When I started watching plant videos, it was for the purpose of learning more about specific types of plants and their basic needs (light, water, soil, humidity, etc). I remember so clearly as they each began singing the praises of pon. I had to shrug my shoulders, and say..."oh well, I cannot afford to do that huge change on my fixed income." So, I never did the big transition...and now, more and more...I am grateful. I make enough mistakes on my own, let alone trying to figure out what else could be wrong. I am truly sorry about your precious hoyas that went through the stress or damage. I hope in the months ahead, especially as the weather turns nice again, that you will find healthy plants and your heart will be encouraged as you do what you know is best for your plants. 🙂🌱🌿
Very interesting. As someone who is just now getting into PON, I respect your experience and opinion. I like having a heads-up so I can restart my plants if they start to decline. Thanks for the video.
For tiny root plants (like hoyas), I use 1-3mm pumice in self watering pots. For medium root plants (like philodendrons) I use 3-6mm pumice in self watering pots. I have to use soilless substrate because of apartment living and soil is very messy. Tried leca but I don't find it works well for tiny root plants because the air pockets are very large, unless ur on top of the watering.
I have around 300, and have had similar experiences in pon! As you pointed out, not everything likes pon. Especially the thin leaved varieties, long term beyond 12 months. A root crisis begins, then the foliage begins to yellow. Lasiantha and Praetorii both absolutely hated pon. Upon transplanting back to a heavy perlite/ potting soil mix…growth resumed and began to thrive. A complete mixed bag! It’s forever a guessing game from one to another. The heartbreaking losses are what are hardest to take….especially those that weren’t inexpensive!
Thank you for this video. You just might help others who are on the fence about using Pon. I started using Pon (my own mix) about 3 years ago. One by one i was loosing plants so back to my regular aroid mix. My Pon was taken outside and dumped behind my garage. So all the money i spent on Pumice, zeolite, lava rock, and self watering pots was wasted. By the way, if you are reading this and still using Pon please rinse it well! And dont let it go down the drain! It was amazing to see that the reservoirs all had gray "cement" in the bottom of them and the Pon had been rinsed very well.. So here i am 3 years later. And trying Pon once again. And killing plants once again! I am DONE. The Pon that i have left will slowly be added to my medium to just get rid of it! I have never tried Lecca because to me it is UGLY and i just dont like the looks of it. I am 70 years old. When i started with plants you used a bag of soil mix, some Perlite, Vermiculite and charcoal and for your lighting you went to your local Ace hardware store and bought a 4 foot "shop light". Thats it! No lecca, Pon, Stratum, Tree Fern Fiber or any fancy fertilizers. The people who grew African Violets have been wick watering for years. They used potting soil with lots of perlite and vermiculite and ran a piece of yarn down into the reservoir which was a used cottage cheese or similar container with an opening using an exacto knife on top to run the yarn down into. The wick (yarn) was pulled up into the pot and left an inch or so of the yarn was sticking out from the soil. So im officially done with Pon after 2 tries of successfully killing plants. So now its a "chunky" Aroid mix. It looks nice. Does it work? Not for me. Its too chunky. So i am not going to use a chunky mix. Going to use what works for me and my plants. As far as fungus gnats....stop over watering and you wont get any. I think people are getting rid of Lecca also. Ive received plants that had Lecca mixed in the substate. Plus nobodys talking about it anymore. So i guess just use what works for you and happy planting everyone! ❤
You’ve probably heard this a lot, but have you ever tried Lechuza pon? (I know it is expensive!) They use slow-release fertilizer-have you tried adding Osmocote to your personal pond mix? I use Lechuza pon and LECA, but I don’t get offended if people don’t like pon or leca.
I never used pon I’m glad I never started… it’s so much work even trying to buy it … and it’s expensive and then you have to wash it…. And great point with all the water you have to use to rinse it and that it’s still not really perfectly rinsed after using gallons of water…
Someone recommended planting anthurium in pon and mine is dying. My hoyas in pon barely grow indoors, some root rot. My poyas in pon outdoors are doing fine. There seems to be too much variability in whether pon will work and I'm getting sick of it.
This was really interesting Miro! When I first looked into PON (I was intrigued by the hype) I never understood why so many people were taking their plants completely out of soil whilst the Lechuza website are very clear that you should not do so! 🤔 It's supposed to be a combination drainage layer and wicking substrate to bring moisture up to the soil as it needs it. I suppose you could use PON as a substitute for LECA in a semi-hydro setup where the bottom of the pot sits in water, but not in a self-watering setup. I can't remember who it is but I watched a YT video by a PON fan saying "this xyz is still struggling after 1 year into transition... but we'll get there!" and I was thinking Transition? 1 year??? WTF! Dude, your (expensive) plant is dying a slow death!! As far as success in small pots / failure in big pots, I think there's a limit to how far away from the water source PON can carry water effectively. That could certainly lead to dried and dessicated roots unless or until the plants compensate with more root growth... Would be interesting to test! Funnily enough, I like PON and I use it in most of my self-watering pots. With my soil mix, the way Lechuza recommends, and it works quite well for me. Especially since I'm a chronic underwaterer and love calatheas almost as much as I love my hoyas! I'm sorry you lost so many plants, I hope you can replace them soon.
Hello everyone, I really love Hoyas like most of us do. And I was thinking about make the big transition until I saw this video. Everyone makes mistakes, sure you can make it grow again. Sometimes it's hard, some plants are pricey, some are precious, some others had a sentimental value or are really uncommon, but changing the growing medium and maybe the pot size you can get much more luck. Best wishes and greetings from Mexico P.D. this is the first time that I have dared to write, you can do it and dont give up.
I've had same results as you. I've stopped to use pon 2 years ago, for semi hydro, only for very young plants for now, I use pumice. When I repot grown plants, now for semi hydro I'm experimenting a bed of pumice and chopped xaxim on the higher part of the pot.
Pon works well for me with most all of my plants, but i do things differently. First i always rinse my pon first, 2nd i always make sure the pon is in the bottom of the pot fully no barrier extra layer or lecca. The string goes about an inch up into the pon as well not laying at the very bottom. I never top water and always despite instructions bottom water as pon really absorbs and holds onto moisture. I use lightly fertilized water because pon looses its fertilizer within 6 months so its inert after that. Plants ive top watered in pon have always rotted and needed saved. Anthuriums, hoyas, monstera, you name it all rot if ive top watered at all. Lastly ive propogated every plant ive recived and thats in my care and have planted multiples of every one into different medias, as a precaution because at this point ive suffered losses with soil, soiless mix, pon, lecca, you name it. No two plants are the same and genetics can and do vary so same species plants can like different things for different people or be more or less susceptible to issues.
I am so sorry to see you so sad. Changing it back to what you feel confident with and what has worked for your environment is definitely your best bet. I hope to see an update on what you have been able to salvage.
Thanks for this wisdom. I’ve been tempted with PON for the reduced watering load, but appreciate your explanation of how even if you get one successful transition, you basically are starting from scratch again when you pot up. And obviously it is so much more difficult when there is a lot of plant material to support. I think I will stick to using it for propagations. Sorry for your struggles.
