Semi-Hydro is a perfect option for those planti peeps out there who want to make their plants a bit more low maintenance as it takes away the worry of forgetting to check the soil to see if your plant needs to be watered and also fully eliminates the risk of overwatering as your plant is growing...in water! (Did we also mention this fully eliminates fungus gnats as there isn't any soil for the gnats to lay their eggs in?)
Semi Hydro (short for Semi hydroponics) is another term for passive hydroponics, meaning your plant is growing in a medium that is soil-less and inert and is only mean to deliver access to water. Compared to hydroponics, this method has your plant's roots not fully submerged in water but rather in a medium that is in water.
The most common medium out there for semi-hydro is LECA (which stands for Light Expanded Clay Aggregate). LECA are these little clay balls that can withhold water so your plant's roots have access to water even if they're not touching the actual water in the pot. LECA is quite easy to use but here are our few tips for beginners:
- Since LECA is clay, it can get a bit dusty and dirty in shipping. We recommend giving your LECA a good rinse before use
- When your LECA arrives to you it will be fully dry and therefore has nothing in it to benefit your plants. You'll want to soak your LECA in water for 24 hours before potting up a plant in it.
- As we mentioned above, LECA is an inert medium which means it has no nutritional benefit to your plants and neither does water so you'll want to use a balanced nutrient solution like Foliage Focus (3-5mL per L of water). I like to even use some Rootzone to ensure the roots are able to adjust to their new semi-hydro life.
It's very easy to start with a plant propagation that's coming from water but if you want to transition a plant coming from soil, you'll need to remove as much of the soil as possible (The organic matter can increase the risk of root rot in your new semi-hydro set up). You can soak the plant's roots in water to loosen things up and chop off any roots that are looking a bit dried out or dead as they'll likely die off.
Pot up your plant with a nursery pot that is designed for semi-hydro like our slotted net pot. Fill about 1/3 of the pot with your pre-soaked LECA, pop the plant in and hold the stem as you add more LECA until the pot is almost full and your plant is fully stable and standing upright. From here, you'll want to put your slotted net pot into a cover pot that does not have drainage and fill the cover pot about 1/3 of the way with water (Again, we recommend using water that has your balanced nutrient solution like Foliage Focus in it).
You're all potted up and ready for that relaxed life! Keep the water level around that 1/3 mark ideally (Don't stress if it falls below - I have been known to even let it almost dry out) and once or twice a month I recommend giving the inside of the cover pot a rinse out and wipe it down for any buildup that may happen.
Here's hoping you found this helpful - are you ready to make the switch to semi-hydro?