 Final Thoughts
#Houseplants #SemiHydro #LechuzaPon #Leca #PlantCare
#houseplantygoodness
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I have nothing but positive experiences with pon, i've switched about 80% of my plants to lechuza pon and soil ninja semi hydro now. I've been ill this week and completely neglected them all but it's been fine because of the pon they're all doing great regardless 😅
It was watching you Claire and Emma's journeys with pon that gave me confidence to go for it 😊
I'm glad to hear you've had such a great experience with pon, and that you're seeing good results even with a busy week. It's a testament to the versatility of this method, isn't it? Thanks for sharing your experiences, it helps us all learn! 😊 Yeah Emma, Claire and me were talking about it a while back and we have all generally had really positive experiences with it 😊💚🌿
I have moved all my Marantaceae, Alocasia, and Hoya to PON and I'm thrilled with the results.
This is my first video from you. This was SO helpful and SO entertaining! You're a treasure! I'll be watching all of your videos! Thank you! ❤
Lechuza Pon makes my life so much easier. I can’t believe it took so many years for me to find out about it.
Hello Kathryn! So glad to hear that Lechuza Pon is making your plant care easier. It's always nice when we discover things that simplify our lives, isn't it? Happy planting! 🌿
The raised area of an orchid pot increases aeration and drainage as it keeps the center of the plant (leaves) up and away from any moisture that could be trapped below. The ones with the vertical channels all around help direct the roots down and prevent encircling.
ohhhh very interesting never thought about the ones with the vertical channels having them for that reason, but it makes total sense!!
Beautiful and amazing plants lovely collection beautiful houseplants lovely collection
Thanks so much! I've learned a lot!
Ty so much this was very informative, I always love your video ty again
One tip I think it's alsoimportant, not sure if you quickly mentioned: for Philodendrons (or anyway all of plants with thin roots) I'd suggest to rinse the pon before using it, that fine dust residue can clog the mini cells of those fine roots and cause root rot/damage.
Thank you a lot for that details.
That’s not true at all you do not have to rinse Pon
Thank you so much for all the info. You are the first one that I have found that has given detailed info on how to water pot and leca! Thanks again.
Great video thank you!
I loved this video. I like that you discussed directly related content and felt that you were transparent about your experience, like your pots, which I agree with. ❤
hello!
i have no experience with pon (except for hearing about it and buying some) - i have spent the whole day watching youtube videos on pon.
many of those videos were your older videos on pon... and at the time of me writing this you have uploaded a new video on pon only 3 days ago! what an amazing coincidence 😅 i feel very lucky i was able to see your older pon videos and your new pon video on the same day.
thank you very much. i have learned a lot. i can't wait to try out pon very soon!
🙏🙇🏻♀️
Oh thanks for making this video. I have just recently changed a few of to pon some to Leca. Grown in like a before, but never pon you have answered many of my questions thank you
So glad to have found your site☺️. Wanting to say 👋 from New Brunswick, Canada🪴
Enjoying the video👍
Thank you!! I appreciate your insights and tips. ^_^
This was so helpful thanks very much. I’ve been thinking about trying semi hydro for a while now. This has cleared up a few questions I had. Great informative video as always!
Thank you very much for your very informative video! :)
Thank you so much for this video! I've been struggling with my first semi-hydro "experiment" for many months, so when it comes out of the prop box (for the second time 🙄) I'm going to watch this video again and take your tips very seriously. This is, without a doubt, the most thorough semi-hydro one I've seen. Again, thanks so much! I feel like I at least have a fighting chance next time!
When I started my plant parenting (just over a yr.) I put everything in leca. However, I started diy PON & soilless aroid mixes. You’re absolutely right that plants in semi hydro are not as fast as other medium…unless you’re Nora, the Leca queen. I’ve even noticed that my dead plants, yes dead, come back to life when I just stick them outside in my soil veg garden. I will try to do the no reservoir this winter. Memo, thanks for the info on the plants that like/dislike semi hydro.
Hi Carol, it's always a pleasure to hear from you! It seems like you've been experimenting with various methods and finding out what works best for you and your plants. The flexibility to switch up methods is one of the best parts of plant care. And yes, Nora is quite the Leca queen! 😊
This is such a great video, you have been so generous with your knowledge and time. I'm sure it is not deliberate on the part of other planty people out there but there really is a lack of full awareness of using and especially acclimatising plants to semi hydro.
Dear Sir: Thank you!! You’re hilarious and I wish you were my neighbor!!! lol….
I had so many questions that you’ve answered for me…. Just started back into houseplants this past Spring and have very “active” reasons for wanting to move from soil to pon.
I will be watching the rest of your videos tonight.
Again, thank you 💛
Thank you, so helpful
Thank you, that was a very informative video. I started out making my own pon. I’m hoping to find a hydroponics store soon to stock up on leca. Thank you again.
Just learned about pon & this video was very helpful as an introduction! Thank you so much for making it!
