Should I move everything to LECHUZA PON? | Plant Unboxing & Repot
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- G'day, guys! I finally bit the bullet and purchased some Lechuza Pon from eBay to try out on some plants in my collection. Today, I move one of my plants, a variegated Monstera adansonii 'Monkey Mask', out of leca and into Lechuza Pon to see how it goes. Everyone seems to rant and rave about pon as a better option to soil, leca, and other mediums, but is it really everything it's cracked up to be? Let me know in a comment below!
Connect with me on instagram - / petevsplants
@lechuzapon
I’ve been using Pon for several years now and all my houseplants seem pretty happy in it. I transferred all my established plants, grown from cuttings and seed all in pon, a couple of my established plants looked sad for a month but then perked up once they got use to it. A couple of things….. If you wash the Pon throw the water outside and not down the drain. When first planted I use Canna Rhizotonic to help roots, for feeding I use Liquid Gold Leaf. In the U.K. the 18L bag is just under £23 and there is an opening in the front of the bag at the top that you just pull, when I looked up how much you paid in AUD that hurt. I grow mostly Hoyas in terracotta, my other plants monsteras, philodendrons, Pothos, spider plants, aspidistra, peace lilies, pilea, tradescantia, ceropegia and ficus are in a mixture of terracotta and self watering planters. Pon is a great substrate and can be reused again and again. You can sometimes get a bit of fungus growing on the top layer but a quick spray with hydrogen peroxide 3% will clear it up.
Great tips. Will definitely give it a try in future. And yeah... the prices here are insane. I can get the 6L bag for about as much as you get the 18L one, but need to pay postage on top too as no local places sell it.
Why throw the water outside and not down the drain? v curious here!
@@ruthcohen-rose3895 the sludge that comes out of the Pon can block up the plumbing
Ah that will be what happened to me last week, as I started moving over to Pon!!!!@@LindaEnfield Mystery solved!
I switched from soil and leca to pon and I’ve never looked back!
I love Charmaine and Alice didn’t know you watched them as well. Pon has been amazing to my plants and I like the fact you can later boil it and re-use it. The fertilizer is light and gone after 6 months but that is not an issue. I also use it with soil and tree fern along with perlite. If alone I would use perlite with it to stretch it and give it more air pockets. Initially thought it was a Spanish product as Lechuza means owl in Spanish.
I'm not sure if anyone told you in the comments, but the slow-release fertilizer in the mix allows for the pon to not require additional nutrients for the first year of use.
When I switched from peat to an inorganic mix I would try to get most of the dirt off if not just check pot in about 2-3 weeks and clean out dead roots. I’ve also put plants in water for a week before switch and usually roots that are going to die off will. Depending on plant of course. Can’t wait to see how it goes.
I just managed to find this pon locally in WA and they ship Australia-wide too. I’m nervous to try it but excited to start after seeing your video. Thank you.
Where in Washington, please?
@@CherylannTurner-pr5blsorry, I meant WA in Australia (Western Australia). 😢
Good luck! I have some of my plants in pon and so far so good! The only con is that the pieces are so small, they come through my pot holes!
Charmaine and Alice are two of my favorites 😊 Along with yourself, Patadendron, and ReallyBigPlant. I have you guys on almost constantly 😁
Naww, thanks Kyle. I don't think I've checked out Patadendron but will now. Thanks for the info!
@@petevsplants7516 he's been a great help to me on Instagram with random questions. Great guy
oh, you are impressive! trying all of these interesting things. i look forward to finding the vid with results!
You can make your own pon using the same ingredients, without the fertilizer. I have all 20 of my orchids and 25 Alocasias in a pon mixture. Have also mixed with a chunky aroid mix and combined with Leca. In works GREAT! I prefer to use my fertilizer for hydroponics rather than what they use. You also do not need to remove all of the soil from plants you are transitioning, as you do in Leca. In the US Alocasias can die back in winter, but with heat, good humidity and this mix mine are going strong. I do rinse once a week then fill my catch pots with 1/3 of nutrient solution. Good luck, I think you will find you love it, makes my plant care SO MUCH easier!
Ah nice one. So with pon you don't think you have to be as worried about removing all the substrate?
It actually tells you on their website that you do not need to remove the soil at all. I remove as much as possible without damage to the roots, then they are good to go, I have not had any problem doing it this way! 🤗
Hey Pete, just found your channel few days ago but really like it haha.
I live in EU so there are plenty supplies of Lechuza pom here. My experience with Lechuza pon is not that great though. The plants were doing well in the first year but start getting root and stem rot after that. Some plants cannot even handle the transition and would die out quickly. I guess it is better to put the substrate in a closed container to retain that water and moisture rather than a normal nursery pot. Would like to hear your experience after few months using them.