Great video Miro. Love the honesty. So many never share when they determine that what did work initially doesn’t anymore. I have also noticed the decline on many of my plants that I have repotted, which is so discouraging for those of us who are still learning and lack confidence. This video gave me some confidence that it potentially isn’t me that is slowly killing them. Thanks again….not giving up yet on hoyas ❤
I appreciate your honesty and clear explanation on why you're not happy with pon. I never tried it and am glad. I did try LECA on some of my plants including a Hoya, and they are happy. I wish you and your plants the best!!! ❤❤❤
So sad🙁 But a good warning, I also have some cuttings in Pon that should be repotted at one point. Now I know it can be a problem and react fast and maybe take some backup cuttings before repotting. Thank you Miro!
Ugh, I was sad to see you so sad. However, I know if any can be saved, you will be successful. Funny that you should be talking about this, because I recently had a long conversation with a grower much more experienced than me. We both lean towards a chunky, organic soil. Of course there are so many variables. Light, humidity, water, etc. I feel like a damn wet nurse, just trying to get my plants through the New England winters here. LoL I truly appreciate these videos Nero, because no person or plant is perfect. We do our best...💕 💕 💕
Hi Miro! Love your videos and appreciate your viewpoint on the Pon front. I have had a lot of success with pon after a lot of loss and issues with organic mixes. Even repots. While I don’t think I’ll stop using Pon, I’m still a huge fan of yours. You’re right, different plants, environments, etc yield different results. Good to know what to look for in case it happens to me. I’m so sorry for the loss of your plants. You have an amazing collection. Wishing the very best for your restarts!
Thanks for this, I've been so frustrated with my pon experiments. Lucky for me, I only got a gallon of pon from another plant friend, and tried it in several small self-watering pots. They have not thrived. I look around my collection at the ones that are doing well, and the plants that are resilient are the ones I potted in aroid mix.
Miro 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 thank you for discussing your issues with pon!!! I have had so much trouble with it. I swore it off also!!! I’ve been waiting for this video 🤣🤣 I’m also so very excited to watch you growing again in organic mixes!!! There are some channels I can no longer relate as all their Hoya’s, Alicasia’s are all in pon. I can’t relate anymore so no sense of watching 🤷🏻♀️.
I can say that when you take a plant that was in soil and put it in water and then put it back into soil later on...mine died and that was a pothos -all 3 and they were in my fish tank and did great then soil again and died I think the roots get very weak in the water
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I hope you can save your plants. I’ve been experimenting with diy pon for about 8 months mostly with propagations and baby plants. Most of my plants are in a soil mix. I got too many of them to be transitioning every one to a new substrate especially when I have no experience with it. I recently potted up a Lacunosa prop from pon to pon and the leaves were soft the next day and I’ve noticed the same with some other plants. I took some cuttings but I might just move it into soil. I have noticed that maybe pon is too heavy for plants with small roots. But everyone has different environments and plant care styles. I will continue to experiment with all this in mind. I really appreciate the heads up.
I upsized my big Lacunosa and experienced the same thing, with soft leafs. I filled the pot with water, it’s swimming in water since a while back and the leafs feels firmer. Its the only plant I have had issues with, with pon.
@@wildegenius1 how strange. I’ve had a few Hoyas I was trying to prop just rot away in pon but I’ve had some success. I decided to move the Lacunosa to a soilless potting mix (Molly’s aroid mix) and the leaves are firm again. I don’t think I want to use pon for Hoyas anymore but philodendron and other plants with thicker roots seem to be ok. 🤷🏾♀️
I think my big lesson learned in 2023 for plants was that just because a plant grows and puts out a leaf, doesn't mean it's thriving or growing the best that it could. Semi hydro had many lessons. I lost an Anthurium Veitchii using the same wick pot and substrate and mostly the same fertilizers as HakunaLaPlanta (the wick also never got the leca/pon fully wet and there was almost instant mold, making me have to go get a fan); I saw slow growth for many of my plants when copying the same glass vessel semi hydro technique as unplantparenthood and youdontevengrow here (not to say it doesn't work, and no hate to them they make good videos, but the plants DID grow at a slower rate than previous years). I saw the same hoya roots you did. I found philodendron did well in leca and water in a glass vessel but anything "harder" to grow like anthurium really slowed down in their growth. Many of them grew nice roots but no leaves or growing leaves so slowly I could tell the situation was something they were putting up with, rather than thriving in. Like I have a friedschthalii I bought in August 2023 that has not put out a leaf but has grown roots fine. Now I do semi hydro with plastic pots nested in glass vessels, or the old basic gardening pots I started with. I am mixing my pon, perlite and leca with tree fern fiber and soil now, just for drainage. Like all this experimenting with inorganic substrates and semi hydro just to learn that a lot of my collection could have had better growth, and only my philodendrons really grew like normal. And most of these plants were in semi hydro between mid 2022 til these past few months. All had plenty of time to acclimate.
I have a lot of pumice so I've been linking of off coco peat and pumice instead of perlite. I hope that works. I just like pumice some of breaks apart less.
Sorry for your struggles! I’ve never tried pon, and after watching this I won’t bother. I use New Zealand tree fern fibre for my Hoya, and they seem to thrive in this (I also water them with fish tank water) and it’s a good combination that works in New Zealand for my environment
So sad for the lost plants :( I gave up on leca a long time ago--it never worked for me. I also noticed that silence where no one seems to grow in it anymore and no one really talked about it...were we all too scared to say out loud "LECA SUCKS"?? But anyway this video is informative and I appreciate it, and I will light a candle for the deceased hoyas.
So sorry to see you brokenhearted with what's happened to your precious hoya :( I grow some of my hoya in pon but never in self-watering and I always top-water. I tend to kill my plants with overwatering so this works for me - I water them, let them drain and put them in cache pots. I have repoted some recently as they outgrew their pots, curious of what will happen now that I've seen your video... Anyway, I hope you were able to save all of your hoya, if only by a cutting or two - you will grow them back, I'm sure.
For me pon has been a great medium to activate plugs and get them growing in a trajectory that’s pretty efficient. I wouldn’t pot a large plant in pon or a plant that will go over 5 to 6 inches in a pot. I just don’t think it’s a substrate that works really well with plants that get larger (hence your dry rot problem) and in my experience plants that do get larger tend to do well in traditional mediums of soils when you up their pot sizes with rocky substrates with soil mixed in. So I understand your choice. And I wish you luck on starting new plugs from the dry rot plants.
Pon saved my Rotundiflora and Mathilde. My thing is wick placement. And that’s my trick and tip. I tie a zip tie in the center of the wick so it becomes a handle. I plant the Hoya in the pot with the wick drawn up into the roots and I use the “handle” I created to get the placement just right. I never, ever leave the wick on the bottom. Seriously don’t do that. Draw that wick up 🔝 into the roots. Also pre saturate the wick as well. For now things are going well. It may not be the Pon, it may be the wick. I also use a thick wick material.
I don’t have much luck growing in pon. The only plant that has thrived in pon is my Sodori. 🤷🏻♀️ just recently transitioned some plants back to soil. I only have a couple more to go…I think I only had 12 transitioned into pon. I did mix in quite a bit of perlite because the pon was so heavy and I was worried about the roots. I only purchased one bag of pon. I have had good outcome in rooting plants in fluval. But again I do a 50/50 mix.
Lol! My big hoya Cuminiana varigated actually spiraled!! I was in shock! It was planted in aroid mix. My hoya in pon are all (35) doing well but I also use Great White mycorrhizae and they have loved it.