Hello Camille, welcome to the world of Pon! 🎉 I'm so glad you found the video helpful. Here's to many happy plant adventures ahead!
Hi Memo, I've been using LECA for my semi-hydro process for a while now and have not looked back. I got onto it after watching my fellow Aussie Nora, The LECA Queen, and have found it to be a much easier process for me & my fam bam. Thanks for your vid as there is always something to learn. In regards to the reservoir, I have found that in my environment I don't need to remove it during winter because we have a sub-tropical climate and our winters don't get as cold as the UK or Europe. I guess it would be similar for the folk in Miami etc. For example, so far this winter we've been averaging temps in the low to mid 20s in Sydney. Today was 25! So I've kept everything as is and my plants (including Alocasias) continue to push out new growth 🙏🏼
Repetiré lo mismo , que información tan interesante y que experiencias tan buenas nos compartes ; es una información muy valiosa el conocer las experiencias de personas que cultivan por un periodo largo de tiempo , esta es la única forma ( la experiencia) , de poder transmitir los conocimientos 👍 ; yo no cultivo en semihidro por distintas razones pero aprecio mucho este conocimiento, gran vídeo ! . Un saludo 💌
Thank you. I love watching your plant care videos. My question was ; how to overwinter my plants that are in simi hydro. This is my second winter using pon and leca and as you said. no one seems to talk about this. Thank you for clearing this up for me.
I have recently changed ALL my indoor plants into PON Lechuza to be exact. And it was a the best decision I could have made. Of course I did a few at a time since I knew I was going to have a few set backs with them getting them started. But by the second week everything seems to be doing EXTREMELY WELL.
It’s because now they can breathe. They’re getting good oxygen.
Great video! I never considered removing the reservoir for winter, so I certainly will.
Hello! I'm glad you found the reservoir removal tip useful. It can really help during the winter months. Happy planting! 🌿
Love the Videos about semi hydro! I have been growing plants in Pon for a couple years now. One thing I would add is leaving time for your plants to dry out is fine while the roots are exclusively in your Pon. Once your plants start to grow emersed roots in the water reservoir I have found letting them dry out even for a day or two can be extremely detrimental for their health.
hello, I would like to ask you a question about reservoir ! do you have to buy special new pots with a self watering reservoir or do you use the saucer under the pot or the cache pot as reservoir ? I would like to try lechuza pon for my calatheas and marantas and I would like to know if I have to buy all new clear pots or if I can use the one I already have. Thank you
Hi Memo, I have my Begonia Maculata in Leca and the cane Maurice Amey and Arabian Sunset in pon. They love it so far. You are inspiring me to experiment with the fern .. lol.
Thx for a great great video 👍
Hey Jazzy! Thanks a bunch for your compliment! 🌼 Glad you enjoyed the video!
Perfect video. I am slowing transitioning 2 large houseplants to semi-hydro. Very helpful.
Hello! I'm so glad to hear you found the video helpful in your transition to semi-hydro. Good luck with your large houseplants, and don't hesitate to share how it goes! 🪴
Great explanation. You are spot on with alocasia doing better in LECA than pon. I learned that the hard way. Thanks for sharing your tips!
Thanks for your kind words! It's all about learning and growing together. Let's continue to turn those hard-earned lessons into greener thumbs! 🌿👍
A very important thing you didn’t mention is that you have to thoroughly rinse the medium, be it pon or your own mix. Especially lava tends to be veeeery dirty. If you don’t it gets muddy and can clog the pores of your roots and cause them to rot. I have found for myself that Canna Flush works very well for it, definitely better than just in water!
Also I love your little nervous laughs 😆
That’s not true it is not necessary to rinse the Pon.
@@deejeff8846 I know that Lechuza claims it’s not and it’s cleaner than plain stones but if you do rinse it you’ll see how much mud you still get out of it.
I haven't used LECA much (mostly as an add-on to PON and other substrates) but you've inspired me to move an Alocasia Black Velvet I just got from soil to 100% LECA instead of all PON as my others are. Since it isn't hard to find, nor expensive, I think this one might be a good one to experiment with.
Great breakdown. Looks like you have your 3D printing on point!
Hey Richard! Thanks for your compliment on the 3D printing. Glad you liked it! 😄 I am slowly getting the hang of it, and yeah I have now had the fun of trying to figure out for days what was going wrong with prints 😅😂😂😂🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Thanks for the great video!
It's interesting that you have found plants in pon stay smaller for you - I've had the exact opposite experience.
I nerd out big time on plant nutrition, and reservoir conditions like pH and EC. Because of this, I've tried loads of different hydroponic fertilizers, including the major ones available in the US (where I live), and I even managed to get my hands on a bottle of Liquid Gold Leaf, which I know you've mentioned in other videos is your fertilizer of choice.
