I don't know how anyone could not like LECA! I have been growing plants since childhood. LECA and self watering pots changed my whole plant life! I have made Pon and use Luchuza pon, but Leca is still the easiest! And with plants everywhere, if a pot gets knocked over clean up is a breeze! I don't worry about leaving my plants for a week or two like others do. In my opinion, LECA allows me to spend more time admiring and enjoying my plants than maintaining them.
💚This is a great video. Had to share it with my other half in order to clarify the “how.” Thanks for the pro tip about adding peroxide to keep algae at bay!
I’m always happy when you put out LECA videos. Keep spreading the good word 🙌🙌 My plants became soooo much happier once I started using LECA. Not only because of LECA itself but also because of what the learning process involving LECA taught me about my plants (I use clear vessels that I typically place inside opaque pots). When I check on roots, it’s amazing seeing how moisture levels matter. And I guess I knew roots needed to breath and wanted nutrients but I didn’t know know until I started experimenting how important those components were. Root health is so critical and in soil… there’s a lot you can’t see. I still use soil if a plant’s happy and I don’t mind how it’s potted but I prefer LECA. It’s amazing. I feel like so many people are missing out.
All my plants are converted to Leca, I put holes all over the pots for aeration and stand the pots in saucers making sure there is always nutrient solution in the saucer, then leave the leca to do the rest . I find this a foolproof way to grow amazing plants. Love the video.
I've been using LECA for 3 years now, and I love it. I mainly use it with self watering pots and wicking material. I mix up MSU fertilizer and water, and that's it. My plants love it, and it's so much cleaner! ❤❤❤❤❤
I have to agree with Wanda, I get into such a mess with soil & repotting. Eventually I’d like to get all my orchids, Hoyas & regular houseplants into leca or the Australian version of Pon (called MAB Grow). I’m all for leca🪴😀
@@renatecormick7399if your tap water is ok or you have an RO system its fine, but wastes too much water flushing the pots if you buy distilled or RO water. I just switched everything back after 6 years semi hydro
I love LECA. I use pon too but LECA is my favorite. I recently took cuttings of my dying maranta's and put them in LECA and they are loving it. No brown tips.
The thing that really does encourage algae isn't LECA but clear glass containers! Algae needs light, and the more light that reaches the water the more algae you'll get. I've been using LECA now for several years for many different plants and have not had any trouble at all with algae. But my plants are all growing in opaque containers ...mostly ceramic, but a few plastic ones as well. Also, I've had excellent results for both flowering and non-flowering plants using ordinary liquid fertiliser. It's not necessary to buy the hydroponic kind. I use Baby Bio (regular and orchid), the various Focus brand plant-specific fertilisers, some Marphyl, and Tomorite for flowering plants a couple of times a year.
I love leca/ coarse “pon” for my plants. It has made having many plants SO much easier. No having to wait for water to drain out, no doubt if the soil is ready to be watered and no doubts when i last fertilized. Also, i have my “string ofs” in an unfertiled pon like substrate and therefore doing netter than ever! I just let the reservoir stay dry for a little longer than for my tropical plants.
I agree LECA Is the fastest growth I have ever seen. All my soil plants struggle to grow new growth, mostly because its winter but the house is fairly warm above 21 degrees. But my Begonia in LECA is growing 2 leaves at the same time while producing more auxin buds in different location of the main stem. Incredible. However I m a stick with soil for most plants because that is for personal taste! Go Leca People enjoy that wonderful fast growth :D
Chris, I have a question for you but I have been wondering about. Many plants in LECA with reservoirs seem to have Roots dangling into the water from the drain holes at the bottom of the pot. What happens to these plants in colder climates where plants slow down their growth in winter? What happens to the water roots that are dangling into the (cold) water?
My hubby has been wanting me to start growing some of our house plants in Leca…after watching this video I think I might give it a shot. Thanks very informative!
