Today, home floriculture is presented in a slightly different light. Many new interesting plants have appeared, various accessories for them, and the cultivation methods have changed. If earlier, the windowsills of our parents were filled with cakes and scarlet, then in modern apartments there is now a foreign orchid, which has bark instead of soil, but there are plants that generally want hydroponics.
Today, a hydrogel has also appeared, however, not all growers have had time to get acquainted with this innovation and therefore it is still difficult to assess its convenience. A hydrogel is, of course, a good thing, but it is unlikely that it will be possible to completely replace natural soil with it, and as an addition to the soil, it can very well be.
What is a hydrogel?
If you do not describe in detail the technical and chemical characteristics of such a soil, then we can say that it is a battery, a moisture accumulator. Initially, it can be in the form of powder, crystals or granules. All these forms of hydrogel are capable of absorbing moisture and at the same time increase in size by about 300 times. All varieties have a separate purpose, but perhaps the most effective is a large hydrogel, of different colors, which is used directly for growing indoor green spaces.
The smaller one is combined with a mixture of soils. In non-professional floriculture, a hydrogel, which is very fine (in dry form, it is a powder), is used most often when seeds need to germinate. Simply in action, it becomes like a thick jelly, and not at all like balls. In addition, it does not apply by itself; it can only be used if mixed with earth and sand. Only a novice florist needs to be more careful with such a hydrogel, especially when it comes to the seeds of a rare plant. If you still do not have enough experience in growing indoor flowers from seeds, then you should not experiment, it is better to use the usual method.
Indoor plant hydrogel
Basically, the hydrogel is used as an additive to soil mixtures, and this is 100 percent justified. The principle of its work is that it lives the roots with moisture, and then, due to the next watering, replenishes the supply. It turns out that a hydrogel is nothing more than a regulator that controls soil moisture. If the soil is dry, it moistens it, and when the vagi is oversaturated, the hydrogel takes away the excess. So, sphagnum moss acts on the soil.
The hydrogel can still control the looseness of the soil. If it is placed in soil, consisting mainly of clay, then it will not be so heavy, but will become looser, and where there is a lot of sand, it will be compacted. Being in the soil and replenishing the loss of moisture, the hydrogel can nourish the plant for 4-5 years. The indisputable benefit of its use is the reduction in the number of irrigations. It even becomes possible to calmly leave home for a while (for example, to go on vacation) and not worry that the plant will dry out.
It is clear that for such indoor flowers as succulent, hydrogel is not needed at all; such plants themselves have the ability to accumulate moisture.To the epiphytes, it is also unnecessary, since this flower grows without soil, adhering to its own kind. But for most of the leafy-decorative, as well as flowering, hydrogel can be very useful. Perfectly complement the interior, such an element of decor as a glass vase with a houseplant at the bottom of which are colored balls. Only now it is not advisable to use crystal for this purpose. There is a little lead in crystal vases and if the plant is kept in it for a long time, it may suffer.
How is hydrogel used?
In principle, there is nothing complicated in preparation for use. Most often, a package containing granules has instructions for use, but, unfortunately, they often contain very concise information, and I would like to know more. If you need to plant a home flower in a pure form of a hydrogel, then granules that are painted in different colors are better suited for this, but if you could not get such, but were only colorless, then you should not be upset. Such a hydrogel can be easily turned into color using food dyes, at least those that dye eggs for Easter.
The water for the hydrogel must be taken clean and it must be settled, otherwise an unattractive plaque will remain on the balls. There cannot be a lot of water, since the granules will not take in too much, you can take at the rate of 10 grams of substance per 2 liters of water. About 2-3 hours is enough for the granules to be saturated with water; for safety reasons, you can wait longer.