The fertilizer I use the most is Dyna Gro Foliage Pro, and when mixed according to package instructions for non recirculating hydroponic systems (which is basically what I consider to be the closest equivalent to semi-hydro growing), I usually end up with a final EC of 1.4-1.6 mS. In contrast, when I mix the LGL according to their hydroponic dilution instructions (0.5 ml/L), I end up with a final EC of 0.3-0.4 mS, which is a much weaker solution. Diluting it according to their soil instructions (2 ml/L) yields a much higher EC that is in the same range as my usual hydroponic mix.
So I wonder if the reason my plants get massive is because I give them a nutrient solution that is 4x more concentrated. Along those lines though, I also recognize that fast growth is not always in the plant's best interest, so I genuinely don't know which approach is better. I've thought about doing an experiment where I take two identical plants and feed them the two different ECs and see what happens and how their growth differs. I also really wonder why there is such a huge difference in the mixing instructions for the two fertilizers and the long term pros and cons for each approach.
I have use Lechuza pon as my substrate of choice for the past 5 years. My plants grow very quickly in that substrate. My marantacae are massive. I have had great success with Rhipsalis, philodendrons,begonia. I live in Maryland, USA. Great information!
Hi there! It's wonderful to hear that Lechuza pon is working so well for your plants. Your marantacae must be a sight to behold! Keep it up and thank you for sharing your success story. 🪴
Aloha Memo, WOW!!! Great video!!! Having viewed countless LECA/PON vids since I started experimenting with semi hydro, most of them useless, I can say this video is wonderfully informative. Especially interesting was how you compared different pon’s, & medium sizes. Being a true Mixer, of course I DIY my PON. Also using large quantities, affordabilities is key. I’m able to source free black lava cinders locally, but particle size extremely random from large chunks, to corse sand, & every thing in between. Have loads of LECA, from a long ago hydroponic project. And I purchase large course perlite, in huge bags for my chunky soil mix. This makes the bulk of my DIY PON mix, but I’ve also imported the expensive stuff, zeolite (Ecotraction Pro), which is Lechuza size granules; plus pumice & some biochar charcoal & a little time release fertilizer. Bottom line is my DIY PON is a combination of chunky & gravel. Kinda like a mix of Large Ninga & Lechuza together….. Long story short: I wish this video was my first PON video, LOL…….. Mahalo Memo, & Big Aloha’s!!!!!!!
Aloha! 🌺 Thanks for your kind words, I'm thrilled you found the video useful. Your DIY PON mix sounds really intriguing - kudos to you for utilizing locally sourced materials. I'm glad to hear you're experimenting and finding what works best for your plants. Keep going and keep sharing your journey with us. 🌿
I had a boston fern that grew 3ft high and 4ft wide in leca, ferns love hydro
Hi Richard! That's impressive 🤯😱😍👏, a Boston fern growing so large in leca is certainly a testament to how versatile this medium can be. Thanks for sharing! 🌿
Great video :-) I was looking forward to this video very much :-) I was esp. curious about anthuriums, philos and monsteras in it - something I´d like to try in the future.
On the point of getting slower growth:
In my experience with Lechuza pon (I grow mainly marantaceae and a few jewel alocasias in it), I have massive faster growth than ever before in soil (i.e. wonderful thick roots, more leaves, more pups, more rhizoms, marantas bloom to the max.,more beautiful and happier looking plants in general). It´s so good that it´s addictive to buy more plants from this genus and keep putting them in Lechuza pon :-D
I use the water reservoirs differently for different plants: marantas, stromanthe and calatheas always have it. However, alocasias no - unless there is a heat wave, I use half-full reservoir so that the pot isn´t touching the water (it sits on a few cm of lecca and the plant has to search for water). Silver Dragon and Ninja were guttating if the reservoir was always full, so they get less water this way.
Other than that it´s awesome 🙂
Hi Sparkle, your knowledge and experiences with Lechuza pon and the different ways you use the water reservoirs are so insightful, thank you for sharing! I think many viewers will find this helpful. And isn't it exciting to see how well plants can thrive in semi hydroponics? Keep exploring and happy planting! 🌿😊
Thanks for this informative video! I've been dipping my toes into leca,pon,semi hydro and still learning. Most of my collection(almost 200)are in aroid soil(amended for various needs). I'm scared to try pon with my anthurium 🫣
Thanks!
Aw thank you so much Mary, glad you enjoyed 🙌🙌🙌
thanks for this very helpful video. I totally agree that with bigger pots, just having water in bottom of reservoir isn't enough.I use wick that goes from reservoir to to top of my pot to keep the whole medium evenly moist. but about waiting a couple of days to fill the reservoir I have different experience. some of my plants appreciate it(usually plants with chunky roots) but a lot of them with fine roots don't do well when their medium completely dries down probably because they are water roots and don't like getting dry. when I let the medium to dry, some of the roots completely dry and die and when I give them water, the roots rot.
