ONE MONTH Semi-Hydro Growth REVEAL | How to Pot Houseplants In Semi-Hydroponic | Lechuza Pon Plants

It's been about one month for all my Lechuza Pon plants that I converted into semi-hydro to be REVEALED.
I've heard so much buzz on how "great" pon is for plants, but I didn't know if I wanted to go down the semi-hydroponic rabbit hole again. I tried semi-hydro for the first time last year, and I quickly learned that I didn't love leca.
I thought I'd give semi-hydro another try - and OH BOY am I a believer, now.
In this video I'm going to go over:
- What is pon?
- My Inexpensive Pon Hack (diy)
- Plants that have been living in pon
- Repotting a cutting into pon
Let me know if you have any questions about pon in the comments below :]
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PLANTS/MATERIALS
⋄ Alocasia micholitziana
⋄ Philodendron Brandi
⋄ Alocasia Zebrina
⋄ Philodendron Gloriosum
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#houseplants #semihydro #houseplantcare #plantcare #plantcaretips #repot

[@ReeRuns]

This is the first video I've seen where someone showed how much water they filled in, I've been wondering & have three different plants with varying amounts of water in their containers! lol ty

[@BotanicalBrunette]

No problem 😉🌿👏

[@irairod5160]

I upcycle the same yogurt jars you used here, mostly for my propagations, but because Pon is small and dense, I have trouble "seeing" how much water there is. So, I put a layer of LECA at the bottom of the jar and fill the rest with Pon. The larger spaces between the clay balls allow me to see more easily if there's still water in the reservoir.

[@BotanicalBrunette]

That’s a good trick! 👏

[@livcollier6054]

Very helpful. Just got Pon and needed some info about it. Thank you. Subscribed! 🙂

[@jmf322]

I converted 95% of my collection into semi hydro in March due to fungus gnats and I love it. Super low maintenance, no guess work with when to water which makes it easier for leaving town if someone is watching your plants for you. Plus it's just way cleaner and no fungus gnats!

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Fungus gnats are the WORST! Definitely a great benefit to semi hydro. Did your plants have a hard time transitioning?

[@jmf322]

@@BotanicalBrunette I have everything in LECA, but no! I just took props of everything and made sure it had good water roots before potting in LECA. They did fine 😊

[@ReisePiece]

How did you get them to no go into shock and drop leaves? Did you leave the soil on the roots?

[@cherieozga5879]

I understood it is best to rinse the pon first to get the dust off kind of avoid any possible dirt to rot

[@vickktoriaa]

It’d be alot easier to rinse the dust/dirt off the pon before potting, especially if you’re potting in no drainage like your example. Happy that it’s working so well for your Alocasias!💚

[@michaela467]

I thought the same thing 😅😄

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Definitely agree haha that’s why I suggested others to run it through a strainer beforehand. Lesson learned 😅

[@BotanicalBrunette]

@@michaela467 😅😅😅

[@SANDRATHEGREATONE]

It may be easier, but hard to handle pon while wet. You'd have it let it completely dry out.

[@lisaanglim9588]

@@SANDRATHEGREATONE not necessarily. I’ve seen many people use wet pon with no trouble.

[@michaeld1726]

Excellent video Amanda! Sounds like something I will incorporate in using for a growing medium in the future. Thank you for showing your results close up. 😊 Hope your shin splints heal soon! 🙏 🪴

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Thanks Michael! Try a plant or two that you’d be ok with losing (just in case 🥴) and try it out! Let me know how it goes. 👏

[@michaeld1726]

@@BotanicalBrunette Trying to locate your Amazon shop. Let me know please. Mahalo. 😊

[@BotanicalBrunette]

@@michaeld1726 www.amazon.com/shop/botanicalbrunette

[@plantingwithnat]

Oh no I do hope you are doing better thanks you the info on San Fransico. When you mentioned tropical storms the only state that came to mind is Floridaaaaa. Hello Floridian I'm from Fort Lauderdale😂 right now I'm in NC and I will move back to Florida next year.

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Aw thank you for that! ❤️ and Haha yup I’m in FL. Gotta love those storms 😅

[@plantingwithnat]

I would transfer all my hoyas to Pon, and I like the info about where you bought your Pon from. I would add the pumice and fertilizer to the mix😻.

