You can grow houseplants in water!

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By jstankevicz


Studying the effect of music on houseplants (grin :)


About 16 years ago I was visiting a client's office, a Jersey City lawyer. He had some plants sitting on the register by a window. One caught my eye because the top was covered in little pebbles instead of dirt. I complimented Alan on the plant and he explained that it was growing in water and those pebbles filled the pot instead of dirt. He had found the plant in a shop at the Jersey Shore. Intrigued by the idea I took the trip to the shore and found the store and bought my first hydroculture plant, an orchid.

After we moved to Arizona I ordered a couple of kits and transplanted some dirt plants to water systems. At first, I liked the challenge and the process and converted a lot of dirt plants to hydroculture. As time progressed I began to appreciate some of the caregiver advantages - the plants grow on their own, with little effort. A major advantage for me was the plant watering issue. I was then doing a lot of traveling which meant houseplants could get neglected for weeks. Hydroculture plants can be topped off and potentially go for weeks, depending on the house humidity, growing season etc.

Today, my houseplant care largely consists of occasionally adding some water to the plants - weekly or longer, depending on when I think of it. Pretty passive; pretty painless; pretty plants.

You can grow houseplants in water!



Some plants from our house...

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The quilts were made by Judy
The quilts were made by Judy

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Guru-C profile image

Guru-C  says:
2 years ago

Thank you for this beautiful hub with valuable indoor gardening advice! I'm going to Home Depot asap to buy garden pebbles!

livelonger profile image

livelonger  says:
2 years ago

Very true! We actually put (normal) bamboo plants into our aquarium - they look great and the fish love them!

raymondphilippe profile image

raymondphilippe  says:
2 years ago

Great results you have with plants.

jstankevicz profile image

jstankevicz  says:
2 years ago

Thanks for the nice feedback folks.

cgull8m profile image

cgull8m  says:
2 years ago

I have never tried it would love to do this soon. They look lovely indoors.

Marye Audet profile image

Marye Audet  says:
2 years ago

I always wondered how it was done..thanks!

Rmnathan profile image

Rmnathan  says:
2 years ago

Good information. Thanks.

Katherine Baldwin profile image

Katherine Baldwin  says:
2 years ago

I haven't tried house plants in hydroponics, but we grow various herbs, lettuce and cherry tomatoes. It's great being able to have the fresh herbs and vegetables year round no matter what the outside climate happens to be. I'll have to try converting some of my houseplants. Great information - Thank You

home interiors profile image

home interiors  says:
2 years ago

Nice hub, I love decorating but do not have green fingers so your advice is most welcome. I can stop murdering my house plants now!

Mark Sconce profile image

Mark Sconce  says:
2 years ago

Could this lead to a discussion of epiphytic bromeliads, that don't even need watering?

Mark  says:
2 years ago

Great results,beautiful will try this out on our plants.

Muhammad Iqbal  says:
2 years ago

Hi, I think you are all the best and happy life.I send email from pakistan I like your efforts in hydroculture then I like to grow house plants hydroculter system.please guide me for the hydroculture system.I am check for the pebbles in our nearest plants store but here not available pebbles may I used any kind of stone for hydroculture plants.Thanks for your coperation.Iqbal.

Muhammad Iqbal  says:
2 years ago

Hi, I think you are all the best and happy life.I send email from pakistan I like your efforts in hydroculture then I like to grow house plants hydroculter system.please guide me for the hydroculture system.I am check for the pebbles in our nearest plants store but here not available pebbles may I used any kind of stone for hydroculture plants.Thanks for your coperation.Iqbal.

jstankevicz profile image

jstankevicz  says:
2 years ago

Muhammad lqbal, The hydroculture pebbles are porous and wick the moisture to the roots. Using solid pebbles doesn't work well for most plants. You want to find expanded clay pebbles. Try Luwasa at this link http://www.luwasa.ch/en/home.html

They have a distributor in Singapor that may be able to help you get the right pebbles. http://www.luwasa.ch/en/sg.html

Darien profile image

Darien  says:
2 years ago

Great information. Here's mine. http://hubpages.com/hub/GardenHowTos

Bob Ewing profile image

Bob Ewing  says:
2 years ago

I have yet to try hydroponics but plan to, helpful hub.

Terry Thinktank  says:
2 years ago

Thank you for that gorgeous idea. Will strat work on it this weekend.

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Here is a cross section that shows plant roots, pebbles and water level meter

From Purlec.ca
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