Hello Sophia! You're absolutely right, how we manage our reservoirs can greatly impact our plants, especially those with fine roots. Appreciate you sharing your experience - it's such valuable input for all of us here! 😊
Another great, informative video. thanks!!! Around Christmas I commented on one of your VLOGs that I wanted PON under the tree. I did Buy 2 18L bags and it's now gone. Ordered more, waiting for it to get in stock (Soil Ninja doesn't ship to the USA). I'm thinking that I want to try, as an experiment, aquarium gravel. It says on the bag that it can be used for plants.
I have more pros than cons when it comes to growing in Pon. I wish I had prepared more during the winter as I lost a few plants as I left them in the water reservoir. I have learned from that and won't make that mistake again this year!
Hey hey, how you been buddy? Yeah I feel ya on this one, same with me, but as you say this is how we learn for next winter🌱 Here's hoping this winter goes smoothly for you and me both 😅🤞!
I put my fittonia in pon and its loving it. Fine roots can work really well in pon
But i always work with reservoirs not directly touching the Media. I work with a rope system
Terrific video Memo! I’m a 100% Leca girl and grow all my plants in it and have done for about 2 years. I wash the soil off the fine rooted plants that I buy then leave them sitting in water for a time. Once they start either putting out more roots or new growth, they go into Leca. I agree 100% about propagating in water first.
All my plants (over 100) including succulents, a couple of cacti, Pachira Aquaticas, Alocasias and zzz plants are all thriving in Leca. My failures are Syngoniums and my Wandering Dudes don’t seem to like it much. I have a few String of Pearls cuttings in water that I will try in Leca. It’s all trial and error - and fun! Yes, Alocasias grow wonderfully in Leca. Mine are starting to look like a scene from ‘Day of the Triffids’😂 A nutrient solution is an absolute must for your plants to thrive. I was surprised at your comment about removing the reservoir in winter. I’ve never had any problems with root rot. I find that filling the pot to 1/3rd with Leca before putting the plant in the pot keeps the roots from constantly being in the reservoir which reduces the chances of root rot.
People often think that semi hydro is an easier method of growing plants and that it is somehow going to magically transform their plants. It’s not. It’s just a different way of growing. I would say that it is more labour intensive given the regular flushing of the plants and cleaning and sterilising the reservoir pots, but I’m lucky to not have to work so I have the time to do it. Having said that, I would never go back to growing in soil
🇦🇺 Interesting that you keep your plants in water prior to potting in leca, I'm so glad it works! I've been forced to do that this week as my pumice has been delayed and my bar rooted plants are currently sitting in water... Waiting!
Hello! Sounds like you're having a lot of success with Leca, that's fantastic! Thanks for sharing your journey and for reminding us that semi-hydro is indeed a labour of love. I completely agree - it's not a magic solution, but a different and fulfilling way to grow our plants. 🌿👍
@@chrislynch1011 it won’t do them any harm at all. Change out the water weekly to replenish oxygen and you’re golden
I recently started switching to LECA. My first plant is going from aroid mix to LECA with GH nutrients in self-watering pot.
After about a week I started getting root so I just took off the rotting roots and repotted it.
Should I put it in water instead because I'm afraid it will get root rot again.
My peace lily started getting root rot 3 days into LECA, so i'm letting it sit in water for about two weeks.
Some notes, I made sure I cleaned off all the soil on the roots. Although.... some roots are brown color but firm and not soggy.
@@muCephei_ I'm very new to semihydro so I can only speak from my own very limited experience. I can point you in the direction for more advice. On RUclips look up leca Queen and also Swedish plant guys there's lots of great advice. In regards to your roots, it's normal for the initial (soil) roots to fall off, the plant will then develop water roots which look different. I don't know if that may have been happening to your plants rather than root rot?
I killed Alocasia until putting them in leca. I killed a Hoya in Pon, so haven’t done more but will try using your method of not leaving a reservoir. Swedish Plant Guys had a video where they said Pon can be used when you have dirt roots without washing off the dirt so I’m going to try that. I think it can’t be good for the roots to be cleaned the way many people do it, and that hasn’t worked well for me. I appreciate your tips!
You are absolutely correct. All you have to do is take the root ball and the soil and plant it in the PON top water and they stay wet for two months. No yellow leaves no yellow tips. No fungus gnats use a probe to check for moisture in the rootball
The first plant I put in Lechuza Pon was a Mamai and it could handle a reservoir almost immediately. It has grown like crazy and never had any rot. I also have it in ambient humidity (with grow lights) in Virginia, US.. So I've had a completely opposite experience with crawlers.
Thanks so much for all of the in depth information. I have been growing in semi Hydro for an only a year and so far doing okay. Have lost a few but learnt from that. This may sound like a silly question re taking away the reservoir in winter - if plants are in doors and the we all have our heaters going in winter and that fact they are being fertilised with most waterings wouldn't they need it?
