Thanks for confirming you can use leca for succulents and I appreciate talking about how high you want to keep your water. I watched 4 videos before someone talked about that!
Hi Heather! Seriously, this is one of the first videos I have watched concerning Leca and not feeling more confused than ever. I have watched hundreds of videos probably! I love how you love your plants and how you refer to them. I do the same thing.Most people talk about the water being added to a third of the pot, but I have never seen anyone else add more. I feel like it's a bit easier and more versatile watching how you grow your plants in Leca. Thank you for that!
Heather I too have transitioned most of my plants to Lecha and it’s fantastic. Alocasia love it as well as Syngonium and you spoke on 2 topics that had me terrorizing my plants. The need to water 1/3 of the vessel isn’t actually correct. That depends on the roots condition. If it’s established water roots then that’s not a problem but for transitional soil/water roots plants I also use more water or at least moisten the roots from the top. Also starting to build water roots in water after cutting all the soil roots off is the best way to prevent root rot. Although it doesn’t work with all plants. I also do this with newly acquired plants instead of waiting the 4-6 weeks for water roots to grow. Alocasia die in water but in Lecha with a higher water level the excess moisture does the trick. I am dealing with flushing and the pros/cons. I have both vessels with and without holes and in plastic pots and with docht system. I love the glass vessels but have to be careful in summer of the roots burning. What’s the deal with flushing? With net pots it’s not an issue since the water drains more freely, but an enclosed vessel becomes unsightly time. Haven’t found a video of that topic. Another positive thing with Lecha is that repotting in winter isn’t an issue as long as the water level or roots retain the same as before repotting. In soil the plant isn’t as resilient and most times goes into shock causing leaves to fall. I’ve tried Pons but it seems to dense. Have you tried Fluval stratum as a root building substrate? It’s great. I’m trying it long term now since June and the plants seem to like it. Thanks again for the video.
Well now I'm hearing something different in regards to the water level in lecca, the idea from what I've heard is to keep the water level up but not have the roots in the water since you want the moisture from the water to come up and The Roots will seek the moisture or water to come down in and develop more fully? plus there is a difference in root development when roots are always in water versus in Leica seeking out moisture water. It's a different transition. Not only that but you can see visually the root development is different to the eye. Case in point, I got a monstera cutting from a person that had it rooted in water and when I put it in to Leica the overall look of the roots were much more whiter in coloration larger and more developed.. this I had in a clear glass container and only had water a third of the way up and The Roots were up higher going down trying to seek the water and the moisture that was maintained within the Leca and the aeration overall is what formed and developed the much larger Mass root system.
Honestly, this is the first time I’ve heard of someone keeping their water reservoir that high. It must be the Leca she is using that isn’t wicking the water up. I know Leca from China (such as the one from Ikea) isn’t very good at wicking up the water. You can also try using a wicking system like the Lechuza system that keeps the Leca out of the water to further decrease risk of root rot. Miss Orchid Girl has a great video on how to DIY the system using microfiber towel pieces
If using expanded rock, you can also drill an overflow hole about a quarter of the way up from the bottom, ensuring the proper reservoirs maintained without encouraging root rot. Glass drill bit and you're all set :-)
I'm a beginner at all this, so don't take my word for it. However, I have learned recently that if the plant doesn't have a long enough root system, you can use the "wick method". Basically you set a cotton ball or a hydroponic mineral wool cube at the bottom of the net pot, with a wick string material sticking out the bottom. You have to make sure that the wick is in contact with the water absorbing material. The end of the wick has to touch water at all time. The water is absorbed by the wick, travels up, gets absorbed by the wool cube or cotton ball and into the short roots. Of course, this is supposed to be temporary until the roots are long enough to reach the water.
I have just seen this video and totally agree, wicking is the correct method otherwise if the water level is too high the plants are in effect just being grown in water while supported by the LECA.
Thank you for a very informative video! I'm very interested in trying leca but am scared! I've watched videos where they add nutrients etc and it seems like lots of extra work. Where do you get your net pots and glass cover pots? I like them!
Hi Heather, lovely video, I have a small doubt, do we need to have a hole in the glass jars for leca transition. I see your plant jar had no hole, does it work without the hole?
From what I understand there is a difference between the roots of plants that are propagated in soil and what is called water roots. I have much better luck with water root propagated plants when switching them to Leca. I was also recently astonished at this pothos vine that was clipped from a huge plant, when I threw it in my aquarium and it quickly sprouted lots of water roots and is actually thriving, completely submerged leaves and all. It was interesting that you mentioned succulents and cacti. I am trying this experiment of propagating rooted date palm seeds in Leca from dried supermarket dates. apparently it's working.
I have been thinking of putting my Burle Marx in LECA or some sort of clay medium for a while. Since I have 3 gallon sized pots I think I may experiment with rooting in clay. I'm also glad that people are still playing or being introduced to Skyrim. I've created mods for it since the CK was released. There is a lot of prime real estate to create digital gardens in for sure.
