What are SoilFree Plants?
Soil Free Plants, also known as Hydroculture Plants, refers to plants being rooted in expanded clay pebbles known as LECA (Light Weight Expanded Clay Aggregate), not soil. The clay pebbles provides an ideal balance between air, water, and nutrients, creating optimal growing conditions for the plant.
Conventional planting with potting soil, a 70% peat based product, is only the ideal medium for professional greenhouse growers to use in a control environment where light, humidity, temperature, water, and fertilizer are closely regulated. This method, however, becomes flawed when a consumer brings this potted plant home, and strays from the regimented schedule the grower has followed. Hydroculture provides you with a fool-proof system, which maintains the plant’s health as well as extending the plant’s shelf life.
The hydroculture system is beneficial to the plant and the consumer. Given the busy lifestyle of Americans today, hydroculture offers very low maintenance plant care. The guesswork is taken out of watering, fertilizing and repotting. On average, depending upon the plant container, hydroculture plants only need to be watered only once every one to four weeks and they seldom need to be repotted.
Components of a Hydroculture Plant
Hydroculture plants are grown in clay pebbles known as LECA (Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate) and the bottom portion of their roots grow in water. The main advantages of this proven growing method are longer cycles between watering, longer plant lifespan, and ease of maintenance. Our hydroculture growing method ensures sturdy, durable and healthy plants for years to come. Below is a diagram of the components that make up the hydroculture growing method: