Have you ever had problems watering your plants? Most plant owners have killed several plants by overwatering before learning what overwatering is and why their plants are dying. Luckily, there is a “cure” for overwatering your plants, and that cure is called expanded clay for plants. What properties does it have and how it is useful for your plants, read on!
What exactly is expanded clay?
Essentially, expanded clay is similar to soil in which you can grow your plants. Simply put, it's a collection of fired clay balls that expand when submerged in water. The water that has been absorbed into the clay balls can be used to water plants.
However, unlike soil, expanded clay is just a collection of clay balls and contains no nutrients. They simply soak up a little water and expand. Your plant still needs nutrients, which you must add to the water.
At this point you may be asking yourself: Why should you even do this?Growing your plantsuse? This growing medium cannot feed my plants by itself, why should I use it? Expanded clay can't feed your plants for you, but it brings a ton of fantastic benefits that make it a great growing medium for many different plants and plant owners at every level!
Why is expanded clay useful for plants?
These are the biggest benefits of using expanded clay for plants:
It's easier to water your plants.If you alreadyonce about plantsIf you have cared for soil, you will know that some plants are easy to overwater. You can overwater your plants when the soil is wet and the roots are in the soggy soil. This will quickly develop root rot, which will most likely kill your plant.
To avoid overwatering your plants in the soil, you need to pay close attention to how dry/moist the soil is. This is not the case at all with expanded clay, which is why it is much easier to water the plants properly. When using expanded clay, watering is much easier because you only water when the water in the pot has been used up. If all the water is gone from the bottom of the pot, the plant has absorbed it all or the clay balls have absorbed the water.
Even if the clay balls are still filled with water, watering them will not result in overwatering the plant.Your plant willnot overwatered as it absorbs moisture as needed. If you were to grow your plant in soil and add more water when the soil is still soggy, you could kill the plant by overwatering.
Furthermore, isthe risk of root rot is lower,because the expanded clay leaves lots of air spaces between the clay balls. This allows the roots of your plants to come into better contact with the oxygen they need. A very common cause of root rot is a lack of oxygen to the roots of your plants. With expanded clay, this problem is solved and worries about root rot are a thing of the past.
The risk of pest infestation is reduced.The expanded clay allows the plant to absorb moisture when it needs it and this helps prevent overwatering. Since it is very difficult to overwater the plants in this case, the risk of root rot is low. And one of the worst side effects of root rot is that it attracts bugs and pests. Fortunately, if you can avoid root rot entirely, the risk of one or more plants being attacked by pests is also reduced.
How does the substrate work?
The most important thing when growing plants in expanded clay is that the roots must not be in (stagnant) water. Using the substrate allows you to create raised or false soil and raise your plant's roots from the bottom of the pot. Then you can fill in the water until it is just below theroots of the plantstands. The clay balls soak up the water at the bottom of the pot, while the roots are kept away from the water and absorb the moisture from the clay balls. You need to add nutrients to watering yourself.
How to use expanded clay as a growing medium
- Soak your clay balls in a bowl for 12-14 hours so they fully absorb the water.
- Select the plant you want.
- Find a glass nursery pot.
- Fill the pot halfway with expanded clay and then place the plant in the center.
- Hold the plant in place and pour more clay balls around the sides and top to secure the plant.
- Then you can add water until it is just below the roots of the plants. The clay balls absorb the water, and the plant's roots slowly drink the water out of them when they need it.
Selection of plants for cultivation in clay granules
If you want to use expanded clay for plants, you should firstSelect houseplantswho are not too picky. Choose a plant that:
- tends to dry out between waterings
- can quickly form a large root system
- likes oxygen-rich soil
- does not rely heavily on the soil for nutrients
Some good options are:
- Orchids
- Pothos
- Philodendrons
- Monsters
- Hoyas
- Pileas