Heather i agree with you about the water level because one UA-cam lady said to let the water dry all the way up but my flowers wilted and I'm new to this so it made me very 😓 nervous. I noticed you had some plants in jars with leca. Do you not have to put them in net pots first?
Absolutely not. You can put them in nursery pots if you want as well. Net pots just make rinsing easier, but I don’t mind it. I love the look of the glass jars with Leca.
Hi, Heather! Thank you for this!!! I heard you are supposed to rinse the LECA every month or 2. How do you rinse your glass-jar LECA plants without upsetting the plant? Do you just take the plant out? Or do you ríanse it differently?
That’s not true. The root rot usually occurs when the plant hasn’t established water roots and is in transition. The soil roots die because of the extra moist environment causing root rot. Just take the plant out of the Lecha cut off the brown roots and place the plant firmly back into the Lecha. But ensure that the water level is high enough to soak up moisture but not having the plant in water and this will encourage the roots to seek the moisture. Also cutting the roots entirely off and placing in Lecha with a higher water level or placing it immediately in water will build water roots without root rot. It goes really quickly. I would advise see through pots though. Then you can observe root rot more quickly and handle it. That works for me.
I had a monstera clipping growing long/massive roots in water for about 6 weeks, and then I transitioned it to leca... just feel like it's growth is stunted now... is there anything I should or should not be doing with it, now that it's out of water and in leca? Also, am I supposed to water leca, and how often? Thanks!
well, considering the bottom part of the container is acting as a reservoir for water, and diluted fertilizer… yes, you have to “water” LECA, lol. Like it should always have 1” or so, approximately, at the bottom. everyones setup is gonna be different though. But mayve yours dried out and thats why it looked stunted? idk. I usually top it off every two weeks. Maybe weekly, as it evaporates. it all depends on your conditions, the species, etc. Generally, top it up weekly to every 10 days. flush with filtered water monthly if possible to avoid sodium and calcium buildup too.
I got the black net pots from a hydroponic store and off of Amazon. The clear pots were from Home Depot on the rack with the plastic bottom watering trays. But lately I’ve been using clear cups from my local grocery store. Most grocery stores have a decent selection these days which is pretty surprising! Hope this helps.
Hei Hether, could You pleaseexplain, whats the difference leca doues, why cant plants just sit in the wather? Put some nutriens time to time and thats it?
I'm not sure what nutrition you're using but you need to top it off after a week of adding the nutrition solution with just water. And then add new nutrition solution a week after. Depending on the plant and size of reservoir it should be every two weeks or less.
No because they don’t absorb moisture. I tried using aquarium gravel to no avail. Pons is also like gravel but it consists of Lava rocks and Pumice which are water absorbent. It’s also more expensive. Lecha is good because it allows air to the root and doesn’t restrict them from growing. Pons is more dense. Much like gravel or soil.
Thanks for confirming you can use leca for succulents and I appreciate talking about how high you want to keep your water. I watched 4 videos before someone talked about that!
Hi Heather! Seriously, this is one of the first videos I have watched concerning Leca and not feeling more confused than ever. I have watched hundreds of videos probably! I love how you love your plants and how you refer to them. I do the same thing.Most people talk about the water being added to a third of the pot, but I have never seen anyone else add more. I feel like it's a bit easier and more versatile watching how you grow your plants in Leca. Thank you for that!
I’m so glad I could help!!!
Heather I too have transitioned most of my plants to Lecha and it’s fantastic. Alocasia love it as well as Syngonium and you spoke on 2 topics that had me terrorizing my plants. The need to water 1/3 of the vessel isn’t actually correct. That depends on the roots condition. If it’s established water roots then that’s not a problem but for transitional soil/water roots plants I also use more water or at least moisten the roots from the top. Also starting to build water roots in water after cutting all the soil roots off is the best way to prevent root rot. Although it doesn’t work with all plants. I also do this with newly acquired plants instead of waiting the 4-6 weeks for water roots to grow. Alocasia die in water but in Lecha with a higher water level the excess moisture does the trick. I am dealing with flushing and the pros/cons. I have both vessels with and without holes and in plastic pots and with docht system. I love the glass vessels but have to be careful in summer of the roots burning. What’s the deal with flushing? With net pots it’s not an issue since the water drains more freely, but an enclosed vessel becomes unsightly time. Haven’t found a video of that topic. Another positive thing with Lecha is that repotting in winter isn’t an issue as long as the water level or roots retain the same as before repotting. In soil the plant isn’t as resilient and most times goes into shock causing leaves to fall. I’ve tried Pons but it seems to dense. Have you tried Fluval stratum as a root building substrate? It’s great. I’m trying it long term now since June and the plants seem to like it. Thanks again for the video.
