All great comments and ideas. Thank you.

I believe I will use the leca mostly for rooting, then once a decent root system is established, transfer over to my special super duper secret chunky soil mix - orchid bark with a hefty does of additional pearlite added. I may just be a traditionalist, but somehow I think growing them in a soil mix, the way nature intended, is just better. That is of course just an opinion with no hard facts behind it. Giving regular fertilizer, whether or not in soil or leca I think is the key. Leca would be easier to gauge the moisture (since they're always moist) but I seem to be doing ok with soil too.

One thing I have seen through this discussion, as well as on youtube or other garden sites, is the quality of the fertilizer. I had been using miracle grow orchid fertilizer, which I mis with water (it's a powder) or epiphyte's delight, also a powder to be mixed with water. Both supposedly contain all the trace elements needed.

At the moment, as I write this, I'm looking outside and seeing 15+ inches of snow! I've shoveled three times already and we're expecting this to last till this evening with another 4-5 inches! Oh for some warmer weather when I can start to order plants and being propagating and growing them out.

Come on spring!....

Snow here, too. Came up a bit over my boots when I trudged out to our shed, so 15+ inches for us as well. Not snowing now, though.

Looking forward to this discussion!

I have been doing LECA for a few months and it has been mostly positive.

IF the LECA is being re-used I would sterilize it. The guy at hydro store assured me that (for hydro) I should not even re-use it, there was no way to clean it enough.

All of the plants I have used had totally clean roots- no soil- as they were rooted in water first, or just straight into saturated LECA

I have 2 plants that got white stuff on the LECA surface, I really can’t tell if it is fungi or minerals, my guess is fungi. I treated with hydrogen peroxide, then alcohol, which was kind of helpful.

I use RO water and diluted peters 25-5-15, but it has no calcium, so I need to switch. I am just going with a 3 week top up schedule, then flush the 4th week. I imagine you could monitor the tds/ec increase to figure out when to flush.

I have grow many plants in lecca. The white stuff is not a fungi but salt build up. You will need to rinse the plant in running water. Usually this is done when you need to add more water to the Reservoir.

Abutilon

Acalypha

Aglaonema

Alternanthera, Purple

Begonia cane

Begonia rex

Chlorophytum

Coleus

Colocasia

Ctenanthe

Epipremnum (Marble queen, etc)

Fuchsia

Hibiscus

Hoya Krimson

Hypoestes

Monstera

Nephrolepis "Fluffy Ruffles"

Pandorea

Pepperomia

P. micans

Pilea cauderi

Sanseveria/Dracena

Scindapsus

Spathiphyllum

Strobilanthes

Syngonium

todo: Schlumbergera

I expected the ones with fatter roots to do well: Monstera, pothos, aglaonema, etc.

Have not 'repotted' any of the ones with fine roots, yet. That seems problematic.

The fern loves the consistent moisture - no brown leaflets, whereas all the plants in soil have some browning.

Aglaonema rooted well in LECA, whereas soil and spag methods were less successful.

Scindapsus - no leaf curl, whereas soil plants often curl

A little hesitant about the Chlorophytum, because of the root system. This one is in a closed pot system and I generally have no idea where the water level is. Still, it hasn't complained.

The hoya definitely does better in LECA, and after 6 months the roots are at the bottom of pot and I think I will stop keeping water in the cachepot and just treat it like it's in soil - keep the LECA moist but not sitting in water.

Other plants like Scindapsus and pothos have also grown out of the pot and into the reservoir, but don't seem to be getting any root rot, so they will continue asis.

I am not sure how the Begonias feel about LECA. I rooted a rex in LECA and it just grows very slow, as do the canes.

P. micans grows well in water and spagh, but the one I put in LECA got white stuff on it, and the plant is not doing well.

This discussion has turned out to be very informative. There is a lot to be learned here from listening to everyone's experiences. Thank you all and let's keep 'em coming.

i never thought to put the micans in leca - I have that one and cebu blue. tomorrow they'll get snipped and placed in leca - whoopee! Something to do other than shoveling snow!

Keep me posted on the micans and cebu blue experiment. I'm planning a few new propagations and was thinking of trying leca: monstera siltepecana, jade satin scindapsus, and monstera karstenianum sp. Peru. I want to propagate them all but really don't want to lose the props.

