You don’t need to tie the wick, but it does help to pull the top park of the wick up a little higher into the pot as you fill so the wick can reach more parts of the root system! Good luck, I love those pots too.
I really enjoyed my time with you today Melissa. I really like Alocasias they are so pretty, and I'm excited with you for all the the babies you got. I think you made a good decision leaving the smaller corms with mom to grow a little bigger before separating them. TFS looking forward to the new cabinet video and hearing about the progress of all the plants ❤
My poor little Polly is starting to drop the baby leaves it had around the base.. I’m nervous he’s giving up on me. I love these vids cuz you give so many little tips and facts while you chat to us. Thank you for teaching me so much!
@@plantsbymelissa it was pushing out a GIANT new leaf when I first got it, and it’s nice and unfurled and hardened, the babies were on it when I brought it home from Lowe’s. I’m hoping he’s just.. adjusting 🫶🏻 I’m sure my plants hear your voice playing through the house and know help is on the way! 🤣💕
You are always so sweet and happy but your joy was really shining through today 💗 love to see this exciting new adventure bringing you so much happiness. I read to optimize the wick you should thread it through, add some Pon and then pull it up a bit so it arches up into the pon. Then add the plant and more Pon. This way the roots aren't sitting in water but everything stays a little more moist with the wet wick. 😂 Wish I could draw a picture on here!
I, too, could not believe you weren’t rinsing your pon initially 😂 just kidding, we all figure out our own way! Love the vid and congrats on your shop!!
Gorgeous GORGEOUS Alocasias Melissa....I think I wanna break my plant ban for an Infernalis 🫣🤭...don't have one of those and they are sometimes available at my local Bunnings ( equiv to your Home Depot). As for the string in that semi-hydro pot, I normally just pull it up into the substrate (pon or LECA) to hydrate well and leave only enough string to touch the bottom of the reservoir. But how you did it is fine too. I just think it's more aesthetically pleasing not having too much string showing in the water... And yes I totally agree about some plants staying small hahaha, especially when I run out of room in my house 🤦🏻♀ Thanks for another great video that allowed me to chill with you ( and everyone else watching )🥰
I was so excited to see this video come up today! Your advice/tips have helped me so much with Alocasia. I have always stayed clear of them because I couldn't keep them alive before. I now have quite a few Alocasia in stratum and I was trying to figure out when I should start them in Pon. I was worried the 5.5 inch pots would be to big for their root systems. Mine look a little bigger than your polly mint but not as big as the other ones. When you water your Alocasia in stratum do you use fertilizer in the water or just tap water?
Yay, happy I have helped! I try not to over do it with the water at first and I haven't had any issues with mine transferring. The only alo I lost was one that I moved from soil to pon. I usually just use regular water for stratum since it's temporary BUT if I have had them in there for way longer than I should then I start to fertilizer because I know the nutrients from the stratum start getting used up by the plant.
I love alocasia got a new leaf on two of mine this week got a few still in soil and want to move them to pon but really nervous especially for my dragon scale as love her ? You have a lovely manner
My cat knocked over my Monstera Thai Constellation today and I was so mad until I realized she was starting to rot 😳 she is always such a trick to keep hydrated but not rotting! I am putting her in fluval and plant to put her in pon afterward. Hoping getting her some roots that are used to more water will help!! 🤞
Hi Melissa ❤🌿🌱 First off I'm new to ur channel AND LOVE watching you!! So I'm extremely SCARED of ALOCASIA plants because they all die 😢 I was given three a Melo, Ninja & Cuprea which OMG all three are so beautiful 😍 BUT I did repot because they all came in that big box store soil that causes root rot....... I did repot in aroid mix but as soon as I did Melissa they all have droopy LEAVES AND I AM SUPER SUPER SAD 😩😫🥺💔💔💔 WHAT DO I DO?? SHOULD I JUST LEAVE THEM BE!! GOSH THE CUPREA IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PLANT!! I'M DETERMINED TO START A ALOCASIA COLLECTION IF I CAN ONLY GET HOW TO BE A GOOD MOMMY TO THEM🙏🙌 PLEASE HELP ME!! HOPE YOU.SEE MY COMMENT
I watch your videos a lot and tell my toddler that's Melissa my plant lady. and I started watching your video today and without even looking at the screen she says "that's melissa!"
