Falling in love again...

.. with succulents.
They amazed me as a child, though I killed them all. I was way too impatient about growth and too eager for watering. So they either rot or roasted in full sun all day.
Succulents are wonderful plants with all their striking shapes and forms and colors. They can be found all around the planet, even in surprising places like rain forests and cold climates. They can store water in their fleshy leaves or thick stems. Some of them don't even look succulent-ish. Did you know the ZZ plant, the Sansevieria or a Ponytail plant are actually succulents? Many of them are easy to grow as houseplants, even indoors. They are happy to bathe in the sun during summer months and surprise you with beautiful flowers or leaf colors. They don't mind the heating and dry air in your home, won't be sad if you forget to water them or go away for a longer vacation.
Basically the only thing that kills them for sure is too much water and cold. Therefore succulents are perfect for Hydro! How can this be? They don't like their roots soaking in water but moist air around them is good indeed. In a semi-hydro system you can control the water levels better than with traditional potting media.
Most of them don't need fertilizing or just a little, so a very diluted solution will do.
The little group of these fleshy plants I have are in soil at the moment because I need to locate a source for clay balls. As soon as I can put my hands on a bag of hydroton I'll repot them. Have to admit, I find it extremely hard to water them in their tiny pots and the soil looks very dry and hard almost all the time :(
I won't be able to provide artificial light for them but they got the best possible spot on the Western window sill. They are tiny, but the more they grow, the prouder the grower is, eh? :)
I try do give a short description of the species I grow along with some advice about the care they need in the PlantID section. If you feel like reading more about succulents, here is a link for Wikipedia. 

Cotyledon tomentosa - Bear's paw

Transplanting, repotting

Though most of the houseplant handbooks suggest to repot your plants in Spring or Autumn, life cycle of plants says something else. It is best to make changes in mid-Summer when plants are well into the growing season and their energy storage is full. Repot can be a shock to a plant, especially when moved into Hydroponics, and comes with root- and branch pruning. Try avoid transplanting weak plants as they may not survive the procedure. Also, it may take longer for an elder, established specimen to adjust to new conditions.
When a plant converts to Hydroponics, it grows so called water roots, that are able to take nutrients and Oxygen from water. This may take 4-6 weeks, depending on the plant's age and condition.

1. Rinse the hydroton until water runs clear.
2. Soak the pellets for an hour in a bucket.
3. Remove plant from pot, remove ALL soil from roots. You can soak the roots in room temperature water if necessary, or use a shower hose.
4. Trim the roots. Rid your plant of dead or unhealthy roots. If root ball is big/rootbound, cut away all encircling roots, thick ones and those that are growing straight downward in the pot. It is fine to remove 1/3 of the root mass. The plant should fit back in the same sized pot it was originally in.
5. Put a layer of clay balls up to 1/3 of the pot, then the plant and fill up surrounding space just like it were soil. Make sure you don't break fine roots and plant is steady.
6. Add only plain water in the next 4 weeks. Plants can be sensitive until roots re-establish in the new environment. Keep the plant in a propagator or a clear plastic bag with air holes for higher humidity.
7. When plants show new growth, gradually add fertilizer to the water. Start with 1/4 strength of what the label suggests.

Containers
Pot in pot method uses a plastic inner pot with holes at the bottom, and an outer cache-pot slightly larger than the internal one. The outer pot serves as reservoir to hold the nutriend solution. Water level shouldn't be higher than 1/4 of the inner pot, level has to be measured with a fully potted plant placed in the container. You may need a water level indicator or use a clear cache-pot. This is a popular method because allows you to 'hide' the plain plastic in a showy watertight container. Unglazed ceramic/terracotta pots can not hold water for longer periods, therefore not suitable for Hydroponics! They may also leave marks on furniture.

Pot in saucer method is basically the same as above, but water level indicator and cache-pot are not needed for the saucer serves as reservoir and water levels can be easily seen. Saucer should hold enough solution that will last for 7-10 days. You can group the plants in larger watertight trays to make checking solution levels and watering even easier.

Single pot method is not commonly used as checking nutrient solution levels is almost impossible without a level indicator. Also rinsing the media can be tricky. I only use this for Bromeliads, Phalaenopsis orchids and air plants that only need some moisture around their roots. Glass containers are suitable for this method but unwanted algae may appear by time.

Water level indicator
I myself don't use indicators, but they can be purchased in Hydroponics stores or made at home using plastic tubes, straws and some manual skills.