I now have almost all my plants in semi hydro. And recently I started using net pots and adding them to picnic cups for the water with a wick added. It’s a little messy as the pebbles do slip into the cup every now and then. But I love seeing the roots grow from the net, and it’s so much cheaper than self watering pots.
I wish you could get these transparent pots with holes a little cheaper online though. :)
Hello Tasneem! 💚 Your creative use of net pots and picnic cups shows the spirit of a true plant parent. Yes, those pebbles can be sneaky. Keep up the good work and happy growing! 🌿
I am 100% a PON advocate...but stepping on tiny pebbles is a million times more annoying than stepping on soil. And don't even get me started on the lectures I get from my plumber when he finds what's in every drain in my home. Soil will wash down. Rocks won't.
Hello! I totally agree - stepping on tiny pebbles isn't the most pleasant feeling! 😅 As for the plumber... oops and mine says the same to me 😂😂😂😂🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️! But I'm glad to hear you're thrilled with PON for your Marantaceae, Alocasia, and Hoya. Keep up the great work! 🌿
@Houseplantygoodness Thank you! I love that you replied!
He shouldnt complain since he s making tons of money 😅
@@rickbonda6471 Oh, you can make tons of money and still have a reasons to complain, just like you can be an extremely happy person but still have devastating, disappointing, despairing periods of time.
I actually stopped using pon after I moved into my own house because I care a bit more about my pipes than my plants haha
Perhaps as an option to keep more parts of the media moist, you can put in a couple of cotton wicks to better pull water up? Also with the cotton wick, it might be easier to see how dry or moist it is by looking at the wick
Great info. Side question where did you get your shirt?
I have also put begonias and African violet in pon
Love your channel ❤ I've been growing in semi hydroponics for the last 10 years and I have around 300 plants and I've tried pond 3-4 years ago but I didn't like it because is too small and is getting too compact plus I had mold as well. I do prefer to mix my own "medium" without fertilizer, that is another thing that I didn't like about it.
Great explanation about semi hydroponics.❤
Thank you so much for your lovely words! 🥰 It's always inspiring to hear from someone with so much experience in semi-hydro. Your own mix sounds intriguing, it's amazing how you've tailored it to fit your needs.
@Houseplantygoodness belive me, hydroponics is a continuous learning experience, especially when you have so many plants, but is soooo rewarding.
Keep up the good work🥰
I love your collection of plants and they look absolutely stunning 😍
@@SemihydroponicswithSmado you mind my asking what your semi hydro mix is? I just bought a alocasia zebrina and stingray and wanted to transfer them to leca but was wondering if there's something better.
@bendietrees of course I don't mind. My mix is akadama, kanuma, small lava rock, zeolite,bonsai mix and leca.
The dome in the orchid pot is called an air cone, it's to allow greater air movement in the pot for epiphytes. Basically it's the same as you putting holes in your pots walls. For air loving plants it's never a bad thing, but means more frequent topping up of the feed.
Also you can add pumice to LECCA to make a less airy mix (vary the pumice size for moisture needs) , I predominantly grow orchids and use this mix for more moisture loving orchids and other house plants. I assume that makes it closer to Pon ( I'm from New Zealand and I don't think we have Pon here)
Oh and a tip, if you want to have the water wick all the way to the top, use strips of micro fiber cloth going from the bottom to the top of the pot.... 1 or 2 strips is usually enough to reduce or stop the air layering at the top.
Hey Kate! 👋 Thanks for your awesome explanation about the air cone in the orchid pot, really interesting stuff! Your pumice-LECA mix sounds like a wonderful solution for more moisture-loving orchids. The microfiber cloth tip for water wicking is golden - thanks for sharing your wisdom! 🌸
I gave up on Ferns in semi hydro after they didn't do as well with ferns, but that was in lecca, haven't tried in pon! Hopeful now
Firstly 🎊CONGRATULATIONS 15k🎉
I’ve got a few seedlings in a mix of SH and tree fern fiber, they seem to really like that and root well. Honestly I’m just blundering along with a bit of everything to see what works lol. And always comment so did 💚
Oh and my new babies arrived this morning from “Tropicals” Ecuador, I’m now terrified gonna kill them 😰. 🙏🏼🤞🏽🙏🏼
Kathy, awwww thanks 😊😊😊😊💚💚💚💚 I am super happy about the 15K 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 It also sounds like you're doing amazing work with your plants! Testing different methods is part of the fun of this hobby, and it's how we learn the most. And congrats on your new arrivals from Tropicals Ecuador, I'm sure you'll take great care of them. Please keep us updated! 💚
@@Houseplantygoodness so happy for you Memo truly am. 💚
I will keep you posted on the new arrivals 😉
I like the propagate 100% in semi hydro. Lava rock, bonsai mix, leca, and coarse sand are great. Some things I will keep in it like syngoniums and vining plants. I would rather not leave alocasia in semi hydro because of how I observed their growing habits. It comes down to how I want to display and grow the plants. On my desk, I like semi hydro. It needs to stay small and slow. I have huge plants that I wouldn't do like my zz and big aglaonema. I am going to try my amaryllis in pon this year.