Im sorry for your experience. I've converted most of my hoya to pon over the last couple of years, but now some are struggling. My poor Mathilde is unhappy, and I've been trying to decide what substrate to use when i repot her
I have transferred most of my Hoyas from pon to an organic mix over the last year. Very happy with the results. But I have a few that clearly like to be in pumice/lava rocks, and I have had to move them back to that. But they are so cute, that they are allowed to be demanding 😅 and I’m afraid to kill them again
Wow this is such a blessing. Dry roots along with leaves struggling to open. My summer glory just wasn't flourishing. My alocasia regal shield has been ok. I'm taking my florida ghost and my glorious. Just not rooting very slow growth. I thought it was just me. Thank you its not just me lol
I have been growing mine for a year and a half in pon and have one in LECA also. It is a plant that gets mad easily. 4 out of the 5 people I traded it with in my local group killed it. I am positive this is user error for him. And that is not because of my experience, but my research. It's unfortunate these people with large channels make videos without knowing how things work, they literally say that, then they convince others to stay away from learning the correct method. Even if they say they are not influencers, you will read the comments to see he influenced a ton of people. Eve from LECA Addict is the best resource for finding the scientific information on how this works. It's not hard at all. He clearly let the pon dry too much, and that is how dry rot happens. His wick placement, wick, or pot sucks if it is not keeping the pon evenly moist. I have no pon or LECA plants that look anything like his after two years. It does not work for 100% of plants, though. I love him and Fern, but people have to stop saying "I know nothing" and then continue to share their misinformed information. At least it would be nice if they did. How will this world survive with influencers dumbing people down and convincing them of nonsense. There are even studies on the harm this disinfo causes.
@@marierejoiceinjesus3846whats your method for re potting? I have had bad luck moving from pon into bigger pots as well. I cant figure out what Im doing wrong. Waiting too long? Root ball too compacted? Another issue I have is some of the roots that reach the water start to rot- some flourish? Why? Whats the difference? Those are my main issues. When I leave them in my really small pots they do fine until they are exploding and then eventually ik they need to be moved up and a good amount of the time, they die when I repot
Hi Miro, you seem stressed in this video and I understand 💯!!! Pon hasn’t been the best in my experience either. I moved over 100 hoyas to pon and I moved back to soiless soil as this works best for me! Sending best wishes your way ☺️
I have the same problem with repotting in pon-even with a good amount of perlite mixed in-so not even as heavy. The problem I have with organic substrates is I can’t get the watering right. I might try no drainage with soil. Thanks for the vid & I hope your hoyas recover xx
I transferred most of my plants over to Pon in the last year and I noticed that my Hoya are growing much better due the dry house conditions here. However, I’ve had problems with easy plants like Pothos transitioning them to Pon which is so weird.
Yes, this just happened to me too but with a large Golden Pothos which I took out of soil (washed the roots) set in water for a week and then put in Pon and the entire plant turned black and died overnight, so I know exactly what you are saying! From now on I will always start with fresh new water root cuttings before I put anything into Pon because that was painful loss.
What a synchronicity! For the past week, I've been in the process of starting Hoya all over again, from pon to organic mix! The problems you describe are exactly the same ones I've encountered. It's always, or at least the vast majority of the time, after repotting that problems arise and roots die. Bye bye pon for my hoyas! I'll continue to use it for my anthuriums, with which pon is not a problem but rather a success. Thanks for your video Miro, and you're right, when we get to a certain point and have a large collection of plants, we just don't want to be bothered anymore!
Miro, I’m sorry you have lost some beautiful plants. I have a few plants in pon and I struggle to determine just how wet it is in the middle of the pot when the top is dried out. I’m sure some of mine are too wet and some are too dry. The only plants that seem to do well in it are my pain-in- the (you know what) begonias.
I tried pon and didn't like at all. I have been doing leca for 4 years but feel like some plants just don't do well in it either. I am thinking of moving everything to soil. We will see. I have been collecting for over 20 yrs. Your collection shouldn't cause you too much stress. ❤❤
Im sorry for the decline of those lovely plants. i have been noticing the slow and stunted growth after repotted with pon. Im trying find another soil free substrate. Because i can't go back to soil and risk having bugs, especially since most of my hoyas are in bedroom.
I use luchuza pon on all my plants have them in it 2 years after 6 months i add little fertilizer every month in my water .There beautiful and oh ya no gnats when i use to get them all the time
Ive never tried leca or pon, it all seemed way too hard for me - like ph balances, flushing, feeding, special pots, water temperatures etc etc. Like it seemed you need to be a crazy scientist to make it work 😅
I actually found myself transferring some of my hoyas from pon to chunky organic mix lately because they seemed stunted in growth or going downhill. Funnily enough like you say it's been also around 2 years since I have most of these hoyas in pon.
Hey Miro! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences - I have just over 100 hoya species and all are in the same diy pon mix (with added perlite). I have had very similar experiences so it was both a relief and sadness to watch this video. I made the switch to pon mainly for two reasons: self-watering and pest prevention. Do you notice a difference in pests with your hoyas in organic mix?
Do you think if you up pot a hoya, you move it to fluval stratum before putting it back in pon in order to strengthen the root system first, that could be beneficial? 💚💚💚
I am not sure, I don't have fluval stratum. But don't you think that if I have to put the plant into another potting mix to strengthen the roots, while I am attempting to upsize the pot, that the original potting mix is then flawed? They shouldn't lose the roots to this extent while repotting, they never do in organic mixes for example.
Nooooo!!! I'm getting a lyi bend tomorrow and was hoping to transfer to pon! I have like 80% of my collection in pon and goes great so far - but I have to say certain hoyas (like my lacunosa), really hate pon. I get root rot tho, not dry rot. I had made an experiment with retusa as well. Retusa + pon is a BAD combo. Btw, in order not to get dry root, besides watering from top, I'm also puting the wick up high in the pot, so it has enough moisture throughout.
I have a dozen or so hoyas and grow them in a mix of orchid bark and regular potting soil (at least 70% bark), and sometimes I add perlite when I have it on hand. Most of them like it, except for my hoya curtisii which cannot figure out what she wants 😂
Thank you MiroYou helped alot with this video I got pon and have been unsure all of mine are in organic mix I think I will flag the pon I have based alot of my hoya growing on your knowledge and I'm doing ok I think 😂
I have calathea and I want to have Hoyas too. I'm new to the "Hoya world" and pon is like a religion 😅 you can't say bad things about it or say it doesn't work for you because people will say you are the problem, it's in your head, they get out the pitchforks and torches 😅😆 Hoyas were growing before pon was created... and in the forest, Hoyas don't have a pon bag available 😆 You clearly explain why, your result is sad, I hope you can save them all 💛
🥲I have always mistrusted Pon or Leca for Hoyas, just watched another video where the person was repotting her Hoyas that were in Leica and they had root mealybug. I’ve been rooting Hoyas in half perlite with half tree fern and they seem to appreciate the mix. Good luck recovering all of your beautiful Hoyas.
Hi Miro. Thanks for sharing your content. I'm so sorry about your plants in PON. Must be hard to see.. I wanted to mention, could it be the mix of pon you made? Was not evenly distributed or could the material be to big, or strong for the plant? I'm so sorry again your going through this.. 😒 And love your content! 💚🌿
Reading the comments so far you are totally right about the varied/misinterpretations. I think as plant growers we all have to take responsibility for the choices we make. With a large collection like yours it would be nice if all hoya would grow well in one type of substrate, but it may not be the case. That is part of the challenge or struggle whichever way you want to view it. I sympathize with you.