Maintenance
Nutrients has to be added with every watering. Always use a fertilizer suitable for hydro system and follow instructions on the label. Fill up saucer when level falls to the bottom of the inner pot. Some plants may not like dry periods so make sure their reservoir is topped up regularly. When first transplanted, plants' roots are above the water level and only moisture through the capillary action reaches them. By time plants grow their roots down below the water level. This should cause no trouble.
Make the nutrient solution prior to watering and let it sit for a while to reach room temperature. Tap-, bottled-, rain- or reverse osmosis (RO) water can be used. Note that some plants may be sensitive to fluoride or chlorine in tap water. Store unused solution in a sealable opaque container and out of reach of children.
Cleaning of pots and flushing aggregates to remove salt buildups are necessary. I do it once a month. Simply take your plants to the sink or shower, let water run through the inner pot and wash outer pot with a sponge. You can shower your plants with room temp water to wash off dust.
Washing/changing clay pellets can be done every year together with root pruning or potting up. You may want to do this when roots come out at the bottom of the container or a large number of aggregates seem to break down into smaller particles.

What can I grow in Hydro?

Basically any kind of houseplant can adapt to the soilless situation. Even cacti and succulents. More mature the plant is, the longer it takes though. I found here a list about suitable plants, but haven't tried them all unfortunately.

