Due to its sensitivity to overwatering and the fact that Leca helps you prevent overwatering your plants, a Monstera is a fantastic plant to grow in Leca. Due to the roots’ inability to breathe under water, root rot is a common problem while water propagating Monstera. Leca contributes to the provision of oxygen and moisture, which keeps the roots strong.
When the Monstera in Leca is unable to absorb fresh water from the pot, you should water it. When the water touches the Leca once more, you should add more water to the pot. It varies depending on how much Leca you’re using and the size of the pot, but typically once every 14 days.
Does LECA benefit Monstera?
Many monstera fans are beginning to grow monstera plants with LECA balls as the popularity of hydroponics and semi-hydroponic growing techniques among owners of houseplants rises.
If you’re completely perplexed, the following definitions should help:
Any technique for growing plants without soil is referred to as hydroponics. (It is feasible, indeed!) It frequently entails merely cultivating plants in water! Similar to hydroponics, semi-hydroponics typically refers to a technique for growing plants in an inorganic medium.
Growth in LECA balls is one of the most well-liked and effective semi-hydroponic growing techniques for monstera plants. If you struggle with overwatering and are looking for a new adventure with your monstera plant, LECA might be the answer!
Small, porous clay balls known as LECA balls are used as a growing medium to guard against pests, acidity, and root rot. “Lightweight expanded clay aggregate” is what LECA stands for.
Because LECA balls have a high porosity, they improve drainage and aeration, which helps the plant retain moisture from the water and maintain healthy roots.
LECA balls’ primary drawback is their ability to dry out your plants. Although LECA balls can keep some moisture and are excellent at aiding in water drainage, they have a weak capacity for storing water, and they dry out very rapidly once they have been drained.
Advantages of Growing Monstera Plants with LECA
Put an end to pests. Insects prefer the dim, moist environments that are frequently found in soil, but they can’t survive long in LECA.
No more excessive irrigation (or root rot)! If you tend to love your monstera to death by overwatering it, LECA balls are an excellent alternative because they dry out faster than soil. The fungus and bacteria that might cause illnesses like root rot are absent since LECA balls are also sterile.
fantastic root aeration. You won’t ever need to aerate your monstera’s roots or be concerned about compacted soil because LECA balls are incredibly porous.
LECA balls can be used again. Your LECA can be recycled and used repeatedly for other plants! Just be sure to wash and sterilize the LECA with isopropyl alcohol or peroxide in between recycling them.
Can Monstera be grown hydroponically?
You’ve probably seen lovely images of monstera plants or cuttings thriving in a vase of clear water on Pinterest and Instagram. You might be curious as to whether the plant was genuinely growing in that vase or if it was merely there for aesthetic purposes. Can hydroponics be used to cultivate monstera plants?
Monstera plants can be an excellent option if you tend to overwater or if you just prefer the look of a gorgeous plant growing in a transparent glass container of water. Most monstera plants thrive well with hydroponics or in semi-hydroponic mediums like LECA balls (don’t worry, we’ll explain these words).
First of all, what are hydroponics and semi-hydroponics?
Any technique for growing plants without soil is referred to as hydroponics, however this most frequently means growing plants only in water. On a larger scale, this entails using pumps to keep the water moving, but for your houseplants, you only need to change the water occasionally to keep it fresh.
The term “semi-hydroponics” refers to a technique for growing plants in an inorganic media, such as clay LECA balls, as opposed to soil, bark, or peat.
You’ve probably seen or practiced plant propagation, which involves taking a plant cutting and putting it in water until the roots form, before. Guess what, though? Hydroponics is that.
Why therefore do semi-hydroponic or hydroponic farming? Here are a few benefits of this growing technique.