OK - here's a picture of the current propagation box.

It consists of 2 hoya Krimson Queen cuttings, the saddest looking Lineras cuttings you've ever seen (I can never get these guys to grow. They're in a soil mix because it was before I obtained the LECA. Next time I'll try LECA), a couple of Micans, one or two Cebu Blue's and a Scandapsis, plus one sad little lacanosa leaf and a struggling Publicalix. I have no idea what will survive. Hopefully they all will. So there's all of my 20 minutes of activity today!

The LECA I purchased is the "small" sized ones. Definitely a mistake. They range in size from under pea size to marble sized. Next time I will purchase the large size (all marbles. I need them anyway since I seem to have lost most of mine during life's journey!)since they fill out better and create more air spaces rather than packing in like the little guys do.

I will keep everyone informed.

This is great! I just ordered some Leca and am going to experiment with a couple cuttings. Good luck Bill. Keep us posted. 😊

This is the hoya that has been in leca the longest. It was a carnosa that I purchased in a 6" pot at one time very early in my hoya lifestyle (for lack of better word). It had problems right away, including a terrible infestation of mealy bug. I tried so many things to get rid of them. It kept withering away. Eventually I salvaged what was left of it and put it in leca thinking that would be easier to manage the mealies. Believe it or not, they persisted. But the hoya seemed happy in leca so I have left it there. At the time, I had been watching a bunch of youtube videos of people drilling holes into glass to allow for flushing. But drilling in glass is far too scary for me. So I settled on melting holes into plastic using my wood burning tool. I melted four holes around the perimiter about an inch from the bottom of this Talenti Gelato jar. I use the lid kind of like a coaster in the event that some water dribbles out.

I confess that I neglect this plant quite a bit. It gets very dry before I remember to water it. When I do, I water in the sink and run the water over the leca and let it come out the little holes for a few minutes.

A Gelato jar huh? Hmmm - I love galato - What a win win situation - I buy tons of gelato, eat it all up, then use the jars for leca and hoya growing - what's not to like!

What a terrible combination - LECA, time, yucky weather and some plants! Now I need a larger propagation box - guess I'm off to the dollar store again!

The cuttings I've placed in the box, in leca and high humidity and light, are rooting virtually over night. The growth on two of the hoyas I transferred to leca is literally visible. Today I took a snip of a lacanosa, put it into the remaining leca I had on hand (I now need to order more) and placed it in the prop box literally on top of other cups. I can see this becoming an obsession!

So - off to Amazon to order more leca and this time some small net pots too- what size pots do you recommend for starters? Three inchers? Soon as the warmer weather arrives I'll purchase a different variety of hoyas, grow them out in leca, and hopefully begin to share with others.

Initially I was opposed to leca, being a traditionalist, but it's certainly proven it's worth, well, that and the extremely high humidity. A great combination for all the plants I own.

Thoughts or experiences you've had?

Later....

I'm glad you like my gelato jar idea, Bill! Those gelato jars are so great for all kinds of things. And congratulations on your root success! We can all learn from you!

For "net" pots, I like the the 3" little clear orchid pots because they fit nicely into a lot of plastic containers (I happen to use the small Noosa yogurt cups). I buy them from RePotme but I'm sure you can find them cheaper.

https://www.repotme.com/collections/slotted-orchid-pot/products/slotted-orchid-pot-3inch-clear

I've also purchased the black net pots but I don't like them as much as the clear pots.

I also bought some of these types that have a larger lip around the rim which makes them sit/hang in other pots nicely. But if I buy again, I will only buy the small ones. I have really no use for the very large ones.

If you have a hydroponic grow store near you, you must go! They have netpots and leca for the same price usually as Amazon and you'd be supporting local business plus you can see before you buy. I am sure there must be a hydroponic grow store near you. Check out htgsupply.com to see if there is a location near you. On Tuesdays they give away free brewed Stump Tea which is like liquid gold!

I cut all the roots off a Kerri and it completely rerooted in a month, with the provision of extra humidity. Heuschkeliana has also taken off, despite it having fine roots transferred from soil. Currently playing around with a wick in a reservoir and trying to covert plants from soil to water then leca.