Hi! I love your videos! I just got a plant off your site too, I’m so excited! Question, I’m wanting to switch my Alocasia from soil to pon. In that process should I leave it in water for a few weeks or can I wash the roots and go directly into pon? Thanks! 🥺
yay!! Happy you got a plant! 🥹 thank you for purchasing! I don't think there's a wrong or right way but whatever you prefer. I lost an alo going to soil to pon so I just prefer to root them in stratum or water now first to lessen that shock from moving to a new substrate.
where do I get those wonderful self watering pot??? I have a Black Velvet and the roots are coming out of the bottom. Barley but they are. I got her on Mothers Day so I think that its adaped to my environment. Also where do i get the Pon at? also my corm is halfway covered in water and I'm trying to gey roots... HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!
May I ask what stratum is? I've always had plants but I have them I regular potting soil. But would love to try new things. Thanks Melissa, I love your videos.
It's mostly used in aquariums. It's volcanic soil - it's not meant to grow in long term though but great for props and rehabs and it has a lot of nutrients.
I have a large Alocasia Regal Shield that i bought the other week and its in very heavy soil with no perlite. I want to repot it soon. I ordered some Fruval Stratum to move it to before transitioning it to pon. Since it's so large would I just repot it in its current pot with the Stratum? Anyone have experience transitioning a larger plant?
My poor Polly did not like the transition to pon. She dropped all her leaves and now I just stare at the corms waiting for new growth 😂😂 I'm afraid to transfer my silver dragon!
@@plantsbymelissa I put her in water first to make the transition easier and she did great with that. When I put her in pon in one of the types of pots you use, she dropped her leaves and hasn't given me new ones. My colocasia mojito on the other hand keeps giving me bigger and bigger leaves after her initial leaf drop.
Sorry about your Polly. Mine still looks good in pon with a self watering pot. About 3 months in. . Original 2 leaves good and pushing the first new leaf. BUT, I noticed about a week ago that I had roots,about 4, coming upwards through the pon. 😫 yesterday I took Polly out of pon and roots looked ok but I could tell which ones was turning upwards. Also noticed that only about 1/3 of pon was actually damp. I’m thinking I need to water more from the top so roots will grow downward. Does that sound correct?? Melissa, what do you think too?
How do you use the silica, calmag together with fertilizer? Do you alternate, or mix all together? And do you use silica on all your plants or jury those that are variegated?
I add silica first let it sit for about 10-15 minutes, then I add cal mag, stress coat and fertilizer, let that sit a little and then I adjust PH last. I started using silica on more plants and then it got to be too confusing so now I'm just using it on everything. I was having too many separate water jugs 😵💫
Have you been having trouble purchasing pon? Amazon says it’s unavailable & the lechuza website isn’t user friendly. It won’t let me add anything to my cart then I can’t even find the cart 😂
Hi Melissa, I have a question. Is the white vein watsoniana the same as the jewel. I had placed an order for a jewel but the shop closed. The jewel veining, when it's bigger, reminds me of a verracosum. Thanks.
Hey there! I think there's a lot of alocasias that are considered jewel alocasias but I'm not sure about the white veins one. I know there's several varieties of this alocasia.
I've only transferred a couple plants directly from soil and one didn't make it so I'm not doing that again. I'll move the plant to water or stratum first and for a few weeks and it helps reduce that shock.
@@plantsbymelissa thankyou for replying! I think I’ll leave established plants in soil and pot up future corms once sprouted in pon it sounds like the safest bet!
What do you use for these in pond? I have mine in lecca and have my ph on a 6. I use General Hydroponics for her food but I feel like she is needing something. Her new leaf has a few translucent spots. She is about to give me a new leaf so I know she is not doing totally unhappy.
more airflow! I get it too sometimes but usually if my space is more warm and humid I can get it more of my fan isn't on high enough. It could be some dead plant debris that may have caused the mold but I would say lack of airflow most likely :)
Sure! These are the ones from the video: www.amazon.com/dp/B08V1C9PSN?linkCode=ssc&tag=onamzmeli0992-20&creativeASIN=B08V1C9PSN&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.3DGT1T05R3EUS&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d_asin
I'm only selling plants that are fully rooted and growing. I'm not selling corms :) I just opened my website but only dropping plants in small batches as I have them available. www.plantsbymelissa.com I'm in Savannah, GA.
I'm so bummed that I've spent weeks watching your channel and loving it but I just don't like Pon. It sucks because I really loved your approach to soil and amendments and loved learning from you.
I probably enjoy repotting Alocasias more than anything else. Finding corms is too fun! 😁 I've not tied wicks myself. I think particularly with pon, the substrate is rough and heavy enough that the wick should stay in place pretty well. I feel like the wicking should work either way, but I do wonder how a tight knot might affect the capillary action. I set my wicks up like you did, just without tying it. I've noticed some wick tips can curl quite a bit over time, so some extra length can be good in the reservoir. The bent part of the wick in the inner pot can be raised if more moisture is needed for the roots (which may come with more tangling and less wick material in the reservoir). One other things to consider is the material. Cotton can rot with enough time, but for small pots, you may end up repotting before it gets to that point. Synthetic materials will last a lot longer.