Totally with you on this, Chris. I don't really get some of the hate out there for LECA specifically, particularly if people are fine with Pon. No one's forcing anyone to use semi-hydro if they don't enjoy it, but it really does improve my "plant lifestyle" and gives me a ton more freedom (effectively watering much less often and still getting more growth). I grow 80-90% of my plants in either LECA or "DIY" non-Lechuza Pon. There rest are in sphagnum (temporarily) or in tree fern fibre (usually for rooting cuttings, tiny seedlings, or saving rescues.) I love it! Never gonna give you up, LECA. 😉
I have an alternate POV, and I mean no disrespect by my comment; this is just my experience, and my thoughts on it. Why I hate LECA is explained by you in your video titled "8 LECA Mistakes to Avoid." I gave semi-hydro a try a few years ago on a couple of my houseplants just to give it a shot because of how popular it is. I battled root rot issues, nutrient issues, and salt buildup all year while I attempted it. Sure it grows plants quickly because of the aeration, but the lack of biology and constant stagnant water creates a breeding ground for the negative types of fungus that cause rotting of roots. Not everyone is going to be able to add an air stone into their pots, nor are they going to want to change the water 2-3 times a week to get oxygen back into the water. Finding that balance of water changes, nutrient feedings, and salt washes was annoying and I found myself doing more work than all my other healthy plants in living organic soil. Not to mention spending money on fertilizer that you have to add literally every time you change the water which definitely lines the pockets of fertilizer sellers that want you to grow semi-hydro to keep selling those sweet nutrients to keep your plant alive. I adapted what cannabis growers and permaculture farmers do to my tropical plants in my home and it's been amazing. Almost zero effort once I got it going. I re-amend with worm castings, and fertilize with Blue Gold brand organic fertilizers every couple of weeks and the plants are thriving. I've been using living organic soil (heavily amended with pumice for aeration and drainage) on my indoor and outdoor plants for 13 years now and I've never once dealt with rot until I tried LECA. I believe the relationship between soil biology (microbes and fungus) and roots, as well as air to the root zone is crucial to healthy plants. By all means, do what works best for you. There is no right way or wrong way to grow your favorite plants; as long as you get to enjoy them, that's what matters. My experience leads me to living soil, but your experience and situation may not. LECA may be right for you. I respect that, and I respect you for taking that approach if it's right for you.
I have to second this. Tried leca for roughly 6 months earlier this year and up until this month I decided to finally repot everything into soil. Initially leca was great not gonna lie. I had a watering schedule which was once a week and it was amazing and stress free! Months went by and I started encountering issues with slime in the water reservoir, mineral build up and even mold! However, I will say that the mold probably came from having to treat the water with bti for fungus gnats. And yes, leca made things worse in my own experience dealing with fungus gnats. Literally a breeding ground for them since there were tons of nooks and cranny for them to hide in! I gave leca a try and I am not going back anytime soon. I will say that my one and only nepenthes is in leca and I don't have to deal with any of the problems! So there's that. Carnivorous plants could potentially still have a future in leca though I'll say that much. Anything else is a no go for me!
I use Leca in my soil mix to make it chunkier for plants prone to root rot. The only reason I don't like to use semi hydroponic Leca is that I can't use compost with it. Compost in my area is free, and organic fertilizers are cheaper than the whole liquid feed/pH testing and balancing kit. Besides beneficial nematodes are soil active.... 😅
I’ve actually had a haworthia in LECA for more than a month now. It’s in a pot with drainage and I water it from the top and let it drain, leaving just a small amount of water in a catch tray under it. It’s doing ok so far, even started putting out a flower spike while in the transition period and just finished flowering a few days ago. I’m trying out aloe as well but in smaller size LECA. I can see the roots already after about a week of the pups being in the pot 😊
@@prettyingreen Thank you! I’m experimenting with my plants at the moment, transitioning all of them to LECA. I’ll be easier for me that way, because I need a way to be able to leave them on their own for a longer period of time 😊
I gave the 50/50 leca/perlite a try with my Thai Con, but ultimately went back to aroid mix. The leca/perlite would be bone dry after a day or two and wasn’t the right fit with me.