I found ph balancing nutrient water to be a bit irritating and rearranging plants after checking for root rot early in the transition can also be annoying. But the substantial decrease in the gnat population and potential recyclability if the leca are pros for me.

Popmama - I checked out the website you supplied (nothing else to do this morning as it is snowing again!) and they have a variety of sizes. You've found the 3" to be better then the 4 inch size? For some reason I keep thinking the 3" would fill up quickly with roots, whereas the slightly larger size would buy a little more time as well as give the plant more room to expand. Never trying any combination, I just don't know. What do you recommend and why? I know you said the three inchers fit into a cache pot better, but is there any other reason you'd go with the smaller size?

Thanks...

Bill, I think my preference with the 3" is twofold: it fits nicely into my yogurt containers and I can fit more of them in my grow light space. The one thing that is kind of a pain with orchid pots or netpots is that when the roots grow beyond the pot, and you try to remove the plant, you may lose some roots in that process.

Thanks popmama. I have to travel to the VA clinic in philly this Thursday (I hate the trip and hate the clinic but the VA has closed my local one down for now. Damn....) and on the way back I was going to visit a hydroponics store. It's about 40 minutes of a diversion, but it'll give me a chance to talk to people and check out the leca and net pots etc. The previous leca I purchased is various sizes and I would prefer a more uniform variety. Is there a brand you recommend? I can also play touchy feely with the pots to get size comparisons. I need to see and touch things as opposed to trying to visualize them. It gives me a better perspective. One thing I am concerned about is the rapid root growth in Leca as I can see the plants quickly overwhelming a pot. Your thoughts on this?

Thanks and stay well....

Popmama, those are perfect!

Not having a dollar store handy, I turned to Amazon.... voila!

https://smile.amazon.com/Reusable-Fruit-Veggie-Storage-Container/dp/B08FGF6FDK/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=cooking%2Bconcepts%2Bplastic%2Bfruit%2Bbasket%2Bcontainer&qid=1613569462&sr=8-10&th=1

Probably pricier than the dollar store. oh well.

Popmama - you're a genius! Unfortunately I just purchased some net pots and leca through amazon (I couldn't get to the hydroponics store due to the heavy snowfall and wanted to get right home after my second shot). Now I see this idea. Can you hear my head slap?!! I would have never thought of looking in a dollar store, and we have a new one that just opened up less than a mile away too.

That idea seems perfect. Please let us know how it's working out for you. I also like the green as it compliments the plants too.

SLD, yes those are the exact same ones! I guess I am lucky I found them for only $1. The slits on the side are a little big near the bottom which could allow some leca escape if the leca is smaller sized. I know one bag of leca I got had kind of assorted size balls. The hydroton brand seems to be more uniform so I am hoping they will be large enough not to escape. If they are, then I'll need to improvise something else to keep them in.

Don't worry Bill. I am sure your netpots will be worthwhile. Although the dollar store is a great place to find planty things. So is the restaurant supply store! You just have to use your imagination.

For anyone interested, I also discovered these very large ziploc-style bags. They are in the closet organization section and are vacuum bags meant for storing sweaters and such. Well, they make the perfect bag for keeping extra humidity around larger plants that won't fit in a typical gallon-sized storage bag.

https://www.dollartree.com/essentials-large-vacuum-storage-bags/164060

I bought a rare philodendron shipped to me from Ecuador to Florida then to Colorado. It is having a hard time acclimating. So I now have it in one of these bags. I misted inside the bag and then I blow into the bag to puff it out and also to add some air for the plant. I'll post a picture tomorrow.

Popmama - you are a wealth of great information. Thank you.

I really enjoy the discussion and pictures on this forum. I've only been on here a short while now, but already I've learned a lot from the back and forth dialogs. Thanks everyone.

When I got up this morning and looked out the window, yep - it was snowing again. It's snowing at 2 - 3 inches an hour now and the prediction is for anywhere from 6 to 9 inches. I looked at that, and couldn't help thinking about those poor people in Texas. No electric or heat for days, and unfortunately no relief in sight either. All the Don Quixote windmills have stopped spinning and they accounted for a large (maybe 20+%) portion of the power grid. I won't discuss the pros or cons of this energy, but rather the hardships these people are going through.