Interesting. I wonder why they started rotting at the 1 year mark. Any ideas?
@@petevsplants7516 hey Pete, thanks for reading and relying to the comment. Tbh I am not sure why, since many people seem to have great success with Pon. One hypothesis that I have is, once you put the plant in pon, some roots will get rotten, and some new roots will develop. The issue is the rotten roots are still there and the substrate will prevent the bacteria to grow fast but it does not mean that it will suppress the bacteria. So the bacteria will spread slowly compare to normal soil and even with the use hydrogen peroxide, since the rotten roots are still there the bacteria keeps getting back and once it gets to the new roots, it will eat the new roots slowly. In Leca, we can probably prevent this since it is easy to take the leca out and wash away the rotten roots but in pon, you would have to throw away the whole batch.
I am SO GLAD you are trying this out! I bought a Lechuza pot that came with their pon recently and I havent messed with semi hydro at all so I'm nervous and dont know what plant to try!
Hehe cheers, Kelly. Seems to be pretty good so far!
Always fun to see German products across the world :)
It says "Especially suited for all kinds of indoor plants - stores nutrients and distributes them appropriately - optimal root aeration (yellow text: peat free - no animal based ingredients).
Personally, I use something called "Rotopor" from eBay, dunno if they ship to Australia though. It's basically the same as Lechuza, a little cheaper and available in different grain sizes and not pre-fertilized. I'd like to compare it to Lechuza one day, haven't used it yet :)
Ever since you mentioned the "alright, so" in one of the recent videos, I can't help but notice it in your videos, other videos and even real life, this is worse than manual breathing mode, haha! :')
hahaha loved the last comment :P Sorry, mate! :D
Also, thanks for the translation :)
About 95% of my collection(180 plants)is in chunky aroid soil mix,props go into a stratum/perlite blend. The price and inconsistent availability has deterred me from buying pon. If I replaced all my plant substrate with it the cost would be insane especially considering my larger size pots! Then you add in cost of nutrient solution after initial fertilizer is used up. That said...I look forward to following how it works for you 👀🤞☺️
Yeah, I think you're right. Moving all my plants over would be insanely expensive.
How long does the slow release fertilizer in the pon last?
I know that zeolite is used in fish tanks to control ammonia levels and also in litter boxes to control the ammonia smell of cat urine (that it works well for.. been using it for kitties for awhile and people do not even know i have cats) and i have heard from different you tubers that it helps balance pH for our plants in pon. 😊
Lol it's funny you say that. Peaches has some vicious kitty litter trays around the house that pong up so fast it makes your eyes water. I'll have to get some zeolite and chuck it in for her haha Just having a hard time finding it.
Check the bag, there is a resealable ziplock type opening on the backsite, near the top but not at the top. The zeolite works like clay and buffers. pon has fertilizer in it for a couple of months so you can just use water, no nutrient solution needed
Legend, thanks mate!
You can make your PON much cheaper. Pumice, Charcoal & Zeolite - make sure they're all about the same in size. Can find these items at your local nursery or on Amazon. You can add liquid fertilizer to this when you need it, it's much easier than sorting out the solid fertilizer when they are no longer effective.
Good idea. I'll have to try to get my hands on Zeolite. I'm finding it hard to procure here.
@@petevsplants7516 I found my zeolite on Amazon
I have learned from others that pon alone has suffocated some plants and root rot can happen. People have recommended amending, including Charmaine and Alice who mix in orchiata and large perlite. I had a friend switching some plants to pon and told her to try mixing in leca for more aeration, it turned out to be a bad idea to use large leca lol
lol why's that? What happened with the large leca?
I mix leca in with my pon with no issues. Curious why that would have been a problem. Granted the leca portion is much smaller than the pon as it’s mostly leca that I just mixed in out of laziness to sterilize all my used substrate by boiling. But I want to try mixing in chunky perlite for more aeration as I’ve seen Alice suggest. I have had root rot with pon (that can happen in any substrate) but for the most part pon is wonderful as a soil substitute even without emending it. I’ve been using it for years. When planting with no drainage like Charmaine and Alice I think the amendments become more important but I have always used pon the same as I would soil. I am experimenting with no drainage more recently though and I’m interested to see how it goes. Right now I’m trying a layer of leca with pon mixed with a bit of leca on top.
They have micro leca or but up with hammer
I recommend dumping the water you rinse pon, Leca or any substrate with outside rather than down the drain. I worry that the grit with settle in the sink trap
Good idea, Margaret, thanks.
Thank you for sharing your plants lovely collection beautiful
My pleasure, Jillian! Thanks for watching :D
I've been using pon in the US for about a year. I usually don't add fertilizer for a month or 2. My Florida green, dieffenbachia and my crawling philodendron love it I usually mix in a little bit of meds with it. Got my bag off Amazon for $30 for a 12L bag.