@@jamesorr1200 And the terracotta is amazing for soil because it actually breathes through the pot! But prob not great for LECA. It's the trade of longer watering window with slower growth, or short watering window with the fastest growth 😅
lecas like the bugatti of the plant world. everyone wants to have it but only some do. For me its because i have 0 idea but this was was helpful. Thank youuuuuu
I’m obsessed with pretty aglaonemas. Please do a video with how to grow large leaves. Mine seem to grow wider, but small leaves. Thanks a bunch. Please make daily content ❤❤ also all my aglaonemas are in Leca.
Great video. Inspired to try leca. Question: Is Leca the same as Pon? Also you mentioned to reuse Leca you sterilise it. How do you sterilise the leca? Thanks again
I’ve used LECA for a year now but I mix it with Pon. I find pure leca so hard, it feels like my roots need to be super clean prior to using. It doesn’t seem the case with Pon.
I’ve heard that mixing pon into leca can cause problems because the little pon chunks get stuck between the leca balls, leading to less air getting to the roots. I transferred a bunch of plants into pon earlier this year and have mixed opinions since some plants took to it well, while others didn’t. I also noticed an uptick in spider mites 🤷♀️ Plus, stepping on pon chunks is way worse than a ball of leca (as I’m sure you know how easily it can make its way onto the floor 😂😂), IMO. That said, I had a Pariso Verde in pon that needed an upsize in vessel and couldn’t get the pon out of the center of the giant root ball. So, rather than stressing the plant or re-rooting the whole thing I decided to just stick it into a larger pot and filled in with leca to see if the claims I’d heard regarding problems from my first point were overblown 🤞🤞🤞 I’m glad to see someone having a positive experience with a mix of the two, so that makes me hopeful for success!
@@marierejoiceinjesus3846 Yes!! It’s also so heavy! When I transferred some of my plants earlier this year I made the mistake of putting it into some of my wall hanging planters and then realized they were so so heavy. I ended up dumping them out and adding a ton of chunky perlite in to make it lighter. I also find that the jagged stones can really ‘bite’ into stems and cause some mechanical damage during repots. But most definitely didn’t realize how much water pon can hang onto and ended up rotting some pothos I transferred.
something i really struggle with at the moment however is constant root rot. but i think this might be to how i m using leca. i started with leca using the famours 1/3 method but to be honest, having my plants sit in a passiv hydro cachepot reservoir ALLWAYS makes them rot sooner or later. so i might need to either, put plants togerther on a tray with an airstone wich is even cheaper because fancy cachepots cost SO MUCH. or handwater them every couple days in cachepots but reservoir inside standing cachepots does not work for me at all
Serious question here. You can prop in 100% water with roots consumed by water but you shouldn't cover roots with water when Leca is included in the water. Why not? Water is water and the only difference is that Leca is added. I've tried to find an answer to why but no one really says why. You say the Leca and water below the root system makes the roots grow to the water. Don't the roots grow in all water too just as fast? I'm so confused about this. The Leca creates aeration, I get that. All water has oxygen so why is Leca needed in the water? I see someone else added glass beads to water all the way up over the roots. Why not water all the way up when Leca is added? Help!
I wanted Leca to work so much because I travel a lot and it seemed like it would be the answer to my watering problems! But I did everything that I learned from people on RUclips on how to use Leca and 80% of the plants that I transferred over died. It just seemed like most of the Leca was dry except the very bottom. It didn’t wick up the Water like it’s supposed to. could it be that it only works in areas that aren’t extremely dry? I just don’t understand why it didn’t work for me. I really wanted it to!!
Well you got my last question on an old video so lets give it another try. I was wondering with the 3-2-1 sub straight recipe if it would be a good idea to add some homiculture charcoal and if so, how much? Just 1 to do a 3- coco chips, 2 pearlite, 1 coir, 1 charcoal? or just leave it out. I like that it helps with impurity, my water isn't great, even with a filter and distilled water can get expensive by the gallon watering around 50 pots. I just want to get better and you seem to really know your stuff.
I love hort charcoal, I just left it out bc it can be expensive for the average person. But I would put it in the place of the coco husk chips / perlite area. So maybe a 2-2-1-1 or 3-2-1-1 like you said (coco chips-perlite-coir-charcoal). It really is a mix and feel process for making aroid mix. When it gets too grainy/thin, I add more husk. I've been sprinkling in LECA into mine these days for even for drainage! For Alocasia and Anthurium I'm keeping the coir, but for Monstera I've been leaving it out to be more airy and hold less moisture. I hope this helps!