I am with Kathryn I may have watched the same video it was so tragic I really felt terrible for her am scared to do lecca or pon my great grandmother always used soil for her plants
Miro, I could see the utter devastation in our face when handling that walliniana💔 I almost cried 🥺 I appreciate sooo much that you shared your experience! 🙏 I have great experience with pon for my aroids. It works really well for all my philodendrons that I transitioned, nevermind if babies or bigger plants, and it is like heaven for alocasias, they just thrive in there so much! So I tried it on hoya as well. I moved an australis to pon and recently I purchased a caudata in seramis, and while they are both growing, I am super unsure whether I am doing it right. Like are you supposed to keep water reservoir on the bottom at all times, like I do with my aroids? Or do hoyas need to dry out and then be watered from the top? I just don't know😬 Growing in pon has been very intuitive for me, but not with hoyas. I think I won't be transitioning any more hoyas into pon for now🤷
Hi Miro, I'm so very sorry for the experience you've had with pon. I was wondering if you ever used Lechuza pon before, and if so, did you have the same type of results.
Pon may have its uses in a mix perhaps. I have many small leaf hoyas and as they are purchased as lightly rooted cuttings they need plenty TLC. Recently I shifted to adding fluval a substrate used in aquariums. That seems to be filling in where pon does not. It is not as heavy and full of nutritional value. My small leaf babies are still developing. My challenges have been that the small cuttings would not thrive in the substrates they were purchased in. Coco coir has been a problem with three other larger hoyas. So back to the drawing board. But I do think Im getting results from the fluval with pon and fluval is great in aquariums and terrariums. Its working. Oh and I do top water and I do mist. Thank you Miro for showing what you have learned. It is very helpful to see those sad roots. We want roots! And coco coir well thats an issue too.
I personally have not had many issues with coir, but then again, everyone's experience is different. In one of my next two videos I will show some different plants in self-watering pots in coco coir and perlite, in pon, in bark, moss and pumice, jus pumice and then pure coco husk :) You can mostly make anything work, but what I really cannot stand is not knowing which Hoya will tank when repotting from smaller pot to larger pot in pon.
@BasiePlants that's a challenge knowing what hoyas will transfer into what vessel. About coco coir....I have issues knowing how much moisture it's holding onto. It can be dry on the top. And yeah like you said by the time you know your hoya is struggling the roots are shot. But I'm liking fluval for the babies.
I never got the pon fad. Hoya are bush plants, not desert plants that live in rocks. I am now rooting in a pon type mix but that is because I don't like spag moss or tree fern sticking to the roots and holding water and rotting roots. I prefer a jungle mix in my pots, but we don't have a very good section of self-watering pots here. Very expensive and hard to find. Pon just seems like dead medium. gives no nutrients to the plants. Great video, as always. Thanks.
I agree, it just doesn’t seem right for Hoyas. Maybe the fine roots get squished & can’t pull the water to them..🤷♀️ Yes, same here, when they’re not happy it’s a fast spiral..🌀😵💫
Sorry to hear that your babies have been struggling and I hope that they recover. I am curious if you mixed anything in your pon or did you use straight pon. Do you have any other type plants in pon?
All the pots have wicks, or in the case they don't, the design of the inner pot is such that bottom of the inner pot makes contact with the reservoir - many SW pots work like this actually.
you said that you top watered but did you overfill the pot? I would think that you'd want to fill up to the roots and as the roots grow you can lower the level to the normal level. it's basicly rooting again. my thought process is that when repotting, besides digging up and handling the roots as with any substrate we're also literally piling rocks on them. porous and light as thery may be, they are rocks that are being piled onto roots. I imagine roots caught inbetween rocks will be crushed so die back is understandable. With that in mind we can treat it like trying to root a propagation again which means moisture right up to the roots. The kratky method where you start with water touching the roots may be the way. As the roots grow you lower the water levels
So sad for your beautiful plants Miro, and kudos for being so honest with your experiences. I’ve used pon. I found it great for rooting cuttings, but not good for sustaining long term growth of mature plants. Like yourself, I’m moving away from it, and am reusing it for aroids which seem to have completely different roots. (I’m not a big aroid grower). Your observations are always wise - thank you x
I've struggled with pon, too over the past three years and really have little interest in using it ever again. I do have one plant thriving it - one hoya out of dozens that have succumbed to pon-rot. The primary reason I find pon sort of pointless is that it works best when watered and drained like soil. If the watering and care routine is essentially the same as soil, I'd rather grow in in a chunky aroid -type medium. And at least plants in soil can make their own food if I should end up in a slump and don't feed for three months. Additionally, the primary allure of pon in the first place was the semi-hydro aspect, but it's really a terrible medium for semi-hydro. For me, lol. I've had tremendous success with leca, and am especially inspired by kevlaplanta fka hakunalaplanta.
I hate pon! Gentle kick over pot- pon pon pon - everywhere is bloody pon. So many of my plants died in pon… Siggilatis as well 😢 same thing- you pot nicely rooted hoya in pon- and after 2-3 months have to start over,if there is anything left to start over with. I never used self watering pots, though… and it’s also difficult to figure out is it moist or is it dry. I thought maybe I do something wrong and just don’t bother with pon anymore I still love using leca , though. (But not for hoyas. )🪦 pon! Cheers to coco bark and pit 🎉
Why does the thumbnail not say Pon Voyage?
😂
Think about it...
that's something to ponder
😂😂
Excellent prompt
When I started watching plant videos, it was for the purpose of learning more about specific types of plants and their basic needs (light, water, soil, humidity, etc). I remember so clearly as they each began singing the praises of pon. I had to shrug my shoulders, and say..."oh well, I cannot afford to do that huge change on my fixed income."
So, I never did the big transition...and now, more and more...I am grateful. I make enough mistakes on my own, let alone trying to figure out what else could be wrong. I am truly sorry about your precious hoyas that went through the stress or damage. I hope in the months ahead, especially as the weather turns nice again, that you will find healthy plants and your heart will be encouraged as you do what you know is best for your plants. 🙂🌱🌿
There are many that did well, and still do. But I find it unreliable, and also... unnecessary. I could grow them well in organic mixes too :)
Very interesting. As someone who is just now getting into PON, I respect your experience and opinion. I like having a heads-up so I can restart my plants if they start to decline. Thanks for the video.
For tiny root plants (like hoyas), I use 1-3mm pumice in self watering pots. For medium root plants (like philodendrons) I use 3-6mm pumice in self watering pots. I have to use soilless substrate because of apartment living and soil is very messy. Tried leca but I don't find it works well for tiny root plants because the air pockets are very large, unless ur on top of the watering.
I do have to disagree on the purpose of laptops. They are for stickers.
Oh! I thought they were cat rests.
No, they are for people who think they have a computer.
😂😂😂
I have around 300, and have had similar experiences in pon! As you pointed out, not everything likes pon. Especially the thin leaved varieties, long term beyond 12 months. A root crisis begins, then the foliage begins to yellow. Lasiantha and Praetorii both absolutely hated pon. Upon transplanting back to a heavy perlite/ potting soil mix…growth resumed and began to thrive. A complete mixed bag! It’s forever a guessing game from one to another. The heartbreaking losses are what are hardest to take….especially those that weren’t inexpensive!
