Knowing what to expect before you start transplanting will help guide you through the process.
Tips for nurturing new transplants during the transition from soil to hydroponics are below.
Plant
Type (Common Name) |
Plant
Type (Scientific Name) |
Difficulty Rating |
Comments |
Aluminum Plant | Pilea cadierei | Might Need Coaxing | |
Chinese Evergreen (all types) | Alglaonema
Jubilee Alglaonema Midnight Alglaonema Silver Bay Alglaonema Maria Alglaonema White Rain |
Easy | |
Corn Plants | Dracaena
Janet Craig Dracaena Neon Dracaena Warnecki |
Easy | |
Crown of Thorns | Euphorbia Milii | Easy | |
Emerald Ripple Peperomia | Pilea caperata | Easy | |
Hawiian Schefflera | Arboricola green and variegated | Easy | |
Mother-in-Laws Tongue | Sansaveria Laurenti | Easy | |
Nerve Plant | Fittonia | Might Need Coaxing | |
Peace Lily | Spathiphyllum | Easy | |
Parlor Palm | Chamadorea elegans | Easy | |
Ponytail Palm | Beaucarnea recurvata | Easy | |
Song of India |
Pleomele Song of India | Might Need Coaxing | |
Rubber Tree |
Ficus Decora | Easy | |
Weeping Fig | Ficus Benjamina Ficus Midnight Ficue Wintergreen |
Might Need Coaxing |
Plant
Type (Common Name) |
Plant
Type (Scientific Name) |
Difficulty Rating |
Comments |
Dumb Cane | Dieffenbachia | Easy | |
Cast Iron Plant | Aspidistria elatior | Easy | |
Corn Plants | Dracaena
Janet Craig Dracaena Neon Dracaena Warnecki |
Easy | |
Elephant Ears | Philodendron Selloum | Easy | |
|
|||
Palms - Areca Palm Bamboo Plam Kentia Palm Parlor Palm Triangle Palm |
Chamadorea siefrzii Chamadorea elegans Howea fosteriana |
Might Need Coaxing - Can be Difficult | |
Rubber Tree Rubber Tree - variegated |
(Ficus Decora) (Ficus Decora var.) |
Easy | |
Philodendron Monstera | Easy | ||
Umbrella Plant | Schefflera Amate | Might Need Coaxing | |
Weeping Fig - (Ficus Benjamina) (Ficus Neon) (Ficus Starlight) |
Might Need Coaxing |
Plant
Type (Common Name) |
Plant
Type (Scientific Name) |
Difficulty Rating |
Comments |
|
Creeping Fig | Ficus repens | Might Need Coaxing | ||
Asparagus Fern | Asparagus densiflorus | Might Need Coaxing | ||
Boston Fern | Difficult | |||
Devils Ivy | Epipremnum aureum | Difficult | ||
Gynura aurantiaca | ||||
Spider Plant | Chlorophytum comosum | Easy | ||
Swedish Ivy | Plectranthus | Difficult | ||
Heartleaf Philodendron | Philodendron | Easy | ||
Velvet Leaf Philodendron | Scindapsis pictus | Easy |
The right growing environment is important for new transplanting while they convert to hydroponics. A good growing environment means gentle warm temperatures at the roots and good humidity at the leaves.
For best results on all your transplants (cuttings too!) take a look at tools for transplanting.
Most plants make the transition without incident. Plants with thin leaves and stems can struggle however. They don't have the ability to store water, so they depend on a constant supply of moisture from the roots. If the roots do not adapt quickly, the plant won't be getting the moisture it needs. It goes into "survival mode" where leaves wilt, dry up and eventually fall off.
Plants that are "Easy Transplants" do not require special care while they make the switch over to hydroponics. Simply follow the watering guidelines in the Transplanting Booklet that's in your Starter Set. You can also see watering guidelines for easy transplants here.
Some plants actually abandon their existing roots and insist on growing new ones. These plants will "Need Coaxing" during the transition because growing new roots takes time.
Follow the watering guidelines for these plants in the Transplanting Booklet or see them here.
Having the right tools for transplanting these plants will increase your success rate for these plants.
Some plants that struggle with the transition to hydroponics and don't recover from the shock of transplanting. For these plants I recommend leaving the soil root ball intact and and planting it (soil included) into a bed of hydroponic pebbles, leaving the plant’s roots undisturbed.
This is called "terraponics".
See the details here.