I potted this elephant ear into leca on the 28th of January. Hardly any roots.
24th of February. Insane root growth in just one month!
It’s been 2 months since I started my plant journey. I have every single one of my plants in leca. All the alocasias, anthuriums, calatheas, the lot!
I’ve had HUGE success with all plants, and amazingly I haven’t killed a single plant yet (old brown thumb me would have killed any plant in a week!). I think it’s testament to how amazingly easy growing plants in semi-hydroponics is.
As someone who’s previously most likely killed every plant by overwatering, leca makes drowning plants virtually impossible, so no issues at all with root rot. Also a huge bonus, you never get fungus gnats (very common pest for those who keep plants in soil) with leca.
The hardest part of transitioning from soil to leca has been cleaning the roots. Soil is really really messy, and some plants have very fine roots. You need a lot of patience to do a really good job of removing soil, perlite and bits of bark out of the roots before potting up a plant into leca.
Unlike some who transition from soil to water first before potting up in leca I have always gone from soil straight into leca. Despite being advised not to transition certain plants to leca, or to wait a week to let the plant settle into my place before I transition I usually transition the plants as soon as I get them home.
Much like washing aquarium substrate I clean my leca until the water runs clear, then chuck them in a large container to soak for 24hrs before use. I use only filtered water and GT Foliage Focus (5ml/litre) in all of my plants. I top up the reservoirs one/twice a week with the same GT Foliage Focus solution.
No more moisture meters, or having to stick your finger in dirty soil to check if a plant needs watering or not. I simply pick up a pot, if it feels heavy I leave it. If it feels a bit light I simply lift the net pot out of the cache pot to check the reservoir, if it’s low I add a bit more nutrient solution and… that’s it!