Hello Kita! 👋 Your personal approach to semi-hydro and the way you adapt it according to your plant types and spaces is commendable. I agree, alocasias can be a bit tricky. Good luck with your amaryllis in pon, can't wait to hear how it goes! 🌺
My biggest reason for switching was to lower the occurrence of pests!! I’m new to plant keeping for sure so I haven’t been doing it long enough to say if its work however I have not noticed any since I have switched them over to semi-hydro. (They all had them when purchase and yes even the ones from local plant shops), I didn’t hear you touch on that but let me know if you noticed a difference! Also I wanted to make sure I heard you right, you said we should be fertilizing every time we water with pon that doesn’t have slow release fertilizer correct? I am currently only top watering since they are in their transition period so I I want to make sure I heard that correct, right now I am having to water every 4-5 days with the semi-hydro so I would add fertilizer every time I water?
Your conservatory looks lighter and brighter, have you moved some plants out or changed the room? Looks great though!
😊
Since last November i transfer most of my plants in Leca. I use a Leca-Perlite Mix. Only my orchids and my string of hearts and my zz plant don't like it. I had transfered all plants directly in leca. Than i get a gift from a friend, she worked for lechuza in Germany (we are from germany). A Lechuza set.Than i try pon, but a chunky diy mix. It works soooo great. If anything goes wrong with leca, it works in pon. My orchids i take it to the bark again (i use my own bark from the forest without hurting any trees, only from dead trees). My lechuza set i try my fern. I forgot my fern for long time in pon and she strugling so much. Now i hope it works with that. I use Leca-Perlite Mix for my Thai Constellation and other big plants. Because, why i should change the mixture, if it works well. And it is cheaper for big plants. Than i have my hibiscus in leca and my schlumbergera too. I thought that schlumbergera never works in leca. I was wrong haha. My alocasia living in leca and in pon, it works well both. I like pon more. Because it is heavier. Hold plant and all my moss poles really well. Never i go to soil mix again. Perhaps for friends they not use leca or pon for their plants. But right now, i have no plants in soil haha to make a gift. I love this colorful rocks. And i don't see a slower growth. I see more faster grow!
Do you need a wicking string when you use pon or leca? I have used a wicker for diy self watering pots that have aroid soil, and I've liked it. I recently ordered basic pon (without fertilizer) and I'm planning on trying some plants in it soon. I've been a bit scared to try semi-hydro because some channels have talked about testing the water pH, and that you need to use a special fertilizer and finally also rather than let the reservoir get empty, just change the water every two weeks.... I am a bit confused now😳 Dipping my toes on semi-hydro has started to feel like I'm planning on flying to space!😱 I appreciate all advice...
I moved my Pothos cuttings (rooted in water) in a self watering Lechuza container with Pon yesterday...and I took them out this morning. The pon felt dry at the surface (even if I watered from the top yesterday) and even half way into the pot it felt fairly dry.
The container relies on the substrate to wick the water up. I'm going to run nylon ropes for extra wicking and test humidity again. It's fine if the pon is dry at the surface, but it's not fine if the pon is dry 1/2 the pot. These are fragile cuttings with 5-6 cm water roots, I suspect they will dry out and die without proper humidity.
A few mentions:
- the Lechuza containers that use a wick (rope) - if I use soil in them , even the surface is wet, meaning mould is imminent. I'm guessing the wick is designed for Pon, so I'll be replacing the standard rope with a thinner nylon one so it wicks less water.
- the large Lechuza containers that don't use a rope wick (reliant on the soil wicking water) - seem to have a problem when soil is used. Extra wicking might be needed by adding nylon rope that run up to 2-3 cm from the surface. I have a large rubber plant/ficus , on a 35 x 35 x 33 cm pot (CLASSICO 35 LS) . The soil composition is 70% home made compost and 30% perlite. It dried-up around the exterior and ~5m from the surface and didn't recover after filling the tank. For me that is an indication that needs better wicking.
And yes...I have a lot of Lechuza containers , ~12 of them for now and about to get more. I like the design, with some dyi and tests, I think I can fix the wicking to work for each type of medium.
I just started putting some of my hoyas in Pon, I'm hoping they don't dieeeee.
👍👍👍
Hi Heather! Your support always brightens my day! 👍🌿 Thank you so much!
When it comes to moisture I look at the zeolite because it’s more blue when it’s wet and that’s a good indicator for me to see if my succulents want a drink. But with those it doesn’t matter if it’s a week more or less.
I want to transition a syngonium batik into semihydro and will keep it in water another few weeks until there are enough roots. I’m really insecure about how moist I should keep my pon-like mix because it feels weird to put it into pebbles after it had water all the time. How do you go about it? Keep it consistently moist? Do you have experience with transitioning a syngonium and any tips? :)
Also: if you remove the reservoir in winter, what happens with the roots? Won’t they dry out?