Thank you for this video. You just might help others who are on the fence about using Pon. I started using Pon (my own mix) about 3 years ago. One by one i was loosing plants so back to my regular aroid mix. My Pon was taken outside and dumped behind my garage. So all the money i spent on Pumice, zeolite, lava rock, and self watering pots was wasted. By the way, if you are reading this and still using Pon please rinse it well! And dont let it go down the drain! It was amazing to see that the reservoirs all had gray "cement" in the bottom of them and the Pon had been rinsed very well.. So here i am 3 years later. And trying Pon once again. And killing plants once again! I am DONE. The Pon that i have left will slowly be added to my medium to just get rid of it! I have never tried Lecca because to me it is UGLY and i just dont like the looks of it. I am 70 years old. When i started with plants you used a bag of soil mix, some Perlite, Vermiculite and charcoal and for your lighting you went to your local Ace hardware store and bought a 4 foot "shop light". Thats it! No lecca, Pon, Stratum, Tree Fern Fiber or any fancy fertilizers. The people who grew African Violets have been wick watering for years. They used potting soil with lots of perlite and vermiculite and ran a piece of yarn down into the reservoir which was a used cottage cheese or similar container with an opening using an exacto knife on top to run the yarn down into. The wick (yarn) was pulled up into the pot and left an inch or so of the yarn was sticking out from the soil. So im officially done with Pon after 2 tries of successfully killing plants.
So now its a "chunky" Aroid mix. It looks nice. Does it work? Not for me. Its too chunky. So i am not going to use a chunky mix. Going to use what works for me and my plants. As far as fungus gnats....stop over watering and you wont get any.
I think people are getting rid of Lecca also. Ive received plants that had Lecca mixed in the substate. Plus nobodys talking about it anymore.
So i guess just use what works for you and happy planting everyone!
❤
You’ve probably heard this a lot, but have you ever tried Lechuza pon? (I know it is expensive!) They use slow-release fertilizer-have you tried adding Osmocote to your personal pond mix?
I use Lechuza pon and LECA, but I don’t get offended if people don’t like pon or leca.
I never used pon I’m glad I never started… it’s so much work even trying to buy it … and it’s expensive and then you have to wash it…. And great point with all the water you have to use to rinse it and that it’s still not really perfectly rinsed after using gallons of water…
I am thankful about your channel because you share with us what not to do !
Someone recommended planting anthurium in pon and mine is dying. My hoyas in pon barely grow indoors, some root rot. My poyas in pon outdoors are doing fine. There seems to be too much variability in whether pon will work and I'm getting sick of it.
This was really interesting Miro!
When I first looked into PON (I was intrigued by the hype) I never understood why so many people were taking their plants completely out of soil whilst the Lechuza website are very clear that you should not do so! 🤔
It's supposed to be a combination drainage layer and wicking substrate to bring moisture up to the soil as it needs it. I suppose you could use PON as a substitute for LECA in a semi-hydro setup where the bottom of the pot sits in water, but not in a self-watering setup.
I can't remember who it is but I watched a YT video by a PON fan saying "this xyz is still struggling after 1 year into transition... but we'll get there!" and I was thinking Transition? 1 year??? WTF! Dude, your (expensive) plant is dying a slow death!!
As far as success in small pots / failure in big pots, I think there's a limit to how far away from the water source PON can carry water effectively. That could certainly lead to dried and dessicated roots unless or until the plants compensate with more root growth... Would be interesting to test!
Funnily enough, I like PON and I use it in most of my self-watering pots. With my soil mix, the way Lechuza recommends, and it works quite well for me. Especially since I'm a chronic underwaterer and love calatheas almost as much as I love my hoyas!
I'm sorry you lost so many plants, I hope you can replace them soon.
Hello everyone, I really love Hoyas like most of us do.
And I was thinking about make the big transition until I saw this video.
Everyone makes mistakes, sure you can make it grow again.
Sometimes it's hard, some plants are pricey, some are precious, some others had a sentimental value or are really uncommon, but changing the growing medium and maybe the pot size you can get much more luck.
Best wishes and greetings from Mexico
P.D. this is the first time that I have dared to write, you can do it and dont give up.
I've had same results as you.
I've stopped to use pon 2 years ago, for semi hydro, only for very young plants for now, I use pumice.
When I repot grown plants, now for semi hydro I'm experimenting a bed of pumice and chopped xaxim on the higher part of the pot.
Pon works well for me with most all of my plants, but i do things differently. First i always rinse my pon first, 2nd i always make sure the pon is in the bottom of the pot fully no barrier extra layer or lecca. The string goes about an inch up into the pon as well not laying at the very bottom. I never top water and always despite instructions bottom water as pon really absorbs and holds onto moisture. I use lightly fertilized water because pon looses its fertilizer within 6 months so its inert after that.
Plants ive top watered in pon have always rotted and needed saved. Anthuriums, hoyas, monstera, you name it all rot if ive top watered at all. Lastly ive propogated every plant ive recived and thats in my care and have planted multiples of every one into different medias, as a precaution because at this point ive suffered losses with soil, soiless mix, pon, lecca, you name it. No two plants are the same and genetics can and do vary so same species plants can like different things for different people or be more or less susceptible to issues.
I'm glad you uploaded this when you did!! I just got a deykeae in pon and was thinking of getting some for more of my hoyas.
I am so sorry to see you so sad. Changing it back to what you feel confident with and what has worked for your environment is definitely your best bet. I hope to see an update on what you have been able to salvage.
Thanks for this wisdom. I’ve been tempted with PON for the reduced watering load, but appreciate your explanation of how even if you get one successful transition, you basically are starting from scratch again when you pot up. And obviously it is so much more difficult when there is a lot of plant material to support. I think I will stick to using it for propagations. Sorry for your struggles.
Great video Miro. Love the honesty. So many never share when they determine that what did work initially doesn’t anymore. I have also noticed the decline on many of my plants that I have repotted, which is so discouraging for those of us who are still learning and lack confidence. This video gave me some confidence that it potentially isn’t me that is slowly killing them. Thanks again….not giving up yet on hoyas ❤
I think hydroponic is good for thicker root plants or plants that are able to form thicker roots. Smaller roots seems to match a soil-like substrate
I am doing the same and removing pon over the next few months...glad I found this video!
It is so refreshing to hear someone without some mealy-mouthed opinion who qualifies it it about ten different ways. Cheers from Iowa.
Thank you for sharing beautiful and amazing plants lovely collection
I appreciate your honesty and clear explanation on why you're not happy with pon. I never tried it and am glad. I did try LECA on some of my plants including a Hoya, and they are happy. I wish you and your plants the best!!! ❤❤❤
It's really interesting to see which plants will do well in which substrate. Thanks for sharing. Good to know we're not alone with the experience!
Yes, it was a good learning experience :D
So sad🙁 But a good warning, I also have some cuttings in Pon that should be repotted at one point. Now I know it can be a problem and react fast and maybe take some backup cuttings before repotting. Thank you Miro!
Sorry this happened to you Basie. I hear you on all levels. Hope you work yourself out of the frustration and pain. 💔
I am all good , no worries :)
@@BasiePlantsperhaps with a few new….. plaaaannnttts????