[@GenRN]

I bought that same rock mix on Amazon an 18 lb bag for $41.98. A great value and it is beautiful. I already had Osmocote and have a giant box of 3/8 pumice 30 quarts for $46.99 coming soon. Now I need more plants. 😂😂😂😂

[@Amy-wc6jn]

I have bought the pon brand and that gritty mix both do the same honestly. I’m not sure on the size conversion but the small pon bag has more in it making it cheaper overall. Gritty mix is prettier though.

[@WhateverLelesDoing]

lol i just came across your channel and we're kinda twinsies with channel names hahah

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Omg haha I love it! 👏👏

[@lisaanglim9588]

This was a really fun video. If you’re wanting to transfer all your plants to pon, will you buy the regular pon that comes in a larger quantity?

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Hm that’s a good question. I’d probably just do it gradually. Maybe only buying the cheaper stuff.

[@peggybouillon9737]

I’m going to try pon for my Alocasia even though that same bag is $47 on Amazon Canada, crazy. 🌿🤞🏻

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Oh that’s pretty steep 🫣

[@eleum1400]

$47 is wild. here in germany it costs 15€

[@ryansmith83]

I’ve decided to try Pon with my Alocasia. When the slow-release fertilizer exhausts in a few months, I’d like to know how you apply liquid ferts. You mentioned Foliage Pro which is what I use for my plants in soil. Have you tried that in hydro yet? I’m curious what dosage people use and if they’re applying it to every watering. I use RO water which is essentially dead and contains no minerals or trace elements, so I use Foliage Pro because they claim to be a complete nutrition product that provides that, so you don’t have to use a Cal-Mag product.

[@BotanicalBrunette]

So I don’t know the exact proper way, but what’s been working for me is I pre mix the foliage pro (like you normally would when you water) and I’ll do 1 part fertilizer mix and 3 parts water when the water needs to be filled. I use the fertilizer about once a month. I usually have to refill the water in the pon once a week. It’s been working well for me so far. 🤷🏻‍♀️😅

[@hejerbenyoussef5176]

Hi, did you ever had algue? I bought 4 hoyas in pon and soon i had the green black'ich look of the algues and i was wondering how to deal with it and avoid it for next times as i'm thinking about transferring some of my collection to pon. Thanks!

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Hey! I’ve actually never even heard of that. But - if your having green or black in your substrate, it could be mold or algae build up.

[@hennesseyme9112]

Leaving the roots in the water is not bad because those plants drink a lot.

[@Dieppaloveplants]

All my plants are in pon and leca

[@BotanicalBrunette]

👏👏👏

[@tabithastrickland8971]

Hey quick question! I have an alocasia frydek I want to transition into pon. Is it necessary to transition into water for a bit before going into pon? I'm worried that left over dirt on the roots would create root rot if I go straight from dirt to pon.

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Hey Tabitha! In my experience it should be fine to transfer it into pon straight from soil. Try cleaning off as much of the dirt as carefully as you can. Running the roots under water after most of the soil is off can help with that. Sometimes there can be a transition period where the plant goes into a little shock and might drop leaves. This is basically the soil roots adjusting to the water and eventually will create “water roots”. Just keep an eye on it to make sure the roots don’t start to rot. That’s another benefit to the clear containers 😉 hope that helps 🤍🌿

[@dianeparker2075]

Not necessary to remove ALL dirt before putting in Pon, as you do with Leca. The website tells you that. But it is advised to rinse the dust from the Pon BEFORE you plant into it! My Frydek is huge and has roots coming out the bottom of an 8" tall pot. It is loving the Pon!

[@carolinebaines8735]

For an established alocasia, it's much safer to put them in water to grow water roots. Babies transition easily straight from soil. I've transitioned all my alocasia to PON (15+ plants). I haven't lost any babies, but I've lost 4 dozen adults.

[@dianeparker2075]

@@carolinebaines8735 I have all mine in Pon, right from the store, and into Pon, roots cleaned, but not spotless by any means. I have about 10 large and 8 small ones, and haven't lost any.

[@ReisePiece]

When I transferred my alocasia to pon the leaves when into shock and died, did you leave the soil on the roots as to not disturb them when putting them in to pon?

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that. I removed all the soil from the plant. Sometimes I’ll even remove the roots (as long as there’s nodes) because the transition from soil to water could rot the roots. Usually a plant I transplant like that I’ll add a tiny bit of SUPERthrive to the water, which helps with transplant shock.

[@lisaanglim9588]

Did you buy the gritty mix? It looked really is more like yours

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Yup it’s the gritty mix

[@finnster6582]

Did you use your DIY Pon in the Zebrina?