Advantages of Hydroponics and Semi-Hydroponics for Monstera Plants:
less exposure to pest danger. When growing your monstera in soil, you’ll frequently encounter dark, damp conditions that are ideal for pests. In water, clay, sand, or other hydroponic growing mediums, they don’t persist very long.
prevents infections and overwatering. In hydroponics, the roots can take in as much water as they need without decaying since a sterile medium like water is devoid of fungi or bacteria. The finest of both worlds is here! Because the plant actually lives in water, water hydroponics also prevents underwatering. Easy as pie!
It’s possible for your monstera to expand quickly. Because roots aren’t restricted by compact dirt, they can form larger, stronger root systems because they can absorb nutrients more quickly in water than in soil. This guarantees that you’ll have a large, gorgeous, healthy plant in no time!
Can every type of plant be cultivated in LECA?
You’ve joined a number of internet forums for indoor gardening, and you keep hearing people use the acronym LECA. Some claim that it is superior to soil. You might be wondering what LECA is and whether it would be a better choice for indoor plants than soil.
The abbreviation LECA stands for lightweight expanded clay aggregate, a growing medium made of clay that is used to support hydroponic crops. The clay balls act as passageways for both water and air. Don’t rule out soil as a growing medium, either; not all plants thrive in LECA.
You undoubtedly still have many questions about LECA, and I’m here to answer them. I’ll describe in detail how LECA functions as a growth medium in this article. Along with discussing the advantages and disadvantages, I’ll discuss which indoor plants thrive under LECA and which ones don’t.
Step 1: Prep your LECA and Select your pot
Make sure your LECA is clean and has been soaking for a few days by reading the guide on LECA preparation. Make sure you have a plan for the plant’s potting; you can find a few solutions, including some hacks, on the Useful Products page. Another great choice is to use the nursery pot the plant was planted in along with a deep saucer.
Step 2: Take the Plant out and Clean the Roots
Removing the plant from an organic medium, such as soil or bark, and making sure the roots are free of organic debris take the longest amount of time in the entire procedure. While certain plants, like Hoyas, have incredibly tiny and thin root systems that make cleaning them extremely laborious, other plants, like Aglaonemas, have very thick roots that make the operation fairly simple. Plants with thin roots are more difficult to transition since it is challenging to get rid of all the organic materials. For more details on a specific plant, visit the section on plants in LECA.
When soil is placed in an LECA with roots still attached, it will be in a perpetually moist environment. Healthy roots will continue to draw moisture from the LECA as long as the soil remains on them and in touch with it, keeping the roots consistently moist. While some plants may adapt to the extra moisture and be fine, most plants do not fare well under these conditions. The plant’s health will deteriorate as a result of root rot brought on by extended exposure to a moist environment.
It is best to remove as much organic matter from a plant as you can before moving it into LECA. This will provide direct root contact between the plant and LECA. As soon as the root has adapted to its surroundings, it will stick to the LECA and suck moisture when it is required. My recommendation is to clip the root off if you are unable to clean it without damaging it. Any soil that is left on the roots, especially thin roots, will eventually cause them to rot off and, worse yet, will spread rot to the nearby roots.
Set the plant in some water so that the soil will naturally come off if you are unable to remove all of it. Some of those roots will probably rot off as a result of this, but at least you can monitor it and wait for new water roots to grow.
If all else fails and you are unable to remove the soil, you have three choices. The alternative is to plant it anyway while flushing periodically, using solutions like Physan 20, and unpotting/repotting to trim the roots. The first option involves completely removing all of the roots and treating the plant like a cutting. The final option is to abort and bury it in the ground!
Moss is the hardest to get rid of. If you have a moss-rooted plant, soaking it greatly helps, but I generally reroot them or don’t buy them at all.
Step 3: Pot it in LECA
It should be quite obvious how to pot a plant in LECA because it is similar to potting in organic material. When you are potting, make sure the LECA is moist. Trying to fit several plants into one pot is the most challenging. The pot can be submerged in water after being filled with LECA to the level of 3/4 of the pot. At the same time that you place your plants, raise the entire pot.