It’s look great. I love to try but somehow after a few months it look gross to me.. that make me to think twice to use it for my indoor plants (eventho I already bought one 😅) - new to plant here haha
I must say, I had only success with leca. No transition to water and than to leca. My Thai nearly die. Than I took it in my aroid mix again and a couple of weeks without transition, in leca. Success. Than all my plants change to leca. Orchids not work for me in leca. But all aroids loooove it. Only my zz leafes to propagate that I buy not work in leca. But in a really airy aroid mix. I see now grow. Leca is not for everyone. Mostly they people want give water without fertilizer. Fertilizer is too much time and than in leca. No. I had twice problem with thrips and once with spidermites with aroid mix. I choose to leca. No problems. OK I buy a monstera online, took in quarantine. But they had thrips and all plants are infected than. No problem. With leca it is easier to shower the roots and the plants. I have moss pole. My killer works only on leafes and soil. I spray the leafes and took the water with the killer in the moss pole. It works. Yes leca feels dry on the top. But if you took the leca out of the pot you feel the water. I had the fear too in the beginning. Now I don't wait 24-48 hours with leca in water. Perhaps 2 hours or no waiting. I use the leca perlite mix. And it works great. No lost of plants. Never.
a good grower grows just as good/fast in proper soil mix .. virus transmits through water/roots very well so whole crop can get virus before you see symptoms
That’s simply not true. No matter how “good” of a grower, an aeroponics system will outpace any soil in growth rate, root production, and total biomass production. Viruses definitely CAN be transmitted through water. Hence the need for sterile water using bleach or h202
If i use a clear vessel without holes can i use your leca/perlite mix? How far up should the nutrient solution be? Please help im new to the leca game.
@@prettyingreen I put 3 of my plants in the leca/perlite mix in a pot with drainage😀...and I put a layer of leca in my reservoir and placed the plants on top ....when I top water do I need to discard the runoff from me watering or do I allow it to just stay in the bottom of the reservoir?
@@prettyingreen thanks for responding! 😊 but is it also ok to expose the liquid solution in sunlight? I want to transition my plants to leca but I mostly have outdoor space to work with. Hope you can still reply. Thanks so much! 😊
Second. I'm listening with headphones. Weird choice of music tbh. Sounds like we're preparing for battle. Plants are supposed to be a relaxation outlet for me.
Try out Leaf Lux which now comes in the LECA kit: prettyingreen.com/products/leca-kit
I don't know how anyone could not like LECA!
I have been growing plants since childhood. LECA and self watering pots changed my whole plant life! I have made Pon and use Luchuza pon, but Leca is still the easiest! And with plants everywhere, if a pot gets knocked over clean up is a breeze! I don't worry about leaving my plants for a week or two like others do. In my opinion, LECA allows me to spend more time admiring and enjoying my plants than maintaining them.
I feel EXACTLY the same way 🙌
💚This is a great video. Had to share it with my other half in order to clarify the “how.” Thanks for the pro tip about adding peroxide to keep algae at bay!
I’m always happy when you put out LECA videos.
Keep spreading the good word 🙌🙌
My plants became soooo much happier once I started using LECA.
Not only because of LECA itself but also because of what the learning process involving LECA taught me about my plants (I use clear vessels that I typically place inside opaque pots). When I check on roots, it’s amazing seeing how moisture levels matter.
And I guess I knew roots needed to breath and wanted nutrients but I didn’t know know until I started experimenting how important those components were.
Root health is so critical and in soil… there’s a lot you can’t see.
I still use soil if a plant’s happy and I don’t mind how it’s potted but I prefer LECA. It’s amazing. I feel like so many people are missing out.
All my plants are converted to Leca, I put holes all over the pots for aeration and stand the pots in saucers making sure there is always nutrient solution in the saucer, then leave the leca to do the rest . I find this a foolproof way to grow amazing plants. Love the video.
I think i should try Leca 🌿♥️ happy planting!
You definitely should!!