I was thinking about all the plants which are going to freeze. It saddens me knowing some people have collections probably going back for years, and this freak storm will wipe them out in a week. The other ramification is going to be plant availability and pricing come spring, when everyone is going to try to reestablish their collections. Think getting hoyas is difficult now? Wait a while.

So - while we're all socked in due to the weather, just remember there are others in more dire straits than we are. Who knows, maybe as spring rolls around, if we have cuttings we can spare, and some from the frozen states need help, hopefully we'll be in a position do help them get some plant joy back in their lives.

Stay well everyone, and keep propagating those cuttings!

Very good point, Bill. I have seen some pictures already posted on Reddit of people talking about how they have lost their plants due to the cold. That is a sad situation for the plant people in the South. I've seen people already generously offering to send cuttings once conditions improve.

A few years back, we suffered a horrible hail storm here in Colorado. It was devastating to almost everyone with outdoor gardens because it hit right as leaves were really getting their growth on. My hosta collection was fully leafed out when it hit and the next day my yard looked like it had been through a salad-shooter. I posted here on Gardenweb in the Hosta forum asking for any advice for how to treat my poor babies. I got a lot of good advice. But the most surprising thing was a forum member who I only knew from his posts offered to send me some hostas in the mail. He sent me four mini variety hostas which have since become my favorite and true hosta obsession. The kindness and generosity of plant lovers is strong. We can support these people in the south! I believe we can.

Now...onto the picture of my humidity bag! I am only seeing a few droplets of water so I think I may need to add something to the bag to increase the humidity. I was thinking about maybe putting some sphagnum moss in the bottom or even a dampened sponge. But the $1 bag is a great thing. Giant ziploc baggie housing my somewhat struggling philodendron sodiroi.

Popmama - I know how you and these people feel. I lost a greenhouse full of orchids once when my auto switch valve between propane cylinders failed to auto switch, and of course it was during a storm which precluded the backup electric heaters from maintaining even a semblance of warmth. Most of the plants turned to mush. Some did recover after several months, but only a very small percentage. So yes, maybe when the warmer temps arrive and they are starting to get their lives back in order, we can do something to help.

As far as the humidity in the bag, I wouldn't recommend a sponge as it's a medium for mold to grow. What I have done in the past is to use sphagnum moss in a plastic container filled with water. The moss allows the moisture to escape at a fairly constant rate and doesn't encourage mold. Plus since it's in it's own little tote bin, it's contained and easy to clean up. Just my two cents.

Oh - and btw - it's snowing again (or is that still!). Aughhhh....

Great idea, Bill. I can put some moss in a little container inside the bag. Thank you so much! I'm going to add that tomorrow.

A short follow up. Last month, I placed a cutting of carnosa in leca. At the same time, I placed a cutting, from the same vine, in a chunky soil mix. Both were placed in a prop box, with bottom heat, and watered and looked after each day. Well today it's time to report.

The cutting in leca has a new vine starting with two small leaves beginning. It also has a very extensive root system. The cutting placed in the chunky soil looks like the day I placed it in the box. It does have some roots, but no where near the amount the ones in leca have. It has also not started to vine either.

The results from this little experiment prove to me that the leca is far superior in rooting cuttings. Tomorrow I will be transferring the soil cutting into leca as well. Now the question is - do I continue to grow them in leca, or once growing vigorously, transfer into a chunky soil mix (with some leca balls still attached of course). What say ye?

A question for all you lecahololics out there. This morning I transitioned my carnosa cutting from it's soil mix into leca. I was an absolute bear in getting all the roots removed from the pine bark. In fact, I was only successful in removing a tiny percentage as most had grown through the pine bark chunks. I found myself destroying a number of the roots, so decided to stop and just plop the entire thing into leca, pine chunks and all.

Have any of you done this? Transitioned from soil into leca and did you leave a lot of the pine bark or whatever substrait the roots were growing into, on the plant while just popping it into leca? What was the long term result? Will it just rot away and other roots take it's place? I'm curious since it's another experiment I guess. Thanks....