I have been loving LECA!!! I do things a little differently, but that goes to show how versatile LECA can really be! Great video!
Yes! I couldn’t agree more!
Really great information that I haven’t found in the bazillion videos I’ve seen this past week! 🙏🏻
This was SO helpful, I haven’t found a video or source that shares these tips! Thank you so much for taking the time to share
Yay! I’m so glad and happy I could share!
So sweet
Well now I'm hearing something different in regards to the water level in lecca, the idea from what I've heard is to keep the water level up but not have the roots in the water since you want the moisture from the water to come up and The Roots will seek the moisture or water to come down in and develop more fully? plus there is a difference in root development when roots are always in water versus in Leica seeking out moisture water. It's a different transition. Not only that but you can see visually the root development is different to the eye. Case in point, I got a monstera cutting from a person that had it rooted in water and when I put it in to Leica the overall look of the roots were much more whiter in coloration larger and more developed.. this I had in a clear glass container and only had water a third of the way up and The Roots were up higher going down trying to seek the water and the moisture that was maintained within the Leca and the aeration overall is what formed and developed the much larger Mass root system.
Honestly, this is the first time I’ve heard of someone keeping their water reservoir that high. It must be the Leca she is using that isn’t wicking the water up. I know Leca from China (such as the one from Ikea) isn’t very good at wicking up the water. You can also try using a wicking system like the Lechuza system that keeps the Leca out of the water to further decrease risk of root rot. Miss Orchid Girl has a great video on how to DIY the system using microfiber towel pieces
If using expanded rock, you can also drill an overflow hole about a quarter of the way up from the bottom, ensuring the proper reservoirs maintained without encouraging root rot. Glass drill bit and you're all set :-)
I'm a beginner at all this, so don't take my word for it. However, I have learned recently that if the plant doesn't have a long enough root system, you can use the "wick method". Basically you set a cotton ball or a hydroponic mineral wool cube at the bottom of the net pot, with a wick string material sticking out the bottom. You have to make sure that the wick is in contact with the water absorbing material. The end of the wick has to touch water at all time. The water is absorbed by the wick, travels up, gets absorbed by the wool cube or cotton ball and into the short roots. Of course, this is supposed to be temporary until the roots are long enough to reach the water.
I have just seen this video and totally agree, wicking is the correct method otherwise if the water level is too high the plants are in effect just being grown in water while supported by the LECA.
Hi, Thanks for sharing your tips & tricks.
Thank you for a very informative video! I'm very interested in trying leca but am scared! I've watched videos where they add nutrients etc and it seems like lots of extra work. Where do you get your net pots and glass cover pots? I like them!
Hi Heather, lovely video, I have a small doubt, do we need to have a hole in the glass jars for leca transition. I see your plant jar had no hole, does it work without the hole?
Wow that’s amazing 🤩 I loved how you explain all the details about it.. Thank you 🙏
So much amazing roots in this video! I loved it.
Hola
Super valiosos your tips.
Por favor donde comprastes esos envases son geniales..
Gracias y felicidades🎉❤😮
From what I understand there is a difference between the roots of plants that are propagated in soil and what is called water roots. I have much better luck with water root propagated plants when switching them to Leca. I was also recently astonished at this pothos vine that was clipped from a huge plant, when I threw it in my aquarium and it quickly sprouted lots of water roots and is actually thriving, completely submerged leaves and all. It was interesting that you mentioned succulents and cacti. I am trying this experiment of propagating rooted date palm seeds in Leca from dried supermarket dates. apparently it's working.
This was a very informational video. Most of these plants I always thought were not supposed to have wet feet. Go figure !?!?! Thanks. ☘🌿☘
I know! Plants are crazy 🤣
Yayy thank you so much for posting this ive been wanting to try leca and have been hesitant so i asked you about it thank you so much really 🥰😘💕🌵💚👑
Leca is really fun once you get the hang of it. Plus watching the roots develop and grow is super fun too
I have been thinking of putting my Burle Marx in LECA or some sort of clay medium for a while. Since I have 3 gallon sized pots I think I may experiment with rooting in clay. I'm also glad that people are still playing or being introduced to Skyrim. I've created mods for it since the CK was released. There is a lot of prime real estate to create digital gardens in for sure.
What happens when the roots outgrow the net pot.??? Awesome !!!😊
I keep wanting to try Leca again
I got mad at it when I started having problems, but know I love it again!
Thanks Heather! Where do you buy the net pots and the reservoir?
Amazon has a lot of good options!
Yes! I get the pots from Amazon and the plastic cups from the grocery store with the solo cups! For bigger ones, I get them from Lowe’s/Home Depot.
Nice
I asked that also. Lol.