I think the wick gets tied in the middle so it doesn't slip in and half goes it the top and half goes into the bottom. The top portion goes into the Pon and near the roots, and the bottom goes into the water in the reservoir.
I just bought a starter Alocasia Infernalis from The Green Escape! It comes in a small soil plug, but I'm wondering what I should pot it into? Would regular potting mix be ok for this little plant? It's my first Alocasia and I'm scared! 😨
I prefer to move mine to stratum first until they develop a stronger root system but it's really up to you! The more you mess with the roots the more shock they can go through. Alocasias can be prone to watering inconsistencies in soil so try not to let them go too dry in between waterings :)
Where were the kitties, Melissa? Do you think you'll ever sell plants in the self-watering pots you used for all but the last alocasia in the video? Pon is heavy so we'd expect to pay more for shipping. But beginners would *love* a turnkey purchase, with no worries about potting up, etc.
They're around lol. I'm honestly not sure how shipping would be with pon and a water reservoir. It seems like it could get messy and not sure how to contain the water in place. Probably shipping in a small cup of pon is doable.
I love this video Melissa.❤ How often would you have to water the alocasia plants in pon? For ie. you watered them right after transplanting them to the new pot, so would you water them say in 4-5 days again? Thank you. You are our teacher ❤️
Thank you so much! I usually water once a week but sometimes I go longer. It depends on how much water you have in the reservoir and how quickly the plant uses up that water. The more root bound it is the faster it might drink it up. I always check once a week and love the meters so I can quickly see the levels. Some might go dry but the pon is still moist but I wouldn't let them sit too dry :)
@@plantsbymelissa oh ok. Thank you❤️. I bought some lechuza pon and I bought a self watering pot with that level on it. I want to try my calathea pinstripe in it. I hope I have luck like you do with your lemon lime maranta . 🥰 Thank you for sharing.🥰
Happy to see your alocasia are loving pon. Mine were loving it for about 6 months and after that I started getting root rot (these were water roots). My frydek was impacted the worse, all that was left was the stump. I decided to move them into a tree fern mix a local plant girl sells. Also rehabbing the frydek in same medium. This will be my last shot with alocasias, if this fails me, I will stop trying to make them happy. I’ll just enjoy your from here.
Hello. With regard to the wick, in my experience it needs to be place more within the PON. You have quite a bit of excess in the reservoir, that should go in the pon. 🌻
Thank you so much! I am using silica, cal mg, foliage pro, api stress coat and I adjust PH. It's a lot I know but really happy with the progress my plants have made with making the changes to my nutrient solution :)
@@plantsbymelissa thank you so much I so appreciate you replying. I just stared using pon about a month ago for my Alocasias and they aren’t growing at all. I will try your nutrient combinations and see if that helps
Some people do that but I prefer not to. I lost one alocasia moving from soil directly to pon. I think each plant can respond differently though but the more you mess with the roots the more stress they can go under.
@@plantsbymelissa thank you! It’s hard as a new plant mom to figure this things out, specially when I get the starter plants that come in a plug, it would help me a lot if you show us the steps after receiving them, what is best for them upon arrival and when to be transitioned into Pon, when suited of course! I have my mixes (copies of yours obviously 😅) and eventually I change the soil and pot that comes from the store after acclimating them. I think I watch all your videos but maybe I missed that one if you already showed it 😉 😘♥️🪴
The self watering pots you can find here minus the wick one (that was a gift) www.amazon.com/shop/plantsbymelissa/list/3DGT1T05R3EUS?ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d
Hi Melissa where can get Lechuza Pon? Amazon shipping is very expensive even prime. I need this lechuza pon for my alocasia soon. Thank you for sharing us and tips growing indoor plants. It feels like we’re friends by watching all your videos 😊
Of course, happy to share!! thank you for watching and being here 🫶 I stocked up last time it was back so I'm good for a little while. I signed up for email notifications on lecuza's website and once I got an email it was back I bought a few bags of it. I'll probably do that again soon so I don't run out of it. I was desperate last time and paid twice as much for a small bag so definitely don't want to do that again 🥲
@@plantsbymelissa appreciate it for getting back right away. I’ll wait the notification. I just bought a stratum yesterday. I’m excited to my starter Epipremnum albo variegated I bought in Facebook market. I hope it will make it. The roots started to look black in perlite🥲