Congratulations on your experiment, Bill! I have had good success with leca. However, I will warn you that once in a while it just doesn't work. I got pretty confident with my leca propagation method and then was disappointed a few times when some cuttings developed nothing. At that point, it's just time to try something else. I guess flexibility and a willingness to experiment being the most important qualities!

I have only transitioned two plants from soil to leca, so I'm not an expert there. But all the videos I watched seemed to recommend getting all the soil off the roots even if you have to cut the roots. The roots will grow back. But organic matter can cause problems. Feel free to prove me wrong. But this is what I have seen on the many youtube videos I ingested about leca.

Popmama - I agree with you in that a lot of the videos say to remove everything from the roots prior to transitioning, but I just didn't have the courage (strange thing to say from a former Green Beret) to cut the bulk of the roots from a plant that was just becoming established. What I will do, once and if it decides to vine out, is to again remove it from the leca and then remove whatever organic material remains, even if I need to trim the roots. The thought here being that other roots would have had time to grow and establish themselves and can take over for those that were removed.

Whatever the case, it's an experiment. If it works I'll have another Krimson Queen and if not I'll have mush. We shall see....

I suspect that it will probably be fine, Bill. Sometimes I feel like people over-think these things. Keep me posted!

We are all brave and timid in our own ways!

Congrats Bill. I am also experimenting with leca. I took a couple cuttings from my Krimson Princess and put a couple in leca, a couple is perlite, a couple in water and a couple in soil. So far only the soil one seems to have rooted. Nothing with the others. I did not put in a prop box. Maybe I should try that?

Tika, great experiment. Please keep us informed as to their progress.

I have mine in a prop box with bottom heat, but if you've started all these under the same conditions I wouldn't change anything now.

Hmmm? 🤔 Maybe another experiment? 😁

Aaaaaaargh Bill, more slippery slope, had been thinking about Leca and then found this thread!
Have got some gracilis cuttings to take from an unhappy recently purchased plant which had started to rot at the base..... was going to try neat perlite..... any ideas please?

After lots of reading and research, even speaking to Doug Chamberlain from Vermont hoyas, I've decided to go with a chunky mix (orchid bark and lots of Pearlite) in a net pot, then that placed in a cache pot. Consensus is that's the best combination for long term growth.

Another update - On Feb 16th I took a small clipping of nummularioides (I wish these names were easier to spell!) that had small roots maybe 3/4 to 1" in length, and moved it from soil that I was trying to grow it in, into leca, in a prop box with bottom heat. Today being warmer out, I removed several plants and brought them outside to spray with neem oil. I decided to check on the nummularioides to see how it's roots were doing. I removed it from the leca and the entire 4" net pot it was in was filled with roots! Numerous were in the water reservoir as well. I removed it from the leca and repotted it in a chunky orchid bark mix, again in a net pot. This will be it's forever home now for at least the next year or so.

I have to admit, rooting in leca appears way faster than in soil. That being said, after a lot of research, I think the plants would be happier, after their roots are established, being in a soil mix instead as it would more closely resemble their native habitat.

Do any of you have any similar experience going this path?

I know people that do both, Bill. Root in leca, grow in leca. Root in leca, grow in soil. I honestly think it's just a matter of preference and comfort with the media and upkeep. Ultimately I still prefer soil or bark mix like you mentioned. Something about the dirt makes me happy. So I tend to convert rooted props to soil.

The ones I currently have actively growing in leca that I am afraid to convert to soil are: retusa and linearis. They are happy in leca so I'm afraid to put them into soil and have them be unhappy! Plus that one carnosa I've had growing in leca the longest.

I hear you popmama. My linearis gives me fits. Last year a purchased a cutting. The seller sent me about a 4 or 5" cutting. I foolishly chopped it up into sections containing two leaves and a node, then tried to propogate it. Most of the sections died but two of them, just two tiny leaves each, haven't yet and are sitting in soil in a prop box. I'm hoping these two will root, but expecting the worst. We shall see.

Best of luck with yours.

how bout a Pic? :-))

I tried that same thing with Linearis. I got two cuttings. One, I chopped up into single nodes and stuck several into pots of moist soil and kept them in a prop box. I waited months and nothing ever happened.

The other cutting I put in leca. It has grown glorious roots and it actually has grown new leaves from the base.

