Who needs dirt? Not your houseplants, at least not all of them. Many can be cultivated using a technique called Hydroculture, where soil is replaced with water and a liquid fertilizer, and a clay aggregate is used to support the plant's roots. For people who travel a lot, or for those of us who tend to over or under water our houseplants, Hydroculture may be a good solution.
Plants are grown in containers filled with water and liquid fertilizer. The plants take in nutrients from a water solution through their "water" roots. After continuously being submerged in water, they have adapted by developing a greater capacity to store oxygen. Once the hydroculture system has been set up, a float in the reservoir indicates when it's time to add more solution.
Reduces pests and disease. No soil means no more soil born pests, including those creepy little potting soil gnats. You can also say goodbye to mold spores and mildew-a boon for those who suffer from allergies.
Lower maintenance. Hydroculture is cleaner and easier to maintain. By eliminating dirt, you eliminate must odors and messy spills. You'll need to water less often, transplant less often, and worry less about leaving your plants unattended while on vacation.
I've tried many times to get cuttings to sprout in water. They just get slimy. What can I do to have some luck?
You need to change the water daily. Once roots come, you should use rooting hormone and pot it up.
A lot of cuttings don't need to be started in water. Things like wandering jew and baby (or mouse-ear) jew can be stuck in the dirt and will grow just fine. I have purple jew ground-cover growing outside that I started from one cutting over 5 years ago, and it freezes and comes back every year.
I will start ivy in water, but like Judy says, water should be changed every day. I've found that sweet potato vines will grow if I just stick them in the dirt, either outside or in a pot. I even found a small sweet potato growing in a pot in my kitchen a few weeks ago. We used to put sweet potatoes in water to make a plant, but now if a sweet potato sprouts, I'll cut off the sprouts and put them in dirt.
What kind of plants are you starting?
I start spider plants in water. They stay in it for a few days until the roots sprout and then go into dirt that gets watered daily. This short time the water does not get slimy.
Kalanchoes on the other hand, I root directly into dirt and water them daily. They don't seem to root well for me in water.
African violets get set up in a special water rooting method with saran wrap and water changed every couple of days until they root.
Philodendren and pothos can be rooted either way.
The trick when using water rooting is, when you change the water, to wipe out the container and dry it before adding the fresh water. The only time I get slime is when I don't do this.
Happy rooting!
If you are trying to root cuttings in water the process isn't that necessary now. You can use some florist foam to put the cutting in. You will cut a small square of the foam and inset the cuttings in the foam. Now you just sit this in a small dish with some water in the dish.
I have a couple of plants in vases, but the water seems to start smelling bad after a few weeks. What can I do or what should I put in the water to prevent this from happening?
I have been growing plants in bottled water for over fifty years. Recently we installed a whole house water filter and I now have a rim of scum (?) on the top edge of the water and on the container.
The containers are cleaned thoroughly and the water is changed every month and it does not matter the size of the container or the type of plant.
Some lily bulbs can successfully be grown in a water and stone filled vase. However, if the vase is clear the water may also support algae growth. After cleaning the rocks replant in an opaque or wrapped vase. This is a page about removing algae from water in which an oriental lily bulb is growing .
I need to know what steps to take when changing the water that my ivy roots live in? Can I just dump out the old water and put fresh water in the vase my ivy lives in without killing it.
Yes, you can. It's best to use water that has been drawn for about 24 hours. That time gives the chlorine in the water a chance to dissipate.
My Ivy does best doing a dump of about 80% of the water and refilling it with bottled spring water
I've had my indoor ivy plant, which I have grown in water, for a couple of years now without a problem. I trim the roots when they get too long and clean off any algae that may arise from the sunlight.
A couple of days ago I did the same and noticed this thick black "scab" all over the stems. Now my leaves are all turning yellow. Anyone, any ideas on how to solve this issue?
By Franceska Marie McCaughan O.
I think that is a philodendron or a pothos, not an ivy. Usually, they go yellow when they are not getting enough of something: water, light, nutrients. Since you have been growing them in water for so long, have you been adding any plant food to the water? I don't know anything about the black scab but maybe someone else will have some other ideas. Good luck.
I began growing plants in water when I was trying to root a plant cutting that I had. I loved being able to see the roots as they grew so I decided to leave the cutting in water instead of planting it. I found an old Erlenmeyer flask at Goodwill and transferred it to the flask.
I would like to have a vase on my desk with a plant in water. Which plants will grow this way?
By RL from Basking Ridge, NJ
Pothos will do well in water with good filtered light. Google the image, it's a common plant.
Any of the philodendrons will root and grow in water, ivies will as well.
For some foliage colour (if you get a fair amount of sun at that spot) you can try some of the spiderworts, like 'wandering Jew' or 'Moses in the bulrushes'-use the word Tradescantia in your search engine to find images. These do have some flowering but I've never seen them flower whilst in water as the only growing medium.
Be advised most plants like these will develop brittle roots and eventually die; even water lilies want some soil to thrive and flower.
