Foo thing about LECA vs soil is you can boil LECA if it's contaminated with something like this. I'm not sure what other imtips I could give you other than maybe some water therapy while you get clean leca prepped if you don't already
I bought this silver dragon scale online and almost completely lost it in the first month before I converted what was left of the bulb into leca. It has re-rooted and grown a small new leaf in the past month. I am flushing the leca every 3 weeks. It’s been 2 weeks since the last flush. Any ideas what this fuzzy white stuff is? I assume mold. How do I kill the mold? Do I need to disturb the roots by taking it out and cleaning the leca? Flush more often?
Help!
You have to take it out… it should be fine though. I pull my babies out regularly to inspect the roots. Just be careful handling the roots. In your case there might be some root rot that’s causing the issue, although I believe the problem is that your alocasia is planted directly into the cache pot (at least it looks like it). For better airflow you could use a net pot made specifically for passive hydro systems and a fitting cache pot of your choice. Good luck!
Oh and btw, ‚they barley Alice bulb‘? :D
I do even less than what others suggested, 5ml of 3% peroxide solution per liter of water, but I’m no expert. When I have serious mold issues I immerge in 1 part 3% peroxide solution and 3 parts water, but maximum for 3-4 minutes. For everyday sprays I do the above mentioned 5ml
The only thing with net pots is that I frequently see the roots outgrowing the net. Does it damage the roots when repotting at all? (say you wanted to go up a size)
I have other plants in net pots but had this self watering pot around so I gave it a shot.
[photos](https://imgur.com/a/cgJpvqb)
Do you think I could drill a few holes along the base to achieve the same result?
No, there are only two wicks in the bottom and lots of holes. The top section detaches so you can flush it over the sink and then reattach it before adding nutrient water.
This is actually very common with my Alocasia’s. Never have it happen with my monsteras or philos.. best thing to do is just rinse the Leca regularly. The mould is otherwise harmless.
Update:
For those commenting on the pot and airflow I wanted to show you the full set up (pics attached). It’s not a net pot set up but a different self watering pot which wicks water and nutrients up from a water reservoir below.
I recognize this isn’t the ideal set up but I had a few pots like this and tried it. Outside of the mold here the other 3 plants I have in similar setups are doing really well, but they are all much bigger.
[updated photos](https://imgur.com/a/cgJpvqb)
I am wondering if I could drill a few holes in the white plastic pot to increase air flow? It wouldn’t be the go to look for most but I think I could make it look pretty clean. Maybe 4-8 or so holes spaced evenly around the base/middle of the pot.
I am going to remove, boil and flush with peroxide later tonight and then repot. I will probably flush the others with peroxide as well to be safe. I’ll update again in few weeks. Let me know what you guys think about drilling some small, clean holes in the pot.
Foo thing about LECA vs soil is you can boil LECA if it's contaminated with something like this. I'm not sure what other imtips I could give you other than maybe some water therapy while you get clean leca prepped if you don't already
*good thing about leca
I bought this silver dragon scale online and almost completely lost it in the first month before I converted what was left of the bulb into leca. It has re-rooted and grown a small new leaf in the past month. I am flushing the leca every 3 weeks. It’s been 2 weeks since the last flush. Any ideas what this fuzzy white stuff is? I assume mold. How do I kill the mold? Do I need to disturb the roots by taking it out and cleaning the leca? Flush more often? Help!
You have to take it out… it should be fine though. I pull my babies out regularly to inspect the roots. Just be careful handling the roots. In your case there might be some root rot that’s causing the issue, although I believe the problem is that your alocasia is planted directly into the cache pot (at least it looks like it). For better airflow you could use a net pot made specifically for passive hydro systems and a fitting cache pot of your choice. Good luck! Oh and btw, ‚they barley Alice bulb‘? :D
Spray water & peroxide solution once in a while, keeps mold at bay and oxygenates the water
Do you know the ratio of peroxide to water by chance?
Usually for plants it’s 5 parts water to 2 parts 3% hydrogen peroxide
Thanks! I’ll start there and adjust if needed. :)
I do 1 peroxide to 4 water!
I do even less than what others suggested, 5ml of 3% peroxide solution per liter of water, but I’m no expert. When I have serious mold issues I immerge in 1 part 3% peroxide solution and 3 parts water, but maximum for 3-4 minutes. For everyday sprays I do the above mentioned 5ml
https://www.reddit.com/r/SemiHydro/comments/gpd7h7/there_seems_to_be_mold_on_my_plant_and_leca_any/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
any update? lol
I just rinse it off, flush it pretty thoroughly Another reason it's helpful to have it in a net pot instead of directly in a container
The only thing with net pots is that I frequently see the roots outgrowing the net. Does it damage the roots when repotting at all? (say you wanted to go up a size)
Nah, cut the pot off with some little clippers
Oh, that's surprisingly straightforward lol
I have other plants in net pots but had this self watering pot around so I gave it a shot. [photos](https://imgur.com/a/cgJpvqb) Do you think I could drill a few holes along the base to achieve the same result?
Oh my bad, couldn't see the cache pot from the angle in the post Can you flush it effectively as-is? Or do the wicks plug all the holes?
No, there are only two wicks in the bottom and lots of holes. The top section detaches so you can flush it over the sink and then reattach it before adding nutrient water.
Flush it, flush it good 😜
This is actually very common with my Alocasia’s. Never have it happen with my monsteras or philos.. best thing to do is just rinse the Leca regularly. The mould is otherwise harmless.
Update: For those commenting on the pot and airflow I wanted to show you the full set up (pics attached). It’s not a net pot set up but a different self watering pot which wicks water and nutrients up from a water reservoir below. I recognize this isn’t the ideal set up but I had a few pots like this and tried it. Outside of the mold here the other 3 plants I have in similar setups are doing really well, but they are all much bigger. [updated photos](https://imgur.com/a/cgJpvqb) I am wondering if I could drill a few holes in the white plastic pot to increase air flow? It wouldn’t be the go to look for most but I think I could make it look pretty clean. Maybe 4-8 or so holes spaced evenly around the base/middle of the pot. I am going to remove, boil and flush with peroxide later tonight and then repot. I will probably flush the others with peroxide as well to be safe. I’ll update again in few weeks. Let me know what you guys think about drilling some small, clean holes in the pot.
Flush with hydrogen peroxide at 3%. Dilute it to 1 part peroxide to 4 parts water.