There is a separate single node cutting on the left that I ended up being able to save from my failed single-node-into-soil experiment. I can tell by how plump it is that it is rooted as well and it's starting to grow a new set of leaves also.

Sorry if my pictures stink! I was in a hurry.

Your pictures are fine.

The "leaves", if I can even call them that, can't be more 1/2" long, but they haven't died yet so maybe there's still hope.

They are sad looking though! 🤣

The pictures are great as Bill states..... amazing roots on the linearis......
I haven't tried that one yet.... mustn't try to run before I can walk......as you all know by now I have a lot of learning to do.
Your reports on Leca are tempting me....

After my failure in soil, I did put all the single-node cuttings into leca hoping they may survive. But they all have the consistency of bendy pine needles. I don't know if they will survive or not. It may have been too late. I have a friend who has a really impressive linearis. She was the one who gave me these cuttings.

Oh I also saw this cool thing recently with growing linearis inverted.

https://www.reddit.com/r/houseplants/comments/kmh1fn/hoya_linearis_in_a_3_terracota_pot/

I am very tempted to try this if I can get another one rooted.

Popmama, some people grow tomatoes that way too. I would think it would be natural for a linearis.

Hopefully since my leaves haven't died, maybe some day they'll send up another pair of leaves. They are taking forever though.

I have a question for those of you much more experienced than me in growing hoyas. I recently transitioned to net pots with a chunky orchid mix. I root in leca, but once I see a decent root system has established itself, I then move the plants to a net pot containing the orchid mix, and place that inside a cache pot. The questions is, now that it's an orchid mix, do I still maintain a little reservoir in the cache pot, or water the plant, then let it drip out before replacing back in the cache pot? I can't find anything on the web concerning this approach. Thoughts?

Hello All! I've enjoyed reading your entries on growing in LECA. I traded plants for the first time with someone on reddit some weeks ago and ran out to buy some LECA before right the box arrived. I have a cutting of incrassata that's starting to root, but burtoniae did not seem to be having a good time in the LECA, so I've moved it to perlite and hoping for the best, no roots yet. I'm really hoping they take, because they were lovely cuttings, two of which have peduncles and I would be very sad to lose them. I've rinsed and soaked the LECA in very, very diluted rooting solution before applying cuttings.

Bill, I like the idea of a bark/perlite mix for repotting the ones that like it really dry and airy. I would think you won't want to keep a reservoir because it would encourage the bark to decompose quicker (or so I learned from the orchid folks), but I've never tried it, so hopefully someone else pipes in.

It's not AS difficult as it seems. I've found a video here that is helpful

https://youtu.be/R4ZkI8zF3Dc

I have several that I've been growing for many years in leca. I don't think that flushing them is quite as crucial as some people think. I have one that's only probably been flushed twice in 5 years and it grows and flowers reliably, even though it's just in a little coffee mug. My lobbii is massive, flowers off and on all year, and that one grows in leca as well...

Denise in Omaha

I love LECA! It has saved many of my plants, rooted many, and keeps many happy. I use Dyna Gro Foliage Pro (https://amzn.to/3iOubK2) as it is a SUPER easy 1 step fertilizer that has everything your houseplant needs. I have a large plant collection and have everything that people tell you not to put in leca (bc they don't like too much water) like succulents, snake plants, aloes, hoyas, and they're ALL flourishing! Check me out on Youtube or pls feel free to post/ask any questions! :)

Interesting regarding Leca, I have had ok rooting but not as successful as neat perlite in a prop box with bottom heat.....
All of my linearis rooted, most quickly but all in the end and have now been transferred into a chunky orchid mix with perlite and grit in bottom of pot .... They were all single or double node cuttings and best ones now about 8" long and beginning to branch also .... beginners luck by the sound of it!
Burtoniae also rooted quickly in perlite but taken a while to start any new growth.....
Any hints on retusa as my main purchased rooted cutting just slowly withered away, have managed to root 3 single node cuttings from the dying plant but they are still in prop box in perlite. Not sure of how to proceed!?
Best wishes to all us Hoya nuts!!
Keep safe.

Hi Colin, I find Hoyas LOVE leca! As soon as they get their water roots they grow like crazy (even known "slow growers" like Hindu Ropes).