@@HeatherHoyas thank you for that information 😊
Heather i agree with you about the water level because one UA-cam lady said to let the water dry all the way up but my flowers wilted and I'm new to this so it made me very 😓 nervous. I noticed you had some plants in jars with leca. Do you not have to put them in net pots first?
Absolutely not. You can put them in nursery pots if you want as well. Net pots just make rinsing easier, but I don’t mind it. I love the look of the glass jars with Leca.
Thanks that's good to know!
Hi, Heather! Thank you for this!!! I heard you are supposed to rinse the LECA every month or 2. How do you rinse your glass-jar LECA plants without upsetting the plant? Do you just take the plant out? Or do you ríanse it differently?
Awesome info!!!! Thank you for sharing!!!!❤
The porous leca If held moist with a regular rinse should provide the necessary moisture needed by the plants
Why do you use the leca net pot? You cannot only use a glass cup?
Do you have a catch pot or can you do lecca in glass jar with plant.
do they need fertiliser?:frm spore
Thanks Heather so many great tips.
How often do you change water. Someone told me every week.
You must use a special pod for lecca... your glass jar has no holes..this is the reason that roots don't breathe & begins to rot!!
That’s not true. The root rot usually occurs when the plant hasn’t established water roots and is in transition. The soil roots die because of the extra moist environment causing root rot. Just take the plant out of the Lecha cut off the brown roots and place the plant firmly back into the Lecha. But ensure that the water level is high enough to soak up moisture but not having the plant in water and this will encourage the roots to seek the moisture. Also cutting the roots entirely off and placing in Lecha with a higher water level or placing it immediately in water will build water roots without root rot. It goes really quickly. I would advise see through pots though. Then you can observe root rot more quickly and handle it. That works for me.
Great video. Thank you so much.
Thank you for watching!
Keep it up heather :)
Nice root 🌱
Where do you get the pots.
Needed this!! 💚🤘
So glad it helped 🥰
Hi! Just found you. I'm learning and don't have any leca yet. Where do you get your cute little net pots. I like that size.
I got them off of Amazon for pretty cheap! I love them 😍
Question; This is not semi-hydro, this is more like hydro?
Philodendrons grow "up" because they attach to trees and climb. :)
I had a monstera clipping growing long/massive roots in water for about 6 weeks, and then I transitioned it to leca... just feel like it's growth is stunted now... is there anything I should or should not be doing with it, now that it's out of water and in leca? Also, am I supposed to water leca, and how often? Thanks!
well, considering the bottom part of the container is acting as a reservoir for water, and diluted fertilizer… yes, you have to “water” LECA, lol. Like it should always have 1” or so, approximately, at the bottom. everyones setup is gonna be different though. But mayve yours dried out and thats why it looked stunted? idk. I usually top it off every two weeks. Maybe weekly, as it evaporates. it all depends on your conditions, the species, etc. Generally, top it up weekly to every 10 days. flush with filtered water monthly if possible to avoid sodium and calcium buildup too.
thank you for sharing this! :)
Hi! Can you tell me where you got the black slotted containers with the clear container s?
I got the black net pots from a hydroponic store and off of Amazon. The clear pots were from Home Depot on the rack with the plastic bottom watering trays. But lately I’ve been using clear cups from my local grocery store. Most grocery stores have a decent selection these days which is pretty surprising! Hope this helps.
Thank you :)
How much water do you use with Lecca and how often do you change the water.
Great video! a technical tip: bgm is really loud in the intro
Sorry about that
Are you putting in fertilized water every time?
Nope. I usually skip several time before I fertilize. I usually just water them maybe like 3-4x before I fertilize. It works for me.
@@HeatherHoyas awesome thanks!!
Hei Hether, could You pleaseexplain, whats the difference leca doues, why cant plants just sit in the wather? Put some nutriens time to time and thats it?
I'm not sure what nutrition you're using but you need to top it off after a week of adding the nutrition solution with just water.
And then add new nutrition solution a week after. Depending on the plant and size of reservoir it should be every two weeks or less.
Can you se something other than leca? such as large gravel or small river rocks?
I’m not really sure but I don’t see why not?
Hydroton
No because they don’t absorb moisture. I tried using aquarium gravel to no avail. Pons is also like gravel but it consists of Lava rocks and Pumice which are water absorbent. It’s also more expensive. Lecha is good because it allows air to the root and doesn’t restrict them from growing. Pons is more dense. Much like gravel or soil.
How about lecca in warmer countries
Where did you get your little clear pot containers?
Hi there! I got the glass containers at Michael’s
The best prices are from Temu. They’re called Orchid pots.
🌿💚
💚💚💚
👍🇺🇦
you are so sweet!
Thank you! You’re so sweet for supporting and commenting 💚
1:04
Hi! Can you please share where you got the net pots and the clear ones?
You might find SWEDISH PLANTGUYS on youtube both informative and helpful with using LECA and other mediums. Namaste. Jay