Most plants transition from soil to hydroponics without incident. But for some . . . well, it's not so easy.
Why?
Converting soil plants to hydroponics means forcing the plant to convert it's soil roots to water (hydroponic) roots. This can be a challenge for some plants.
Plants that struggle with the transition to hydroponics:
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Unfortunately, many of these plants never completely recover from the shock of transplanting.
No worries - we have a solution!
It's called "terraponics".
"Terra" means soil. With "terraponics", plants are transferred to a hydroponic system without removing the soil from their roots.
Originally designed in Euorpe for outdoor planters, terraponics is becoming increasingly popular with many indoor plants.
With terraponic growing, the entire root ball (soil included) is packed into a bed of hydroponic pebbles, leaving the plant’s roots undisturbed.
This eliminates the stress many plants experience when soil is removed from their roots.
Notice how LECA pebbles surround the root ball on all sides in the illustration on the right. These pebbles wick moisture up to the plant's root ball from the reservoir at the bottom of the planter while new (stronger) water roots grow out into the pebbles.
Eventually these new water roots replace the old soil roots - and then your plant will start enjoying all advantages of hydroponic growing!
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