Try to position the roots so that they are not in contact with one another. In this manner, if one root begins to deteriorate, it won’t touch another root and spread the rot. Trimming down particularly lengthy roots is one method to do this. Although it may be unsettling and against your instincts, the plant will probably transfer more smoothly if there are fewer roots touching each other.
Water is drawn into the clay interior by capillary action, where it is then stored by LECA. It will absorb water when submerged until it is full. The LECA comes into contact with plant roots, which suck water away, and the LECA then takes in more water from below.
Step 4: Watering
After the initial transplant, semi-hydroponics uses two main techniques. One immediately uses water, the other does not.
With this technique, a liquid of some kind is immediately poured into the reservoir. Some individuals use simple water (tap, distilled, rain). Some use a standard nutrition solution, some add Superthrive, and some add seaweed. This choice will be based on the plant and assessments of its health made in the initial weeks of the transition. I add 2.5mL of Superthrive and 6mL of seaweed to a gallon of filtered water.
Your plant will transition as you add fluids to the setup! Up until it becomes established, make sure to carefully monitor the plant for any symptoms of stress during the first week and give it a weekly watering.
2022 Edit: I no longer use Superthrive at all; instead, I almost solely use General Hydroponics Rapid Start when making a shift. Find out why by reading this and this.
In this technique, the reservoir is removed after the initial potting, left empty for a while (usually every day or two), and then replaced after the plant is given a thorough watering. This is carried out repeatedly until the plant has finished transitioning. This technique can make the transfer from soil to LECA easier and is beneficial for plants that prefer a dryer climate.
prevents drowning by maintaining a dryer root environment. During the change, the plant can adjust and develop “water roots. In essence, the plant is establishing roots in LECA that are adapted to the new environment.
More organic material is drained out of the plant with each shower. Flushing a newly transitioned plant is often a good idea because it ensures that the plant receives frequent flushing throughout the first few weeks.
It takes a lot of time and effort to both remember and carry out. The reservoir approach is much simpler.
After the initial transplant, the plant is under additional stress since the water will cause the roots to migrate.
It’s not ideal for plants with roots that require to be hydrated but still airy and not drowning, like orchids. Because there is a chance that the roots would dry out, this procedure is never employed for orchids.
Step 5: Observation and Maintenance
The plant will actively display signals of success or stress as it adjusts to semi-hydroponics. Watch the plant carefully and provide it with assistance as it transitions.
If the plant shows signs of being overwatered, switch to the shower method and begin spraying Physan 20 into the base of the roots. Algaecides, fungicides, bactericides, and virucides all make up Physan 20. Alternately, you can take a shower while the water is diluted with hydrogen peroxide to prevent root rot without upsetting the root system. Remove the plant from LECA and examine the roots for rot if the condition of the plant worsens. Spray with hydrogen peroxide, remove the dead roots, and try again. Avoid often removing the plant from the LECA to examine the roots. Because roots should not be disturbed, transplanting can be stressful for plants.
Change to the reservoir method or take more showers if the plant shows signs of drowning. This is unusual because LECA typically retains a lot of moisture. This can indicate that the potting arrangement is incorrect or that the roots died during the changeover. (Water level below plant roots is too low).
Can Monstera survive forever in the water?
Monstera plants, for example, can live in water indefinitely; just make sure to change the water if it becomes cloudy, and you may occasionally top it up with diluted hydroponic fertilizer to replace the nutrients it would normally get from soil. Additionally, see water propagation and succulent water propagation.
Why is my Monstera in LECA becoming yellow?
Nitrogen is extremely important for plants. According to PennState Extension, this element is crucial for plant survival, and plants that don’t get enough quickly produce light-colored leaves that eventually start to turn yellow if the issue isn’t fixed. The lower leaves of your hydroponic plants will initially start to deteriorate and then turn yellow if you have a nitrogen deficiency. This pattern will move its way up the plant starting at the bottom.