Ugh, I was sad to see you so sad. However, I know if any can be saved, you will be successful. Funny that you should be talking about this, because I recently had a long conversation with a grower much more experienced than me. We both lean towards a chunky, organic soil. Of course there are so many variables. Light, humidity, water, etc. I feel like a damn wet nurse, just trying to get my plants through the New England winters here. LoL
I truly appreciate these videos Nero, because no person or plant is perfect. We do our best...💕 💕 💕
Hi Miro! Love your videos and appreciate your viewpoint on the Pon front. I have had a lot of success with pon after a lot of loss and issues with organic mixes. Even repots. While I don’t think I’ll stop using Pon, I’m still a huge fan of yours. You’re right, different plants, environments, etc yield different results. Good to know what to look for in case it happens to me. I’m so sorry for the loss of your plants. You have an amazing collection. Wishing the very best for your restarts!
Thanks for this, I've been so frustrated with my pon experiments. Lucky for me, I only got a gallon of pon from another plant friend, and tried it in several small self-watering pots. They have not thrived. I look around my collection at the ones that are doing well, and the plants that are resilient are the ones I potted in aroid mix.
I agree with you to each their own on the soil mix they use. If it works more power to them! I hope your Hoyas can jump back in a few weeks.
Miro 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 thank you for discussing your issues with pon!!! I have had so much trouble with it. I swore it off also!!! I’ve been waiting for this video 🤣🤣 I’m also so very excited to watch you growing again in organic mixes!!! There are some channels I can no longer relate as all their Hoya’s, Alicasia’s are all in pon. I can’t relate anymore so no sense of watching 🤷🏻♀️.
I can say that when you take a plant that was in soil and put it in water and then put it back into soil later on...mine died and that was a pothos -all 3 and they were in my fish tank and did great then soil again and died I think the roots get very weak in the water
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I hope you can save your plants. I’ve been experimenting with diy pon for about 8 months mostly with propagations and baby plants. Most of my plants are in a soil mix. I got too many of them to be transitioning every one to a new substrate especially when I have no experience with it. I recently potted up a Lacunosa prop from pon to pon and the leaves were soft the next day and I’ve noticed the same with some other plants. I took some cuttings but I might just move it into soil. I have noticed that maybe pon is too heavy for plants with small roots. But everyone has different environments and plant care styles. I will continue to experiment with all this in mind. I really appreciate the heads up.
I upsized my big Lacunosa and experienced the same thing, with soft leafs. I filled the pot with water, it’s swimming in water since a while back and the leafs feels firmer. Its the only plant I have had issues with, with pon.
@@wildegenius1 how strange. I’ve had a few Hoyas I was trying to prop just rot away in pon but I’ve had some success. I decided to move the Lacunosa to a soilless potting mix (Molly’s aroid mix) and the leaves are firm again. I don’t think I want to use pon for Hoyas anymore but philodendron and other plants with thicker roots seem to be ok. 🤷🏾♀️
U make my boring day better, dark or not, I love watching you
I think my big lesson learned in 2023 for plants was that just because a plant grows and puts out a leaf, doesn't mean it's thriving or growing the best that it could. Semi hydro had many lessons. I lost an Anthurium Veitchii using the same wick pot and substrate and mostly the same fertilizers as HakunaLaPlanta (the wick also never got the leca/pon fully wet and there was almost instant mold, making me have to go get a fan); I saw slow growth for many of my plants when copying the same glass vessel semi hydro technique as unplantparenthood and youdontevengrow here (not to say it doesn't work, and no hate to them they make good videos, but the plants DID grow at a slower rate than previous years). I saw the same hoya roots you did. I found philodendron did well in leca and water in a glass vessel but anything "harder" to grow like anthurium really slowed down in their growth. Many of them grew nice roots but no leaves or growing leaves so slowly I could tell the situation was something they were putting up with, rather than thriving in. Like I have a friedschthalii I bought in August 2023 that has not put out a leaf but has grown roots fine. Now I do semi hydro with plastic pots nested in glass vessels, or the old basic gardening pots I started with. I am mixing my pon, perlite and leca with tree fern fiber and soil now, just for drainage. Like all this experimenting with inorganic substrates and semi hydro just to learn that a lot of my collection could have had better growth, and only my philodendrons really grew like normal. And most of these plants were in semi hydro between mid 2022 til these past few months. All had plenty of time to acclimate.
I have a lot of pumice so I've been linking of off coco peat and pumice instead of perlite. I hope that works. I just like pumice some of breaks apart less.
Sorry for your struggles! I’ve never tried pon, and after watching this I won’t bother. I use New Zealand tree fern fibre for my Hoya, and they seem to thrive in this (I also water them with fish tank water) and it’s a good combination that works in New Zealand for my environment
So sad for the lost plants :( I gave up on leca a long time ago--it never worked for me. I also noticed that silence where no one seems to grow in it anymore and no one really talked about it...were we all too scared to say out loud "LECA SUCKS"?? But anyway this video is informative and I appreciate it, and I will light a candle for the deceased hoyas.
So sorry to see you brokenhearted with what's happened to your precious hoya :( I grow some of my hoya in pon but never in self-watering and I always top-water. I tend to kill my plants with overwatering so this works for me - I water them, let them drain and put them in cache pots. I have repoted some recently as they outgrew their pots, curious of what will happen now that I've seen your video... Anyway, I hope you were able to save all of your hoya, if only by a cutting or two - you will grow them back, I'm sure.
For me pon has been a great medium to activate plugs and get them growing in a trajectory that’s pretty efficient. I wouldn’t pot a large plant in pon or a plant that will go over 5 to 6 inches in a pot. I just don’t think it’s a substrate that works really well with plants that get larger (hence your dry rot problem) and in my experience plants that do get larger tend to do well in traditional mediums of soils when you up their pot sizes with rocky substrates with soil mixed in. So I understand your choice. And I wish you luck on starting new plugs from the dry rot plants.
Thank you very much for telling this ❤ it helps me a lot 🙌🏻💐
Pon saved my Rotundiflora and Mathilde. My thing is wick placement. And that’s my trick and tip. I tie a zip tie in the center of the wick so it becomes a handle. I plant the Hoya in the pot with the wick drawn up into the roots and I use the “handle” I created to get the placement just right. I never, ever leave the wick on the bottom. Seriously don’t do that. Draw that wick up 🔝 into the roots. Also pre saturate the wick as well. For now things are going well. It may not be the Pon, it may be the wick. I also use a thick wick material.
I don’t have much luck growing in pon. The only plant that has thrived in pon is my Sodori. 🤷🏻♀️ just recently transitioned some plants back to soil. I only have a couple more to go…I think I only had 12 transitioned into pon. I did mix in quite a bit of perlite because the pon was so heavy and I was worried about the roots. I only purchased one bag of pon. I have had good outcome in rooting plants in fluval. But again I do a 50/50 mix.
I now want to use lego. I have some and hate building with it heje. Amazing video
Pon and leca scare me. Got to admit. I love the smell of potting mix
I am now sooo much tempted to try to grow a plant in Lego :D
I killed half my plants this winter because of leca. It's great for the summer but gets way too cold during the winter.
Lol! My big hoya Cuminiana varigated actually spiraled!! I was in shock! It was planted in aroid mix. My hoya in pon are all (35) doing well but I also use Great White mycorrhizae and they have loved it.
