Points to Consider When Transferring Soil-Grown Plants to Hydroponics
Today's sharing: Points to consider when transferring soil-grown plants to hydroponics and understanding the methods for transferring from soil to water culture in relation to flower cultivation topics. Below is a detailed introduction for you.
Some flower friends asked me: Why can plants be hydroponically cultivated? In soil, too much water prevents them from breathing, and is there more oxygen in water? Isn't oxygen absorption mainly dependent on the photosynthesis of leaves? Or is it because there are more bacteria in the soil, which easily causes decay?
The above is my hydroponically cultivated phalaenopsis orchid. At first, the roots are not soaked in water, but allowed to grow on the water surface. Over time, some roots will gradually grow into the water. The ones that grow into the water are hydroponic roots, which can absorb oxygen from the water.
Answer:
The reason hydroponic plants can survive is that the roots that grow during hydroponics are all white hydroponic roots, which can absorb oxygen from the water. The roots that grow in soil are soil-grown roots and cannot adapt to the underwater environment, nor can they absorb oxygen from the water.
If a soil-grown plant is transferred to hydroponics, it is also recommended to cut some roots to allow it to grow new white roots, which is considered to be adapted to the underwater environment.
Naked-root plants can be soaked in water and kept in a place with scattered light without any issues.
However, hydroponic plants are not as good as directly soil-grown ones. The roots grown in hydroponics are relatively weak, and after being transferred to soil, they also need to adapt for a period. Initially, the root growth is slow.
For directly soil-grown plants, once they are stable and the roots are firmly established, new branches and leaves will start to emerge in large numbers. In the same environment, the condition of soil-grown plants will definitely be much better than hydroponic ones. Although hydroponic roots grow quickly, the roots that grow are relatively fragile, and even after transferring to soil, the roots are easily damaged (all the hydroponic roots grown in water cannot be pressed hard into the soil), including the plant's branches and roots. Of course, attention should be paid to the soil used.
1. Transferring from Soil to Hydroponics
If you want to transfer a soil-grown plant at home to hydroponics, you need to remove it from the pot, clean the soil, and expose all the roots. You can cut the roots, whether it's cutting off some or most of them. Then, prepare a suitable container that allows the base of the plant to be slightly submerged in water.
Points to Consider When Transferring Soil-Grown Plants to Hydroponics
The above is a green plant that has just been transferred from soil to hydroponics by a flower friend.
The safest approach is to have 1/3 of the roots submerged in water and 2/3 of the roots exposed to the air, which can prevent root rot after transferring from soil to hydroponics. Do not let the leaves soak in water.
After transferring to hydroponics, there should be some scattered light, and even 1-2 hours of scattered light per day is fine. During the hydroponic process, change the water every three to five days for the first few weeks until many healthy white new roots grow. Subsequently, just add fresh water in time when the water level decreases, and the water level should not exceed the base of the plant.
The above is a滴水观音 (Dī shuǐ guānyīn) transferred from soil to hydroponics, kept in a bucket with stones for support and plenty of sunlight, which can bloom normally, but the leaves grow relatively thin and small.
2. Disadvantages of Hydroponic Plants:
Hydroponic plants also have many disadvantages and are not a permanent solution. For example, hydroponic narcissus, hyacinths, and tulips are not as good as soil-grown ones. During hydroponics, these bulbous plants consume their nutrients. After flowering, when the nutrients are exhausted, they need to be soil-grown again to bloom. If they are always hydroponically cultivated, their condition will become weaker and weaker because the nutrients cannot keep up.