I’m new to your channel can I ask you something can I use small gravel mixed with small orchid bark and perlite with slow realise fertilizer
hi friend! pon going everywhere is too real! I know gravel would fall out or whatever, but nobody told me it would stick to everything if its wet! it stuck to my hand, to the inside and outside of the pot, it even stuck to my window! I hope to learn more so I can transfer more of my plants to pon though. thanks for the video!
🇦🇺 😂 I hear you with the pon going everywhere! My dog races over to eat it 🤦
Hello! I totally feel your struggle with Pon sticking everywhere! But as they say, no pain no gain, right? 😉 Hope you'll find more joy in working with pon as you go along. Thanks for tuning in! Also I am with Chris on this one, pupper is always chasing Pon or Leca to chew on 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
@@chrislynch1011 I do most of my repotting in the kitchen, so I could see how a dog would assume its food. my todler tries to do the same, but he is much slower than a dog still 😅
Have you tried the smaller size leca. I'm trying out the 4-8mm ones, mixing it in with the largest, we get 3 sizes here.
Someone asked abt hoya in leca, my sunrise is doing well in leca no drainage (few years now) and kerri in a wick cup with leca, kerri does not like no drainage. They have different needs i guess.
I'm considering changing to Pon. It is a bit confusing to me, though, because if you water like you would in soil, how do I create a water resorvoir, and how much of a resovoir do I need to keep? Also, would keeping a resorvoir be created with a cache pot??
Hi can you help me 🙏🏼 I bought a Philodendron dean McDowell. And I want to do, soil to leca. She’s a medium plant, lots of long root. Which step that I must do or don’t? Will I put she is in water before leca or pon? Which one that I prefer? Do I cut the roots all of them? Thank you 🙏🏼 Love from Istanbul 🙋🏻♀️❣️
So I have a little bit of a special situation-I am out of town for two weeks out of every four and I have hundreds of plants. I have someone who does her best to take care of them but I always seem to come back to them root rot overwatered or half dead from being underwater so I really would love to be able to use leca and a reservoir to make it so that all she has to do is fill the reservoirs. Do you think that is realistic? maybe after a time of watering them normally and they get their water roots?
Hello, Memo and plant people. I'm wondering if anyone has used semi-hydro with Hoya. My gut tells me it wouldn't be great, but I'm curious what experiences people have had with it, if any. Another very informative video that I watched to the end, even if I was thinking that I'm too lazy to try this lol. Cheers.
Hi Dave, great to see you again! 🤗 Hoya in semi-hydro can indeed be a challenge, but don't be afraid to try if you're curious, I have had great success with most of mine in Pon. Thanks for sticking with the video, your support means a lot! 🌵
I'm growing a Hoya in pon and one in chunky soil mix. Both are doing great!
I really like pon but I only use it as a last ditch effort to save a plant. Almost always, if I have a plant and no matter what I do makes it happy, I put it in pon and they thrive 😂. I tried switching to leca at one point and lost so many plants because I am not attentive enough to do all the ph testing nutrients etc. I prefer just a good old fashion chunky mix. I use an orchid chunky blend from miracle grow and if I'm feeling fancy I add I. Some leca and perlite and my plants usually love it.
I heard that the humidity affects which growing medium the plants survive best...Is soil the safest option if humidity is low? I manage to keep humidity at 50-60% with constant humidifiers, so I'm wondering if pon or leca are great options for me then... I have everything in soil for the moment.
i would love to see you try the medium i use for all my plants.
and hear your opinion on it after a while. only if you want to ofc.
clay pot, drayinage layer of lecca, 1cm of loamy forest soil, a mix of shredded leaf litter
2/3 potting soil & 1/3 loamy forest soil, topped with another thin layer of straigt loamy forest soil.
forest soil = topsoil (adds drainage and water holding capacity as well as structure) it is heavy 😅
works great for philodendron, monstera, epipremnum, euphorbia, ficus, cylindropunthia, platycerium, cynanchum, asparagus, etc.
it just goes to show that the medium isnt as important, how you water is!
i dont think i could get away with it in a plastic pot 😂
Hi Daniel! Your medium mix sounds very unique and it's amazing to hear it works well for your variety of plants! As you've pointed out, the way we water is indeed very important. Thanks for sharing, and I'll definitely consider trying your method! 👍🌿
@@Houseplantygoodness
my thought process was to mimic nature in our homes rather than going for ultra-specific soil mixes and most philodendrons start out in the ground...
anyway thanks for responding, i'd love to see how you'd would do with this mix
i use just regular cheap, non frost hardy terracotta pots because you can see from a glance how moist the soil is, makes it super easy
the frost hardy or partially glazed ones usually dont let water penetrate the clay pot and then you have to check the soil.