Adenium obesum
Aechmea fasciata
Aeschynanthus radicans
Aeschynanthus lobbianus
Aeschynanthus lobbianus var.
Aglaonema christina
Aglaonema commutatum
Aglaonema green light
Aglaonema king of siam
Aglaonema modestum
Aglaonema pseudobracteatum
Aglaonema silver bay
Aglaonema silver king
Alocasia aline
Alocasia calidora
Alocasia wentii
Aloe saponaria
Aloe vera
Ananas atriatus
Ananas comosus
Anthurium andraeanum-hybride
Anthurium arrow
Anthurium clarinervium
Anthurium dakota
Anthurium fiësta
Anthurium impreza
Anthurium jungle king
Anthurium latino Red
Anthurium pink champion
Anthurium poncho
Anthurium scherzerianum
Anthurium scherzer. amazone
Anthurium vitara
Anthurium white champion
Aralia (polyscias) balfouriana
Aralia (dizygotheca) castor
Aralia (polyscias) fabian
Aralia (polyscias) ming
Araucaria hetrophylla
Areca (chrysalido.) lutescens
Aspidistra elatior
Asparagus falcatus
Aspidistra elatior
Aspidistra pictus
Asplenium antiquum
Asplenium nidus
Asplenium viviparum
Aucuba japonica
Beaucarnea nolina
Beaucarnea recurvata
Begonia masoniana
Brassaia actinophylla
Bromeliaceae
Calathea bella
Calathea roseopicta
Calathea rufibarba
Calathea zebrina
Carludovica
Caryota mitis
Caryota urens
Cereus gounelli
Cereus HU490
Cereus monstruosus
Cereus peruvianus
Ceropegia radicans
Chamaedorea elegans
Chamaedorea metalica
Chamaedorea siefritzii
Chlorophytum comosum var.
Chrysalidocarpus lutescens
Cissus ellen danica
Cissus rhombifolia
Cissus striata
Clivia miniata
Clusea rosea
Cocos nucifera
Codiaeum veriegatum
Columnea hirta
Columnea microphylla
Cordyline fruticosa
Cordyline glauca
Cordyline terminalis
Corynocarpus leavigata
Corynocarpus variegatum
Crassula argentea
Crassula horntree
Crassula minor
Crassula ovata sunset
Crossandra infundibuliformis
Croton (codiaeum) batic comp.
Croton (codiaeum) curley boy
Croton (codiaeum) gold dust
Croton (codiaeum) iceton
Croton (codiaeum) mamey
Croton (codiaeum) petra
Croton (codiaeum) sunny star
Croton (codiaeum) wilma
Ctenanthe golden mosaic
Ctenanthe libbersiana
Cycas revoluta
Cyperus alternifolius
Cyrtomium falcatum
Davallia fejeensis
Davallia trichomanoides
Dieffenbachia
Dioon edule
Dizygotheca elegantissima
Dizygotheda veitchii
Dracaena bicolor
Dracaena compacta
Dracaena compacta l. surprise
Dracaena compacta malaika
Dracaena compacta variegatum
Dracaena deremensis
Dracaena fragrans
Dracaena fragrans cintho
Dracaena godsefiana
Dracaena gold coast
Dracaena janet craig
Dracaena kanzi
Dracaena lemon lime
Dracaena magenta
Dracaena marginata
Dracaena pubescens
Dracaena reflexa
Dracaena riki
Dracaena sanderiana
Dracaena santa rosa
Dracaena surculosa
Dracaena surprise Head
Dracaena ulises
Dracaena warneckii uliseo
Dracaena white jewel
Echinocactus bahiensis
Echinocactus grusonii
Echinocactus subinermis
Elettaria cardamomum
Ensete ventricosum
Epipremnum aureum
Epipremnum pinnatum
Euonymus japonica
Euphorbia ingens
Euphorbia lacteal
Euphorbia lactea cristata
Euphorbia lomii-hybride
Euphorbia mayurantani
Euphorbia milii red
Euphorbia pulcherrima
Euphorbia tirucalli
Euphorbia trigona Green
Euphorbia trigona Red
Fatsia japonica
Ferocactus stainesii
Ferocactus subinermis
Ficus alii
Ficus amstel gold
Ficus amstel king
Ficus anastacia
Ficus audrey
Ficus australis
Ficus benjamina
Ficus bushy prince lacia
Ficus cyathistipula
Ficus danielle
Ficus de gantel
Ficus deltoidea
Ficus deltoidea variegatum
Ficus elastica belize
Ficus elastica bourgondi
Ficus elastica melany
Ficus elastica robusta
Ficus foliole
Ficus golden king
Ficus goldie
Ficus green island
Ficus lyrata
Ficus lyrata bambino
Ficus longifolia
Ficus microcarpa Bonsai
Ficus microcarpa
Ficus moclame
Ficus natasja
Ficus nitida
Ficus nitida compacta
Ficus panda Bonsai
Ficus panda
Ficus pumila
Ficus regidan
Ficus repens
Ficus retusa
Ficus sagittata
Ficus safari
Ficus samantha
Ficus umbellata
Ficus velvet
Fittonia verschaffeltii
Ficus wiandi
Fittonia josan
Fittonia white anne
Gardenia jasminodies
Gasteria maculata
Gasteria verrucosa
Graptophyllum pictum
Guzmania minor
Hedera helix
Hedera helix tonny
Hedera montgomery
Helxine soleirolii
Heteropanax sinensis g. lady
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Howea forsteriana
Hoya carnosa compacta
Hoya multiflora
Hoya variegata
Hypocyrta strigillosa
Hypoestes phyllostachya
Impatiens
Ixora coccinea
Kalanchoe blossfeldiana
Leea burgundi
Leea coccinea
Livistona chinensis
Livistona rotundifolia
Maranta leuconeura
Marchallocereus
Medinilla magnifica
Microsorum crocodyllus
Monstera deliciosa
Monstera obliqua
Muehlenbeckia
Musa tropicana
Neodypsis
Neoregelia carolinea
Nephrolepis sonata
Nephrolepis exaltata
Nephrolepis obliterata
Orchids
Pachira aquatica
Pachycereus pringley
Pachystachys lutea
Pandanaceae
Pandanus utilis
Pandanus veitchii
Papyrus
Peace lilies
Peperomia caperata
Peperomia incana
Peperomia jellie
Peperomia obtusifolia
Peperomia pereskiifolia
Peperomia red margin
Peperomia smaragd
Peperomia usa
Pereskia aculeata
Phalaenopsis Orchids
Philodendron
Philodendron domesticum
Philodendron emerald red
Philodendron fun bun
Philodendron grand braziel
Philodendron imperial green
Philodendron imperial red
Philodendron lemon mandjari
Philodendron medisa
Philodendron nutans
Philodendron pertusem
Philodendron scandens
Philodendron selloum
Philodendron xanado
Phoenix canariensis
Phoenix roebelinii
Pilea cardierei
Pilosocereus azureus
Pittosporum tobira
Platycerium bifurcatum
Pleomele anita
Pleomele reflexa
Pleomele song of india
Pleomele song of jamaica
Pogonatherum paniceum
Poinsettia
Polaskia chichipe
Polypodium
Polypodium aureum
Polyscias balfouriana
Polyscias fruticosa
Polyscias scutellaria
Portulacaria afra
Pteris crassifolia
Pteris ensiformis
Radermachera sinica
Rhapis excelsa
Rhapis gracilis
Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri
Rhoeo
Rhoeo spathacea
Saintpaulia inonantha
Sansevieria cilindro
Sansevieria coral
Sansevieria cylindrica var.
Sansevieria futura
Sansevieria gr. somali hemp
Sansevieria hanii golden edge
Sansevieria laurentii
Sansevieria moonshine
Sansevieria trifasciata
Sansevieria zeylanica
Scheffera arboricola
Schefflera amate
Schefflera actinophylla
Schefflera arboricola
Schefflera gold capella
Schefflera louisiana
Schefflera paradiso
Schefflera trinette
Scilla violacea
Scindapsus aureus
Scindapsus golden pothos
Scindapsus marble queen
Scindapsus pictus
Scirpus cernuus
Senecio himalaya
Senecio rowleyanus
Siderasis fuscata
Solanum pseudocapsicum
Soleirolia soleirolii
Spathiphyllum
Spathiphyllum gokyo
Spathiphyllum mont blanc
Spathiphyllum sensation
Strelizia
Strelitzia nicolai
Strelitzia reginea
Syngonium
Syngonium white butterfly
Tetrastigma
Tetrastigma voinieranum
Tradescantia sitara
Tupidanthus clayptratus
Vanilla planifolia
Vriesea splendens
Washintonia filifera
Washingtonia robusta
Weberbauerocereus johnsonii
Yucca
Zamia fischeri
Zamia furfuracea
Zygocactus truncatus
Zamioculcas zamiifolia

I can add to the list the followings:
Aloe rauhii
Calathea albertii
Cotyledon tomentosa
Haworthia pentagona
Mangifera indica
Pachyphytum oviferum
Persea americana
Phlebodium aureum
Stapelia var.