Im sorry for your experience. I've converted most of my hoya to pon over the last couple of years, but now some are struggling. My poor Mathilde is unhappy, and I've been trying to decide what substrate to use when i repot her
Have you tried Tree Fern Fiber? I have just started using it. I mixed it with Fluval Stratum and such wonderful results.
I have transferred most of my Hoyas from pon to an organic mix over the last year. Very happy with the results. But I have a few that clearly like to be in pumice/lava rocks, and I have had to move them back to that. But they are so cute, that they are allowed to be demanding 😅 and I’m afraid to kill them again
Do you still keep your hoyas in self waterring pots?
Wow this is such a blessing. Dry roots along with leaves struggling to open. My summer glory just wasn't flourishing. My alocasia regal shield has been ok. I'm taking my florida ghost and my glorious. Just not rooting very slow growth. I thought it was just me. Thank you its not just me lol
that variegated walliniana is a stubborn one!! I don't think any type of substrate would matter. its just not a friendly plant
Have the same experience with it
I have been growing mine for a year and a half in pon and have one in LECA also. It is a plant that gets mad easily. 4 out of the 5 people I traded it with in my local group killed it. I am positive this is user error for him. And that is not because of my experience, but my research. It's unfortunate these people with large channels make videos without knowing how things work, they literally say that, then they convince others to stay away from learning the correct method. Even if they say they are not influencers, you will read the comments to see he influenced a ton of people. Eve from LECA Addict is the best resource for finding the scientific information on how this works. It's not hard at all. He clearly let the pon dry too much, and that is how dry rot happens. His wick placement, wick, or pot sucks if it is not keeping the pon evenly moist. I have no pon or LECA plants that look anything like his after two years. It does not work for 100% of plants, though. I love him and Fern, but people have to stop saying "I know nothing" and then continue to share their misinformed information. At least it would be nice if they did. How will this world survive with influencers dumbing people down and convincing them of nonsense. There are even studies on the harm this disinfo causes.
@@marierejoiceinjesus3846whats your method for re potting? I have had bad luck moving from pon into bigger pots as well. I cant figure out what Im doing wrong. Waiting too long? Root ball too compacted? Another issue I have is some of the roots that reach the water start to rot- some flourish? Why? Whats the difference? Those are my main issues. When I leave them in my really small pots they do fine until they are exploding and then eventually ik they need to be moved up and a good amount of the time, they die when I repot
Hi Miro, you seem stressed in this video and I understand 💯!!! Pon hasn’t been the best in my experience either. I moved over 100 hoyas to pon and I moved back to soiless soil as this works best for me! Sending best wishes your way ☺️
growing in lego? why am i upset that this isnt a thing? :-D sounds awesome!
I have the same problem with repotting in pon-even with a good amount of perlite mixed in-so not even as heavy. The problem I have with organic substrates is I can’t get the watering right. I might try no drainage with soil. Thanks for the vid & I hope your hoyas recover xx
Transparent pots did the trick for me 😊
I transferred most of my plants over to Pon in the last year and I noticed that my Hoya are growing much better due the dry house conditions here. However, I’ve had problems with easy plants like Pothos transitioning them to Pon which is so weird.
I had a beautiful Snow queen pothos which died in Pon :( she was growing in water and I thought to give her a bit of pon to grow in... it didn't work
Yes, this just happened to me too but with a large Golden Pothos which I took out of soil (washed the roots) set in water for a week and then put in Pon and the entire plant turned black and died overnight, so I know exactly what you are saying! From now on I will always start with fresh new water root cuttings before I put anything into Pon because that was painful loss.
What a synchronicity! For the past week, I've been in the process of starting Hoya all over again, from pon to organic mix! The problems you describe are exactly the same ones I've encountered. It's always, or at least the vast majority of the time, after repotting that problems arise and roots die.
Bye bye pon for my hoyas!
I'll continue to use it for my anthuriums, with which pon is not a problem but rather a success.
Thanks for your video Miro, and you're right, when we get to a certain point and have a large collection of plants, we just don't want to be bothered anymore!
Serendipitous
Miro, I’m sorry you have lost some beautiful plants. I have a few plants in pon and I struggle to determine just how wet it is in the middle of the pot when the top is dried out. I’m sure some of mine are too wet and some are too dry. The only plants that seem to do well in it are my pain-in- the (you know what) begonias.
I tried pon and didn't like at all. I have been doing leca for 4 years but feel like some plants just don't do well in it either. I am thinking of moving everything to soil. We will see. I have been collecting for over 20 yrs. Your collection shouldn't cause you too much stress. ❤❤
Im sorry for the decline of those lovely plants. i have been noticing the slow and stunted growth after repotted with pon. Im trying find another soil free substrate. Because i can't go back to soil and risk having bugs, especially since most of my hoyas are in bedroom.
I use pon in my cloning room. But rest of the house I’ve gone to a soil mix. I’m not responsible enough to keep track of 75 plants in pon.
I use luchuza pon on all my plants have them in it 2 years after 6 months i add little fertilizer every month in my water .There beautiful and oh ya no gnats when i use to get them all the time
Sounds like you found what works for you!
Ive never tried leca or pon, it all seemed way too hard for me - like ph balances, flushing, feeding, special pots, water temperatures etc etc. Like it seemed you need to be a crazy scientist to make it work 😅
This is so helpful. thanks!
I actually found myself transferring some of my hoyas from pon to chunky organic mix lately because they seemed stunted in growth or going downhill. Funnily enough like you say it's been also around 2 years since I have most of these hoyas in pon.
Hey Miro! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences - I have just over 100 hoya species and all are in the same diy pon mix (with added perlite). I have had very similar experiences so it was both a relief and sadness to watch this video.
I made the switch to pon mainly for two reasons: self-watering and pest prevention.
Do you notice a difference in pests with your hoyas in organic mix?
Do you think if you up pot a hoya, you move it to fluval stratum before putting it back in pon in order to strengthen the root system first, that could be beneficial? 💚💚💚
I am not sure, I don't have fluval stratum. But don't you think that if I have to put the plant into another potting mix to strengthen the roots, while I am attempting to upsize the pot, that the original potting mix is then flawed? They shouldn't lose the roots to this extent while repotting, they never do in organic mixes for example.
Thank you!!
Nooooo!!! I'm getting a lyi bend tomorrow and was hoping to transfer to pon! I have like 80% of my collection in pon and goes great so far - but I have to say certain hoyas (like my lacunosa), really hate pon. I get root rot tho, not dry rot. I had made an experiment with retusa as well. Retusa + pon is a BAD combo. Btw, in order not to get dry root, besides watering from top, I'm also puting the wick up high in the pot, so it has enough moisture throughout.
I have a dozen or so hoyas and grow them in a mix of orchid bark and regular potting soil (at least 70% bark), and sometimes I add perlite when I have it on hand. Most of them like it, except for my hoya curtisii which cannot figure out what she wants 😂
Thank you MiroYou helped alot with this video I got pon and have been unsure all of mine are in organic mix I think I will flag the pon I have based alot of my hoya growing on your knowledge and I'm doing ok I think 😂
I have calathea and I want to have Hoyas too. I'm new to the "Hoya world" and pon is like a religion 😅 you can't say bad things about it or say it doesn't work for you because people will say you are the problem, it's in your head, they get out the pitchforks and torches 😅😆 Hoyas were growing before pon was created... and in the forest, Hoyas don't have a pon bag available 😆 You clearly explain why, your result is sad, I hope you can save them all 💛
I only have very common hoyas and they are still in leca. Its been years and I only repotted 1x but my sunrise is huge. So yes, if it works...