I add leca to my Pon to give more aeration
Regarding your experiences with a speed of growth and size of plants soil versus pon - for me it’s telling me that your nutrient solution is weak and not „complet” .In soil there is reach microbial life that assist with nutrient procesing and uptaking, in inert media you may need suplement that microbial life, and/or add things to the solution that will help uptake more nutriens, and also maybe up the amount of fertiliser to 0,5 dosage ( with philodendrons, not anthuriums , those are sensitive to that and get easily signs of geting to much nutriens). Hope this make sense, english is not my language😅). Happy growing!
i transitioned all of my plants to leca 1 or 2 months ago so not too much time passed but i allready dont wanna go back to soil. yes semi hydro has its own issues or challenges, i m sure but you can learn to deal with it. however in the grand scheme, the pros of semi hydro as indoor plants simply outweight the cons for me. i dont have to rebuy and store soilmixes and transporting them because they re heavy because you can reuse them, working with soil indoors is a huge mess, gnats, pest in general, healthcare and maintenance (its just so quick and easy to just remove leca from a pot to check up on a plant and just fill the pebbles back in where doing that in soil would be an afternoon of work and dirty tables. i also dont really need to worry about my watering so much. i just wish i had started semi hydro sooner and slowly come to the conclusion, that soil really is made for outdoor gardening and not for indoor plants... especially if you have a lot of plants. with like 5-10 plants, yeah soil isnt too much work but have fun repotting and checking up on like 100+ plants in soil mixes
🇦🇺 my newbie question about semihydro was how much water? I wasn't using self watering pots and everyone was doing something different. I haven't lost anything... yet.
I've been experimenting (I use that term loosly!) with using terracotta, when I used potting soil, no wick and bottom watered, the soil was evenly most; compared to using a wick I found the water pooled in the middle. So my current set up is pumice with zeolite in terracotta, oh and I'm testing a plant in just zeolite. Some of my plants are probably terrified!
Hey Chris! 💧 It sounds like you're having a blast with your semi-hydro experimentation, and that's what it's all about - having fun while learning! Your terracotta and pumice with zeolite setup sounds interesting. Keep going and your plants will thank you for your dedication. 🌱 it sounds like an interesting setup. in terms of how much water its tricky, if you are talking reservoir, I normally go for 10-20% the pot height
I spent a lot to buy GH products to switch over to LECA, but I'm getting root rot already even after cleaning my roots really well taking off all the soil.
I might have to go with PON now... sigh
When it comes to algae, I found this algae remover that's used for aquariums. It works and it's harming my plants (or at least not in the timespan of two months)
Hi Jeroen! Thanks for sharing your algae solution. It's tips like these that make this community so wonderful! 🐠🌱
For Lechuza we always get the store brand wich is half the price and has the same ingredients. Personally i prefer the store brand because the components are larger than the original. Of course you can mix and match too.I am an absolute beginner and I would never use one "medium" to fit all my plants. I am using pon but as I said not for every single plant.
Question: Why can't normal aroid mix be used as semi-hidro medium?
Lechuza orchid pon has coconut fibres and humic no bark. Lechuza also do a basic pon with no fertiliser and a veggie pon too.
Can anybody tell me if the osmocot (the fertilizer for pon) is vegan?
lechuza now has basicpon, that is the original pon without fertilizer
Hi there! Thanks for letting us know about Lechuza's basicpon - useful info to know for those looking for a fertilizer-free option. 👍
What's the difference between pon and just tiny rocks? Why doesn't regular fertilizer work b/c roots suck up regular fertilizer in soil.
What nutrition do you use on your semi hydroponics n how do you mix them?
hey there 👋 I am a bit lazy so I use Liquid Gold Leaf as it works for both semi hydro and soil media, just different quantities. I also tried the General Hydroponics fertiliser a while back, but it was too much hassle, although they did work well.
Where can I get your Liquid Gold leaf in USA?
Because I keep my plants in controlled conditions, I don't adjust their care much during winter
I did watch another youtuber about her semihydro setup and they were all surprisingly small for how long she'd been growing them. I decided that semihydro isnt for me
I don't use Lechuza nor Soil Ninja. I just ordered a bag of vulcastrat. This is a mix of
* it is a pure mixture of, among other things, lavastone, pumice and zeolite. I don't know if it's available in the UK. I'm from Belgium and order this from a Dutch website. Might be a nice tip for someone 😊
Ive never understood why houseplant people call it semi hydro, it meets the definition for just hydroponics. Growing plants without. soil and supplying all the nutrition the plant needs.
it's just hydroponics. soecificallt with a resovoir its called kratky, a form of passive hydroponic.
Very informative…thank you. I’ve been experimenting with lecca and pon. So far Syngoniums and Peperomias are doing well in lecca. 🪴🌿🌱
Hi Nina! Thank you for your kind words! It's great to hear your Syngoniums and Peperomias are doing well in lecca. Keep up the good work! 🌱