What is Hydroculture and how it works?

Hydroculture is a method of growing plants without the use of soil. Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture and is a way of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water.
Passive hydroponics or semi-hydroponics, is a method wherein plants are grown in an inert porous medium that transports water and fertilizer to the roots by capillary action from a reservoir, providing a constant supply of water to the roots. In the simplest method, the pot sits in a shallow solution of fertilizer and water. The various hydroponic media available, such as expanded clay and coconut husk, contain more air space than more traditional potting mixes, delivering increased oxygen to the roots, which is important for every plant. Additional advantages of passive hydroponics are the reduction of root rot and the additional ambient humidity provided through evaporations.

How can a plant live without soil?
Researchers discovered in the 18th century that plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. In natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissolve in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When the required mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant's water supply artificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive. Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics. Hydroponics is also a standard technique in biology research and teaching.

What is expanded clay?
The clay pellets are inert, pH neutral and do not contain any nutrient value. Their purpose is to hold the plant upright and by absorbing some water, provide humidity around roots.
The clay is formed into round pellets and fired at 1,200 °C. This causes the clay to expand, like popcorn, and become porous. It is light in weight, and does not compact over time. The shape of an individual pellet can be irregular or uniform depending on brand and manufacturing process. The manufacturers consider expanded clay to be an ecologically sustainable and re-usable growing medium because of its ability to be cleaned and sterilized, typically by washing in solutions of white vinegar, chlorine bleach, or hydrogen peroxide, and rinsing completely. Hydroton (clay balls) are sold in 5-50 litre bags. You will need the 50 litres if you have 10 medium-sized plants.

Nutrient solution
Plant food. Special nutrients are available for hydroculture, these usually come in either powder or liquid form which are added to water to make a solution. Hydroculture nutrients differ from general houseplant fertilizers in that they contain extra trace elements. Some nutrient solutions may not be suitable for indoor houseplant hydroculture. You need to check the label if it is for hydro use. Always follow instructions on the label.
Nutrients are available in many different NPK (N=Nitrogen, P=Phosphorus, K=Potassium) ratios, these are expressed as percentages. By selecting different NPK formulations the growth, flowering or crop of the plant can be controlled to a certain degree. In most cases a "grow" or general type is adequate. Care is required not to allow salt concentrations to become too high, nutrients to become too depleted, or pH to wander far from the desired value. We need to look into some chemistry later as certain plants have special needs and sick ones need be treated by adjusting compounds. It is easier than it sounds!

Advantages of Hydroponics  

• Very hard to overwater, almost foolproof
• Roots need Oxygen just like water; spaces between particles provide air flow
• Absorbent aggregate help creating humidity for plants
• Easy to clean, repot and reuse
• Pests and diseases occur infrequently and are easily treated
• Very trendy, sounds scientific yet can be built of scrap :)

Once you get the hang of it, you will want to grow everything like this. Even vegetables! :)

Houseplants in Hydroculture - My story

This blog is going to be more like a plantcare diary and my adventure book in the world of houseplants than a boring scientific blog. There are loads in that subject already. There must be some science in the background, of course, I'll try to learn that along with my experiment.
So how I came across hydroculture? My houseplants were potted in tiny pots filled with different kinds of soils - good and bad either. They outgrew their containers quickly. Well, cheap plants sold by their dozens are usually badly underpotted, straight from the nurseries. I had to repot them, for what I boldly used a bagged soil. Which turned out to be a very water retentive media with a fungus gnat infestation that quickly spread in the house and soon little black flies were everywhere - around the bins, around our food, in our eyes. They had to go. It took a while to find out how to get rid of them. 'Let the soil dry out' they said. The soil just didn't want to dry out even in several weeks time, gnats were still around. When I finally watered again, the population doubled itself, thriving in that soil. And we moved to another apartment and it was a now or never plan. But this time I did research and came across websites and forums about well-draining soils and their importance. And there it was, the simplest you can imagine: put your plant in a pot filled only with expanded clay pebbles, pour over some water and every now and then add some fertilizer. Repotting is just as easy, no mess, no leftover soil stuffed under the sink swarming with disgusting creepers. Plants can grow freely in this light media that will not clog, will not go hard as a brick.
As far as I know, this way of keeping houseplants is known as semi-hydroculture because there are individual small pots.