I've been using LECA for 3 years now, and I love it. I mainly use it with self watering pots and wicking material. I mix up MSU fertilizer and water, and that's it. My plants love it, and it's so much cleaner! ❤❤❤❤❤
I have to agree with Wanda, I get into such a mess with soil & repotting. Eventually I’d like to get all my orchids, Hoyas & regular houseplants into leca or the Australian version of Pon (called MAB Grow). I’m all for leca🪴😀
@@renatecormick7399if your tap water is ok or you have an RO system its fine, but wastes too much water flushing the pots if you buy distilled or RO water. I just switched everything back after 6 years semi hydro
I have a barepaw plant and a burrows tail in leca. And they love it.
I love LECA. I use pon too but LECA is my favorite. I recently took cuttings of my dying maranta's and put them in LECA and they are loving it. No brown tips.
The thing that really does encourage algae isn't LECA but clear glass containers! Algae needs light, and the more light that reaches the water the more algae you'll get. I've been using LECA now for several years for many different plants and have not had any trouble at all with algae. But my plants are all growing in opaque containers ...mostly ceramic, but a few plastic ones as well.
Also, I've had excellent results for both flowering and non-flowering plants using ordinary liquid fertiliser. It's not necessary to buy the hydroponic kind. I use Baby Bio (regular and orchid), the various Focus brand plant-specific fertilisers, some Marphyl, and Tomorite for flowering plants a couple of times a year.
Hey uh a psa from the orchid community, we don’t use leca often. Very rarely in fact.
I just know, generally speaking, the orchid community adopted LECA before the Aroid community
I love leca/ coarse “pon” for my plants. It has made having many plants SO much easier. No having to wait for water to drain out, no doubt if the soil is ready to be watered and no doubts when i last fertilized.
Also, i have my “string ofs” in an unfertiled pon like substrate and therefore doing netter than ever! I just let the reservoir stay dry for a little longer than for my tropical plants.
Leca saved me and my houseplants 😅
I agree LECA Is the fastest growth I have ever seen. All my soil plants struggle to grow new growth, mostly because its winter but the house is fairly warm above 21 degrees.
But my Begonia in LECA is growing 2 leaves at the same time while producing more auxin buds in different location of the main stem. Incredible. However I m a stick with soil for most plants because that is for personal taste! Go Leca People enjoy that wonderful fast growth :D
Chris, I have a question for you but I have been wondering about. Many plants in LECA with reservoirs seem to have Roots dangling into the water from the drain holes at the bottom of the pot. What happens to these plants in colder climates where plants slow down their growth in winter? What happens to the water roots that are dangling into the (cold) water?
My hubby has been wanting me to start growing some of our house plants in Leca…after watching this video I think I might give it a shot. Thanks very informative!
I LOVE using leca. I've migrated a few of my plants over and they are THRIVING.
LOVE to hear this!!!
Another great video from the master.
Totally with you on this, Chris. I don't really get some of the hate out there for LECA specifically, particularly if people are fine with Pon. No one's forcing anyone to use semi-hydro if they don't enjoy it, but it really does improve my "plant lifestyle" and gives me a ton more freedom (effectively watering much less often and still getting more growth). I grow 80-90% of my plants in either LECA or "DIY" non-Lechuza Pon. There rest are in sphagnum (temporarily) or in tree fern fibre (usually for rooting cuttings, tiny seedlings, or saving rescues.) I love it! Never gonna give you up, LECA. 😉
Maybe I should give leca a try! Im used to choir perlite and miracle grow trop soil
It’s definitely worth a try!
I started using Leca about 6 months ago, and I am hooked!! It's so great ❤🌱
It's so good!