What about fertilizers? You can just put them in water right away. For these purposes, there are special fertilizers, and those used in hydroponics are also suitable. Such fertilizers are easier to buy and their choice is large, in extreme cases, you can use just water-soluble fertilizers. When the granules swell, it will be necessary to drain the remaining water, you can use a colander. After that, be sure to dry them. Take a clean sheet of paper or a napkin and lay out the balls, the moisture should completely come off them. This is necessary for the passage of air between the balls, if this is not the case, the plant will die. That is why, when using only a hydrogel (without a primer), large granules are taken.
Next, you need to tackle the plant. It must be removed from the pot along with the soil so as not to damage the root system. Then the roots must be washed clean. It is not recommended to do this under running water. It is better to thoroughly soak the earthen lump in some vessel with water, and after that, carefully remove the earth from the roots. At the end of the cleaning process, you can use a small stream of water, preferably warm. It is even easier to plant a plant in hydrogel balls than in ordinary soil. Based on the size of the root system, balls are poured onto the bottom of the vase, the roots are evenly divided over them and the plant itself is placed, and then the hydrogel is added to the growth line. In principle, everything is no different from the usual landing.
In case moisture evaporates from the hydrogel, you can put a polyethylene film on its top layer. True, this will slightly spoil the beauty, but if there are a lot of granules in stock, you can not use the film. And also, as an option, spray the top layer with a spray bottle.
The flower that grows in the hydrogel is recommended to be watered every two weeks. But this does not always work. It is difficult to immediately understand how much water is needed, and also, after such an interval of watering, excess liquid forms at the bottom. So it is better to just spray the top layer first, and the water will gradually spread over the gel balls. Over time, it will already be possible to decide how much and when to water the flower.
With this method of growing, it is also necessary to choose the right place, where the flower will stand. Do not allow direct exposure to the rays of the sun, otherwise the gel will bloom and turn green. So the location influences the choice of the plant to be placed in the hydrogel.
In a similar way, many indoor flowers can grow, but there are some general rules and it is advisable to take them into account:
- It is better that the plant is short and medium-sized, otherwise it will fall to one side, because the balls are held differently than the earth.
- The roots of the plant should be large and well developed, so it is better to use adult flowers and, moreover, they no longer need to be replanted every year.
- For those plants that require a close capacity so that they grow better (lemon, eucharis, etc.), the hydrogel will not work.
- For such a cultivation, you need to choose plants that do not require bright lighting.
- Plants with leathery, hard leaves are also not suitable for granules; for such flowers, excess moisture is destructive. So we must absolutely exclude epiphytes, all kinds of cacti and succulents. It is good to use herbaceous plants with soft leaves here.
Initially, you can try to plant simpler plants in the hydrogel, such as tradescantia, you can take indoor ivy or asparagus, bromeliads also feel quite normal in it.
Over time, the hydrogel balls change, they lose their attractiveness, they become wrinkled and smaller in size. But you should not get rid of them right away, they can be used in an ordinary dredge. It is also very good to add fresh hydrogel here, so you can significantly reduce the number of waterings.
You can already mix in the hydrogel, which is prepared and has time to swell. The color of the balls is not important here, which means that you can use simple, colorless ones. Their size will also not affect in any way, you just do not need to take a fine gel.
For one liter of land mixture, 1 gram granules are taken, this is in dry form. They can also be placed in a finished plant, but this must be done very carefully. Since the granules will be added to the soil in dry form, it is necessary to know how much they will grow. As a rule, the same ratio is observed here - one gram per liter. Holes are made in the soil with a planter, or you can just use a pencil. It is necessary to carry out such punctures evenly, but at different depths, then put granules into the holes and water well.
Another hydrogel is used to maintain the humidity in the air. The balls are simply spread over the soil surface. It is very good to do this in winter when the air is dry. But you need to use this method extremely carefully. Since the gel will only be on top and the top layer will be moistened, so it will be necessary to ensure that the entire earthen lump does not dry out, assuming that the plant does not need additional watering.
Still, it is worth using a hydrogel in indoor floriculture, this is a new, rather attractive and, importantly, a very useful agent for plants.