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Yes! And it’s still alive 😅 it’s honestly doing so well so far 👏🌿

[@michaela467]

dude I have a big alo zebrina (big in leaf size, had 6, up-potted it from soil to soil, dropped 4 leaves, had 2 left). It went dormant after repotting and dropped the 5 leaves the ENTIRE growing season. The newest leaf didn't properly harden off and stayed floppy forever. I just repotted it in my pon/leca mix for semi hydro and this bish just immediately started pushing out a leaf. In fall. Without yellowing or dropping one of the 2 remaining leaves. the disrespect this alo has?! 🤣 I decided repotting her in semi hydro because I was fed up with her dormancy and just had a "sink or swim" approach. Rinsed off the roots vigorously and just plopped her in. Didn't care anymore. Alos man, Alos. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤣

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Hahaha omg SAME! why are they so difficult 🙄 especially the zebrina. So glad you had the same results too! 👏👏👏

[@dianeparker2075]

How high is your water level on the Zebrina? The Pon looks wet all the way up. I only keep water in the bottom 1/3 of the outer pot.

[@BotanicalBrunette]

I water to 1/3 as well. I like to pour over the water on the substrate to wet it all down. When it’s first establishing, I’ll water to the base or root line

[@dianeparker2075]

@@BotanicalBrunette 👍👍

[@littleminna]

I have mine in self-watering pots. But I've noticed my Alocasias are not so happy anymore. The downside of it is that the water and the pon is all green with algea. I keep flushing it away, but the green stuff keeps coming back. So I'm thinking of putting the plants back into soil, because I don't know what else to do.

[@BotanicalBrunette]

Hm. I found that if the water is really exposed to light that can happen. The cover pots can help block out the light, but of course not all of it. You could try adding a little hydrogen peroxide to the water.

[@littleminna]

@BotanicalBrunette Thanks I will try that.

[@emmalecroy274]

I love San Francisco!!!!

[@BotanicalBrunette]

It was such a fun and beautiful place 😍

[@irairod5160]

OMG, watching you try to rinse that substrate the most difficult way you possibly could was painful. Just dump the whole supply of pon in a mesh bag (a laundry "delicates" mesh bag, or the reusable produce bags work well, or even the gauze drawstring bags some gifts come in) and lower it into a bucket of water. Swish it, throw the water out, fill the bucket again, and repeat until the water runs clear. Use the amount of substrate you need, and hang the rest (still in the mesh bag) to air dry. Once it's completely dry, store it in a plastic tub with a lid. That way you have CLEAN, ready to go pon any time you need it.

[@BotanicalBrunette]

I understand that it wasn’t the best way to clean it off, but to be honest it was a spit decision on my part and just decided to do it that way. Of course there’s many easier ways to rinse off the substrate, like how you mentioned.

[@AquaStevae]

Repotting with soil is ten times more messy than leca or pon. So don't know what you're doing wrong to still be so messy, but one of the things I like the best about leca or pon is how LESS MESSY they are compared to soil. Spill leca or pon, and just pick it up. Soil, not so much... Lastly, it's a mistake to not rinse the pon BEFORE putting the plants into it. The dust of the pon can suffocate the roots of the plants. So if you want to give plants the best chances, you do have to rinse the pon or leca BEFORE you add the plants.

[@BotanicalBrunette]

First off, Hi Stev and thanks for watching my video. Secondly, you don’t need to be THAT aggressive to get your point across. Thirdly, I don’t disagree with you. I should of been more clear in my video about rinsing off the pon. My pon mix that I use isn’t true ‘lechuza’ pon and does carry more particles than the true stuff. Yes, you should rinse off the “pon” I use. The normal lechuza pon doesn’t need to be rinsed. And lastly, clearly you’ve never accidentally knocked over a bag of leca. I’d rather have a substrate be contained where I spill it, then have leca balls fly all over my house.

[@AquaStevae]

@@BotanicalBrunette I wasn't being aggressive, but your generation thinks looking at someone is aggressive, so I understand. But it was not intended to be aggressive, just a different pov. And I've definitely spilled a few leca balls in my time, and never found it as taxing to pick those up, as cleaning up spilt soil. Not even remotely as difficult or time consuming. And then there's the added fun of spilling soil on carpet or a nice rug, which stains... Cheers!

[@momsterzz]

Those fake nails are very distracting and you wave them around a lot😅