I have an alternate POV, and I mean no disrespect by my comment; this is just my experience, and my thoughts on it. Why I hate LECA is explained by you in your video titled "8 LECA Mistakes to Avoid." I gave semi-hydro a try a few years ago on a couple of my houseplants just to give it a shot because of how popular it is. I battled root rot issues, nutrient issues, and salt buildup all year while I attempted it. Sure it grows plants quickly because of the aeration, but the lack of biology and constant stagnant water creates a breeding ground for the negative types of fungus that cause rotting of roots. Not everyone is going to be able to add an air stone into their pots, nor are they going to want to change the water 2-3 times a week to get oxygen back into the water. Finding that balance of water changes, nutrient feedings, and salt washes was annoying and I found myself doing more work than all my other healthy plants in living organic soil. Not to mention spending money on fertilizer that you have to add literally every time you change the water which definitely lines the pockets of fertilizer sellers that want you to grow semi-hydro to keep selling those sweet nutrients to keep your plant alive. I adapted what cannabis growers and permaculture farmers do to my tropical plants in my home and it's been amazing. Almost zero effort once I got it going. I re-amend with worm castings, and fertilize with Blue Gold brand organic fertilizers every couple of weeks and the plants are thriving. I've been using living organic soil (heavily amended with pumice for aeration and drainage) on my indoor and outdoor plants for 13 years now and I've never once dealt with rot until I tried LECA. I believe the relationship between soil biology (microbes and fungus) and roots, as well as air to the root zone is crucial to healthy plants. By all means, do what works best for you. There is no right way or wrong way to grow your favorite plants; as long as you get to enjoy them, that's what matters. My experience leads me to living soil, but your experience and situation may not. LECA may be right for you. I respect that, and I respect you for taking that approach if it's right for you.
I have to second this. Tried leca for roughly 6 months earlier this year and up until this month I decided to finally repot everything into soil. Initially leca was great not gonna lie. I had a watering schedule which was once a week and it was amazing and stress free! Months went by and I started encountering issues with slime in the water reservoir, mineral build up and even mold! However, I will say that the mold probably came from having to treat the water with bti for fungus gnats. And yes, leca made things worse in my own experience dealing with fungus gnats. Literally a breeding ground for them since there were tons of nooks and cranny for them to hide in! I gave leca a try and I am not going back anytime soon. I will say that my one and only nepenthes is in leca and I don't have to deal with any of the problems! So there's that. Carnivorous plants could potentially still have a future in leca though I'll say that much. Anything else is a no go for me!
thanks for the information
I saw yesterday kill that plant video thumbnail and didn't know anything about leca
I use Leca in my soil mix to make it chunkier for plants prone to root rot. The only reason I don't like to use semi hydroponic Leca is that I can't use compost with it. Compost in my area is free, and organic fertilizers are cheaper than the whole liquid feed/pH testing and balancing kit. Besides beneficial nematodes are soil active.... 😅
Very few things can beat an aerobic, heavily aerated organic soil mix!! If you’ve got access to it, use that!
I use red lava. Super cheap and more surface area
Does it work just as good?
It just cuts my fingers when I rinse it or transplant with it
I’ve actually had a haworthia in LECA for more than a month now. It’s in a pot with drainage and I water it from the top and let it drain, leaving just a small amount of water in a catch tray under it. It’s doing ok so far, even started putting out a flower spike while in the transition period and just finished flowering a few days ago. I’m trying out aloe as well but in smaller size LECA. I can see the roots already after about a week of the pups being in the pot 😊
That's so cool!! Always love to hear when people bring less common plants into LECA!
@@prettyingreen Thank you! I’m experimenting with my plants at the moment, transitioning all of them to LECA. I’ll be easier for me that way, because I need a way to be able to leave them on their own for a longer period of time 😊
I gave the 50/50 leca/perlite a try with my Thai Con, but ultimately went back to aroid mix. The leca/perlite would be bone dry after a day or two and wasn’t the right fit with me.
That's interesting! Was it a 3-4" pot? I water my 4" LECA/Perlite every 4 days or so. I do prefer it for 6-12" pots!
@@prettyingreen Yep, exactly. I thought it might bc it was a small pot. I was trying it with 4” terracotta.
@@jamesorr1200 And the terracotta is amazing for soil because it actually breathes through the pot! But prob not great for LECA. It's the trade of longer watering window with slower growth, or short watering window with the fastest growth 😅
Terracotta… hello?
@@prettyingreenbut do you think leca/perlite could work in a 5 gallon terracotta? I don’t mind frequent watering, as long as they don’t rot..