🥲I have always mistrusted Pon or Leca for Hoyas, just watched another video where the person was repotting her Hoyas that were in Leica and they had root mealybug. I’ve been rooting Hoyas in half perlite with half tree fern and they seem to appreciate the mix. Good luck recovering all of your beautiful Hoyas.
Hi Miro. Thanks for sharing your content. I'm so sorry about your plants in PON. Must be hard to see.. I wanted to mention, could it be the mix of pon you made? Was not evenly distributed or could the material be to big, or strong for the plant? I'm so sorry again your going through this.. 😒 And love your content! 💚🌿
Reading the comments so far you are totally right about the varied/misinterpretations. I think as plant growers we all have to take responsibility for the choices we make. With a large collection like yours it would be nice if all hoya would grow well in one type of substrate, but it may not be the case. That is part of the challenge or struggle whichever way you want to view it. I sympathize with you.
I am with Kathryn I may have watched the same video it was so tragic I really felt terrible for her am scared to do lecca or pon my great grandmother always used soil for her plants
So what soil mix will you be using going forward? Will you do a video on that?
I watched this twice now. I 100% agree pon is also not for me long term. I’ve ended up rerooting many of my Hoyas into either soil or leca.
I still have hoyas in leca...😀
Miro, I could see the utter devastation in our face when handling that walliniana💔 I almost cried 🥺 I appreciate sooo much that you shared your experience! 🙏 I have great experience with pon for my aroids. It works really well for all my philodendrons that I transitioned, nevermind if babies or bigger plants, and it is like heaven for alocasias, they just thrive in there so much! So I tried it on hoya as well. I moved an australis to pon and recently I purchased a caudata in seramis, and while they are both growing, I am super unsure whether I am doing it right. Like are you supposed to keep water reservoir on the bottom at all times, like I do with my aroids? Or do hoyas need to dry out and then be watered from the top? I just don't know😬 Growing in pon has been very intuitive for me, but not with hoyas. I think I won't be transitioning any more hoyas into pon for now🤷
Hi Miro, I'm so very sorry for the experience you've had with pon. I was wondering if you ever used Lechuza pon before, and if so, did you have the same type of results.
Thanks for the information. Are you going to transfer to soil now?
Pon may have its uses in a mix perhaps. I have many small leaf hoyas and as they are purchased as lightly rooted cuttings they need plenty TLC. Recently I shifted to adding fluval a substrate used in aquariums. That seems to be filling in where pon does not. It is not as heavy and full of nutritional value. My small leaf babies are still developing. My challenges have been that the small cuttings would not thrive in the substrates they were purchased in. Coco coir has been a problem with three other larger hoyas. So back to the drawing board. But I do think Im getting results from the fluval with pon and fluval is great in aquariums and terrariums. Its working. Oh and I do top water and I do mist. Thank you Miro for showing what you have learned. It is very helpful to see those sad roots. We want roots! And coco coir well thats an issue too.
I personally have not had many issues with coir, but then again, everyone's experience is different. In one of my next two videos I will show some different plants in self-watering pots in coco coir and perlite, in pon, in bark, moss and pumice, jus pumice and then pure coco husk :) You can mostly make anything work, but what I really cannot stand is not knowing which Hoya will tank when repotting from smaller pot to larger pot in pon.
@BasiePlants that's a challenge knowing what hoyas will transfer into what vessel. About coco coir....I have issues knowing how much moisture it's holding onto. It can be dry on the top. And yeah like you said by the time you know your hoya is struggling the roots are shot.
But I'm liking fluval for the babies.
I have exactly the same experience with pon. 😢
I have never used pon. It just seemed too much trouble. Im so sorry your plants dying.
I have never used pon and don’t plan to 🤷♀️
I never got the pon fad. Hoya are bush plants, not desert plants that live in rocks. I am now rooting in a pon type mix but that is because I don't like spag moss or tree fern sticking to the roots and holding water and rotting roots. I prefer a jungle mix in my pots, but we don't have a very good section of self-watering pots here. Very expensive and hard to find. Pon just seems like dead medium. gives no nutrients to the plants. Great video, as always. Thanks.
I agree, it just doesn’t seem right for Hoyas. Maybe the fine roots get squished & can’t pull the water to them..🤷♀️ Yes, same here, when they’re not happy it’s a fast spiral..🌀😵💫
Sorry to hear that your babies have been struggling and I hope that they recover.
I am curious if you mixed anything in your pon or did you use straight pon. Do you have any other type plants in pon?
But don't you use the string to make the plant absorb the water?
All the pots have wicks, or in the case they don't, the design of the inner pot is such that bottom of the inner pot makes contact with the reservoir - many SW pots work like this actually.
Love the dramatic thumbnail 😅
Agreed. Very clickable
i'm growing in leca and i like it 😁
My Alocasias love pon so, so much - but Hoya has never seemed a correct fit, to me.
you said that you top watered but did you overfill the pot? I would think that you'd want to fill up to the roots and as the roots grow you can lower the level to the normal level. it's basicly rooting again.
my thought process is that when repotting, besides digging up and handling the roots as with any substrate we're also literally piling rocks on them. porous and light as thery may be, they are rocks that are being piled onto roots. I imagine roots caught inbetween rocks will be crushed so die back is understandable. With that in mind we can treat it like trying to root a propagation again which means moisture right up to the roots. The kratky method where you start with water touching the roots may be the way. As the roots grow you lower the water levels
It’s better to have clear inner pots so you can see
I’m moving away from Pon myself. It’s good for alocasias and Hoyas.
Not so much with anthurium and philodendron.
i feel so devastated for you. i've had to cut and prop my big cystiantha splash and my megalaster recently. 😔
So sad for your beautiful plants Miro, and kudos for being so honest with your experiences. I’ve used pon. I found it great for rooting cuttings, but not good for sustaining long term growth of mature plants. Like yourself, I’m moving away from it, and am reusing it for aroids which seem to have completely different roots. (I’m not a big aroid grower).
Your observations are always wise - thank you x
I've struggled with pon, too over the past three years and really have little interest in using it ever again. I do have one plant thriving it - one hoya out of dozens that have succumbed to pon-rot. The primary reason I find pon sort of pointless is that it works best when watered and drained like soil. If the watering and care routine is essentially the same as soil, I'd rather grow in in a chunky aroid -type medium. And at least plants in soil can make their own food if I should end up in a slump and don't feed for three months. Additionally, the primary allure of pon in the first place was the semi-hydro aspect, but it's really a terrible medium for semi-hydro. For me, lol.
I've had tremendous success with leca, and am especially inspired by kevlaplanta fka hakunalaplanta.
Because no Pon intended
I hate pon! Gentle kick over pot- pon pon pon - everywhere is bloody pon. So many of my plants died in pon… Siggilatis as well 😢 same thing- you pot nicely rooted hoya in pon- and after 2-3 months have to start over,if there is anything left to start over with. I never used self watering pots, though… and it’s also difficult to figure out is it moist or is it dry. I thought maybe I do something wrong and just don’t bother with pon anymore
I still love using leca , though. (But not for hoyas. )🪦 pon! Cheers to coco bark and pit 🎉