Ah cool. I'll have to see how I go then with ferts straight away. Not sure if it's an issue if the plant's already been getting the same ferts previously in a different medium or not. What do you mean by 'meds'?
Someone has probably told you this by now but do NOT rinse Pon in your sink..
Take it outside and rinse small amts in a stainer with a garden hose....you will be shocked how much dust comes off.....however, once rinsed, it is wonderful stuff and you will love using it or a DIY version
I’m an aroid mix kinda girl. I like to see my plants growing in something that at least resembles soil lol. Good luck.
Cheers, Vicky. yeah.... definitely gonna have a lot in soil still.
I am german and i was curious how xou would pronounce it.. dou started really good 🤣 i really enjoy your Videos, keep it going brother 😊✌️
Thanks, Peter :)
Lechuza is pretty common here in Germany and it is actually from the geobra company, which also makes Playmobil!
I got mine through a promotion item, which was 2 balcony pot sets of them with extra pon included. Now I have like 40L extra pon laying around. it is a pretty light material but much denser than leca balls as a medium.
Before you use them: wash the medium very well to flush out any dust that accumalated just as you did. I actually just put them in the pot I want to use and wash that through with running water :)
I mix it with normal soil and orchid bark for a really well draining soil!
Nice one. Haven't heard of it being used with soil and orchid bark before.
have you ever done an update on this, I would like to see if this little beautiful plant made it in pon.
I'm really surprised you haven't dug into the Professor Monstera method yet! He's in AU! His plants are gorgeous!! I'm about to switch to his method here soon and I can't wait to get big beautiful plants!
I love love love pon! My plants are thriving in it!
Hehe yeah seems a lot of people rave about it.
I've never tried the brand name Pon, just diy recipe stuff or I buy 1" lava rocks mixed with fine pumice.
Also your teeth are so nice! 🤣 I really enjoyed the tissue culture episode too
Hehe thanks Roxy! Braces helped with the teeth lol I'll have to look into doing DIY Pon. The annoying thing was not being able to find the resources to make it around here.
@@petevsplants7516 I got braces too! Got them off last year.
The zeolite is pretty tough to find at a good price for a lot of it. Aquarium shops keep it but it is marked up big time. I've used just pumice and lava rock honestly and the plants love it. I just make sure to keep up with the feed and calmag.
🐸🧦
Nice video Pete!
I've been looking at trying Pon; but I feel like with the ingredients and particle size it's likely better suited as a soil-amendment.
Still waiting for the price to come down before I'll try it. So I'm very much looking forward to seeing how it works out for you 🤞🤞
Yeah, I just thought it was really expensive as a substrate, lol turns out it's just Australia.
Bro u gonna looooove pon i transition from leca to pon and all my plants are thiriving u gonna love
Haha yeah, first signs seem to be promising :D
Wishing you luck 🍀 although I hear it’s a great medium so should be great. Look forward to an update 👍
Thanks, Kathy! Are you planning on using it?
Curious to see the results. Hear so much good stuff about Pon, especially in self eating pots.
Right now my semi hydro medium is straight perlite for propagating and help transitioning from water to soil.
From what I understand, no A+B, but root excelurator is helpful.
Ah cool, mate! Will let you know how it goes.
Pon is pretty expensive in Aussie. I went to a DIY Pon group on Facebook and made my own DIY Pon with pumice, zeolite and lava rocks. I also add some orchiata and perlite to make it airy.
Yeah, it's pretty crazy. I've been searching for pumice tonight too already ground up in 1-4mm sizes and it's more expensive than the Pon. It's like $40/L. I dunno where people are finding their stuff haha. Might need to cut my Pon with perlite and orchiata then.
I just transferred two anthuriums into Pon today! Forgetii and Veitchii. I also just got my first albo! You can check it out in the link (I will reply to this comment because sometimes the comment doesn't go through if it has a link)
Yeah, can't see a link, but feel free to share it.
Thanks for the video, I am looking into trying Pon at some point and this was very helpful.
I have had success using H2O2 hydrogen peroxide diluted to 1 part peroxide 2 parts distilled water to treat root rot. I trim away the worst and soak the healthy roots a few minutes. It zaps the microbes & fungi that's causing the damage. 👍
Doesn't look like fungal matter on the monstera that was in leca, that's healthy root tissue! It often looks hairy or fungus-like from the hair roots. New fresh roots actually do develop a symbiotic relationship with the invisible spores present, in any substrate, even semi hydro. Hence their hairy appearance 🤣
I‘m German and didn’t know Lechuza pon was German 😂
Also hello to the cat in the back ❤
Hehe there you go!