Great video although I just recently started using leca. I will check that video for beginners.
lecas like the bugatti of the plant world. everyone wants to have it but only some do. For me its because i have 0 idea but this was was helpful. Thank youuuuuu
I’m obsessed with pretty aglaonemas. Please do a video with how to grow large leaves. Mine seem to grow wider, but small leaves. Thanks a bunch. Please make daily content ❤❤ also all my aglaonemas are in Leca.
💚Leca 🌱
🤗💚
Your videos are sensible well explained!! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Ah thank you!!! I appreciate you watching 🤗
Great video. Inspired to try leca. Question: Is Leca the same as Pon? Also you mentioned to reuse Leca you sterilise it. How do you sterilise the leca? Thanks again
I’ve used LECA for a year now but I mix it with Pon.
I find pure leca so hard, it feels like my roots need to be super clean prior to using. It doesn’t seem the case with Pon.
I’ve heard that mixing pon into leca can cause problems because the little pon chunks get stuck between the leca balls, leading to less air getting to the roots. I transferred a bunch of plants into pon earlier this year and have mixed opinions since some plants took to it well, while others didn’t. I also noticed an uptick in spider mites 🤷♀️ Plus, stepping on pon chunks is way worse than a ball of leca (as I’m sure you know how easily it can make its way onto the floor 😂😂), IMO. That said, I had a Pariso Verde in pon that needed an upsize in vessel and couldn’t get the pon out of the center of the giant root ball. So, rather than stressing the plant or re-rooting the whole thing I decided to just stick it into a larger pot and filled in with leca to see if the claims I’d heard regarding problems from my first point were overblown 🤞🤞🤞 I’m glad to see someone having a positive experience with a mix of the two, so that makes me hopeful for success!
Pon holds a lot of water, so I put water loving plants in it (like Calatheas). I put plants that love to be airy into LECA.
@@marierejoiceinjesus3846 Yes!! It’s also so heavy! When I transferred some of my plants earlier this year I made the mistake of putting it into some of my wall hanging planters and then realized they were so so heavy. I ended up dumping them out and adding a ton of chunky perlite in to make it lighter. I also find that the jagged stones can really ‘bite’ into stems and cause some mechanical damage during repots. But most definitely didn’t realize how much water pon can hang onto and ended up rotting some pothos I transferred.
something i really struggle with at the moment however is constant root rot. but i think this might be to how i m using leca. i started with leca using the famours 1/3 method but to be honest, having my plants sit in a passiv hydro cachepot reservoir ALLWAYS makes them rot sooner or later.
so i might need to either, put plants togerther on a tray with an airstone wich is even cheaper because fancy cachepots cost SO MUCH. or handwater them every couple days in cachepots but reservoir inside standing cachepots does not work for me at all
has its uses in many different ways
I looove your content u should make more content like twice a week 💚💚💚
I want to so bad!!! Wish RUclips paid more 😅😂
Serious question here. You can prop in 100% water with roots consumed by water but you shouldn't cover roots with water when Leca is included in the water. Why not? Water is water and the only difference is that Leca is added. I've tried to find an answer to why but no one really says why. You say the Leca and water below the root system makes the roots grow to the water. Don't the roots grow in all water too just as fast? I'm so confused about this. The Leca creates aeration, I get that. All water has oxygen so why is Leca needed in the water? I see someone else added glass beads to water all the way up over the roots. Why not water all the way up when Leca is added? Help!
I wanted Leca to work so much because I travel a lot and it seemed like it would be the answer to my watering problems! But I did everything that I learned from people on RUclips on how to use Leca and 80% of the plants that I transferred over died. It just seemed like most of the Leca was dry except the very bottom. It didn’t wick up the Water like it’s supposed to. could it be that it only works in areas that aren’t extremely dry? I just don’t understand why it didn’t work for me. I really wanted it to!!
Well you got my last question on an old video so lets give it another try. I was wondering with the 3-2-1 sub straight recipe if it would be a good idea to add some homiculture charcoal and if so, how much? Just 1 to do a 3- coco chips, 2 pearlite, 1 coir, 1 charcoal? or just leave it out. I like that it helps with impurity, my water isn't great, even with a filter and distilled water can get expensive by the gallon watering around 50 pots. I just want to get better and you seem to really know your stuff.
