Everything you ever wanted to know about transferring plants to LECA/semi-hydroponics
Yes, Calathea live can live perfectly happily (at least, for a Calathea) in LECA. IN FACT if you’re a bit on the lazy side, like I am, LECA might be the preferred substrate, because you don’t need to worry about accidentally letting them dry out to a husk when you turn your back on them …
Switching to leca is so exciting when you’re in the research stage. It’s all promises of no pests, watering schedules, and cheap potting mix. And then reality hits. Even if we disregard the massive ballache that is the actual transferring of the plants AND the pita that is mixing the nutrient solution and making sure …
It doesn’t seem like that long ago that everyone was leaving soil in the dirt (geddit? Dirt/soil?) and moving onto leca. Leca was LIFE CHANGING. No pests! No overwatering! Yay! As it turns out, it’s not *quite* that simple. I have an article on soil vs leca here and it’s very much a matter of …
Propagating plants in leca is, in my experience, a little bit easier than propagating in just plain water. The stem of the plant isn’t sitting in water, so stem rot can be staved off for longer. It’s not completely rot-proof – the stem will be touching the leca, which will be damp, but it’s not, …
One of the main advantages of using leca over soil is that you can look at the reservoir, see if it’s empty (or not) and water accordingly. Once the water in the reservoir is gone, add more. If there’s still some in leave it. BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO WAIT TILL IT’S EMPTY. With plants …