Everything You Need To Know About The Initial Plant Transition From Soil To LECA

Somewhere... Somehow along the way LECA has become pretty popular in the houseplant community. Although many people that are interested in it are often scared and puzzled, "what in the heck do I do with it?" Fear not! LECA is a whole lot easier than you think. In this blog post I will tell you and show you all that you need to know in order to be successful with your new favorite house plant growing medium.

Although starting with LECA can seem to be pricy at first, once you have the supplies you need in the long run using semi hydroponics is actually more cost effective than your more common bag of potting mix from the big box stores and the other supplies you need as well.

On top of it being more cost effective over time it is also a lot easier to see to the overall health of your plant and keep your house plants thriving and happy with the exact amount of nutrients your plant desires.

First you need to grab a bag of Leca AKA hydroton.

Once you have your bag of Leca / Hydroton it is time to prep it for use:

Prepping LECA for use is pretty simple you just have to make sure that you rinse off the LECA to get rid of any clay debris or clay dust. Don't forget to wash your balls! Once you have them washed and rinsed thoroughly with just water they are ready to be used.

Next you have to figure out what you want to put your house plant in. This is where the cost effective part comes in. You can go to your local thrift store and use virtually any non porous container that can hold water such as glass jars, vases, you can get creative with it! An example of a porous container that would not be the best for LECA would be a terra-cotta pot.

You can also use self watering plant pots like i did in the video above or use net pots aka orchid pots that you can put into a cache pot (any non porous container without holes) or clear glass.

This is the fun part of having your house plants in semi hydro. You Get to choose what you want to put your plants in and they can be extravagant or out of the ordinary and can be customized to fit your own home decor or aesthetic. No more worrying about a limited selection of pots with holes in the bottom!

The Next Step Is transitioning your plant that is currently in soil to LECA.

You want to make sure that you are transitioning a houseplant that is doing ok and that isn't currently struggling. Repotting or transitioning a plant can bring forth shock to your house plant. So if your plant isn't doing so hot or you just brought it home or received it in the mail you want to wait a little bit before transitioning the plant into LECA.

When transitioning a houseplant to LECA you want to first rinse all the soil substrate from the plants roots and take the time to trim off any long or dead roots. You are most likely going to lose most of the existing roots anyway. This is something that I did not know in the beginning when starting out with using LECA. Your plant will be putting out new roots during the transition period of 4 weeks. These roots are most often white and have little fibers similar to roots from water propagation

Now The Process of Transitioning From Soil To LECA ....

Take your plant baby out of the soil, bring it to the sink with a garbage disposal , or if the weather permits outside to the hose. Spray and rinse the roots getting all or most of the soil off of the roots. I like to do this with multiple plants at a time because it really just makes sense, especially if you are planning on transitioning more than one plant at a time anyway. Multi- tasking for the win!

Once you have rinsed the roots this is a great time to prune off any dead materials and set it somewhere to let the roots dry for a few hours.

Next it is time to get your net baskets and your non porous containers ready as well as the water you will be using for transitioning. I like to use day old sink water in recycled vinegar jugs or pretty much any container that I have already around the house. It is best to have a gallon container because it makes adding the super thrive to the water a much easier task. You use super thrive and water for the first 4 weeks of transitioning your plant from soil to LECA. Don't have super thrive? You can usually find it a big box stores or you can click on the link below to order some from Amazon.

This small bottle of super thrive will last for a long time. You only need 1-2 drops per cup of water or 1/4 tsp per gallon. This also has many other uses so let me know in the comment section if you would be interested in a future post about what I use super thrive for.

Now that your plant roots are clear of soil and dry and you have everything you need it is time to place your plant into LECA.

You start by filling your cache pot or net basket up 1/3 of the way full with LECA like you would with repotting a plant in soil. Next you place your plant in and cover the rest of the way up with LECA making sure your plants roots are fully covered.

Now that your plant is safe and secure in its new pot it is time to add your water and super thrive mixture. You want to pour enough to fill your container or cache pot 1/3 of the way up or 1 inch to 1/2 inch high or until the water is touching the 1/3 of the bottom of your net basket if you decide to use one.

The roots are not touching the water. The LECA does all the work for you now. It is a porous material that wicks the water up to the plants roots giving them the water and vitamins it needs to help with the transition.

You want to check on your plant once a day for the next week to make sure that your plant is doing well with the transition. One or two yellowing leaves is nothing to be alarmed about.

THE SHOWER METHOD

If you feel like your plant is struggling I would suggest using the "Shower Method'.

The shower method is when you place your plant under warm not hot or cold running water for 30 - 40 seconds each day or once every 2 days and then place it into an empty cache pot or container for the first two weeks. This method is also used to help get the stubborn soil mixture that you couldn't get off with the initial rinsing of the plants roots.

Some people use the shower method to transition their plants into LECA but I have only used it when my plants have shown signs of struggle or I wasn't able to rinse off all the dirt from the existing roots.

Once you have finished with the shower method you can return your plant into a cache pot with the water and super thrive mix for the rest of the transition period of 4 weeks.

HELPFUL SECRET

To increase root and leaf growth when your plant is transitioning to LECA you should increase the humidity for your plant by either placing it into a ziplock bag, placing it into a covered recovery box or moss prop box still inside its container you planted it in. You can also up your humidity percentage if you have a humidifier and place your plant closer to it.

Looking to invest in a Humidifier? This One Is The Best Out There!

Next Post Will Be Caring For Your House Plants In LECA after the Transition Period.

This has really gotten long for a blog post and I don't want to overload you with a bunch of information.

I am trying to make it simple and easy for you to learn and retain the ways of the LECA. :D

I will go ahead and post a part 2 with all the information you need to know about caring for your plants in LECA after they have gone through the 4 week initial transition period.

Until Next Time Thank You For Your Support and Happy Plant Parenting.

Get Ready For The Next Step and Final Step - Here What You Will Need:

If you have any questions about the transitioning portion of LECA

please comment them below.

Brrr !! It's Cold Outside! Grab A Warm and Cozy Plant Parenthood Hoodie and Think Spring!