I love hort charcoal, I just left it out bc it can be expensive for the average person. But I would put it in the place of the coco husk chips / perlite area. So maybe a 2-2-1-1 or 3-2-1-1 like you said (coco chips-perlite-coir-charcoal).
It really is a mix and feel process for making aroid mix. When it gets too grainy/thin, I add more husk. I've been sprinkling in LECA into mine these days for even for drainage! For Alocasia and Anthurium I'm keeping the coir, but for Monstera I've been leaving it out to be more airy and hold less moisture. I hope this helps!
@@prettyingreen thank you
It’s look great. I love to try but somehow after a few months it look gross to me.. that make me to think twice to use it for my indoor plants (eventho I already bought one 😅) - new to plant here haha
Very informative vid. I wanted to ask if I use rain water would I still need to add nutrients to the water?
Yup, you’ll need to add nutrients to it 😄
@@prettyingreen thanks
I must say, I had only success with leca. No transition to water and than to leca. My Thai nearly die. Than I took it in my aroid mix again and a couple of weeks without transition, in leca. Success. Than all my plants change to leca. Orchids not work for me in leca. But all aroids loooove it. Only my zz leafes to propagate that I buy not work in leca. But in a really airy aroid mix. I see now grow.
Leca is not for everyone. Mostly they people want give water without fertilizer. Fertilizer is too much time and than in leca. No.
I had twice problem with thrips and once with spidermites with aroid mix. I choose to leca. No problems. OK I buy a monstera online, took in quarantine. But they had thrips and all plants are infected than. No problem. With leca it is easier to shower the roots and the plants. I have moss pole. My killer works only on leafes and soil. I spray the leafes and took the water with the killer in the moss pole. It works.
Yes leca feels dry on the top. But if you took the leca out of the pot you feel the water. I had the fear too in the beginning. Now I don't wait 24-48 hours with leca in water. Perhaps 2 hours or no waiting. I use the leca perlite mix. And it works great. No lost of plants. Never.
Do you think I could grow my raspberries in this? Or maybe 50/50 perlite/leca?
I keep getting root rot 😩 and will be switching to airpots soon too..
a good grower grows just as good/fast in proper soil mix .. virus transmits through water/roots very well so whole crop can get virus before you see symptoms
That’s simply not true. No matter how “good” of a grower, an aeroponics system will outpace any soil in growth rate, root production, and total biomass production.
Viruses definitely CAN be transmitted through water. Hence the need for sterile water using bleach or h202
If i use a clear vessel without holes can i use your leca/perlite mix? How far up should the nutrient solution be? Please help im new to the leca game.
Use a vessel with drainage. With 100% LECA, water every 1-3 days. With LECA/Perlite water every 5-12 days. 12 days for the large pots 12"
@@prettyingreen I put 3 of my plants in the leca/perlite mix in a pot with drainage😀...and I put a layer of leca in my reservoir and placed the plants on top ....when I top water do I need to discard the runoff from me watering or do I allow it to just stay in the bottom of the reservoir?
Great vid! Can you grow outdoor plants in LECA too?
Yup!! It’s super versatile
@@prettyingreen thanks for responding! 😊 but is it also ok to expose the liquid solution in sunlight? I want to transition my plants to leca but I mostly have outdoor space to work with. Hope you can still reply. Thanks so much! 😊
@@raicovers Ideally the sunlight doesn't hit the liquid as it will cause algae growth and warm the water, decreasing the dissolved oxygen
Is leca good for propagating?
I don’t prefer it for propagation. But once I have 3-4” of roots, yes! I call it stage 2 of roots
How much peroxide per gallon?
1 fluid oz (30mL) per gallon of water
I cant convince myself to use leca..I grow bigger/ faster plants by putting them outside in the summer.
Imagine LECA outdoors in the sunshine 😍
Nah not for me 😂
The music 😶 can't even concentrate on what you're saying
I appreciate the feedback. Curious was this with headphones?
Second. I'm listening with headphones. Weird choice of music tbh. Sounds like we're preparing for battle. Plants are supposed to be a relaxation outlet for me.
Without headphones too