Just to let you know there is an Australian product called MAB Grow from Dr Green thumbs. I call it the Australian version of Pon. It just doesn't have the fertilizer in it
Yeah, I'm still yet to try this. Might have to reach out to them and request a sponsorship hehe
I decided to make my own pon substrate as it works out cheaper, was hard to find pumice locally - had to order it online, and the shipping was as much as the pumice, but if you can find it locally you can get it cheaper🤣 all together i got 25-30l of each ingredient which makes 80litres of pon for only $102.67 (australian) :) maybe something to try if you do end up liking this. You can also customise it to your liking and add some other amendments and don't have to deal with slow release fertilizer.
Wow, amazing! Would love to get your links for those products if you can hook me up :D
Great choice to cut down on fungus Nats as well.
Cheers, Alice! Fingers crossed
Only thing I don’t like about the idea of pon is you can’t adjust it. I have haydite, leca, pine bark. Akadama, Kanuma pumice and other substrates different sizes. Yes it’s a lot I have experimented with over the last couple of years. But I find if a plant is more thirsty I add more bark and pumice. If it’s a bigger plant I might use a bigger sized substrate. The problem I had with mostly inorganic substrate for something like philodendron heart leaf we will say is in the winter when the heat is on and air is extremely dry I found myself watering every other day. I had to add coco coir to some of my mixes. I mostly use foliage pro for fertilizer. Sometimes fish fertilizer. I think you are going to like it.
Too much food!! there's already food in the pon. Tip it out and use something with drainage, or it's a recipe for disaster. All the best 👍
Killer pon as Alice calls it
Didn't Alice add more slow release fertiliser though?
Will see how it goes and if I notice burn, I'll flush it. Thanks Steph.
@Pete vs Plants I hope that works for the plant's sake. I have mixed up my own "pon like" medium to use and the one plant I've used it on is thriving to the point she's gonna need a re-pot and supporting very soon. I also only used clear pot's so I can keep a better eye on the root's and I even added more hole's around the side's to help her dry out better. The plant in it is a Billietiae x Atabapoense. I'll be happy to send a pic of the plant, mix I made and pot if that's any help.
first off.... luv ur channel!! im in canada and so i am not sure if the products are available there but one can make diy pon if you can source the ingrediants there... 🤔
Crystal Star Nursery is in Canada and has its own version of pon
Yeah, I probably need to look into it more and try to find a local substitute as it's expensive as hell here.
I believe you will have to flush out the nutrient build up in your pon like you would leca if you keep the plant in a single glass jar.I usually use a reservoir planter so I can just flush water through the Pon once in a while.
Yeah, I think you're right. Once every couple of months I think you just run a bunch of water through it to flush it then pot it back up. I don't think you'd have to do it many times before it would be repotted anyway depending on the vessel and plant size.
Ohhhh no Pete fertilizer burn use water for the first ? 3/6 months after that you can add your own nutrients, I love Pon and the Australian equivalent Mab grow from Dr greenthumb slightly different that you do need to add your own nutrients and reasonable price too.
Ah interesting. So, you reckon the pon has ferts in it already that is going to combine with the dilute ferts I've added and burn the plant? I'll keep an eye on them and see if I notice signs.
@@petevsplants7516 I guess as an experiment great I'd be interested to see the outcome at about 3-6 months, I'm cautious as it'd be like adding Osmocote on top of hydro solution, I guess you will be able to see root burn through the glass. Keep us updated on that one, another video topic right there 😉
The price went down since then. I just got 18L bag from Amazon for only €17. I'm going to move all my plants to pon.
When you buy the bag you dont have to cut it open. there is a plastic piece you remove wich reveals a separate transparent sleave with opening en closing fuction
I decided to try the Pon, I followed another suggestion here to order from Lechuza in Perth, I got a notification after I paid and it’s being sent from Maze in Victoria, eta in 3 weeks, not happy.
It stated free delivery, I thought save the drive, that will teach me for being lazy.
Just a heads up to anyone else ordering Pon through Lechuza Planters.
Hi Pete! My cat Jynx likes to take a million bites out of boxes and spit them on the floor. Lol. I cant bring myself to use leca or pon. I keep all my plants in soil and use all organic products. Leca and pon just seem so unnatural. I hear plants do great but eventually fail. Best of luck to you tho!
Haha yeah, I know what you mean. Though the roots don't really care as long as their needs are met :D
😮omg! $118??? I’m in NZ and we don’t have it in shops either but we can get it from Trade Tested online shop $39 for 18kg bag. Do you guys have Trade Tested in Australia?
I find Lechuza Pon absolutely amazing substrate. Great for propagations too. It retains quite a lot of moisture even after your reservoir is completely dry.
Yeah... it's pretty ridiculous now that you mention it, though, I was keen to try it at least once. I dunno how you guys have it so cheap if it's $118 in Aus.
It's 40usd with shipping for the 18 liter bag.
Lol so unfair...
You should check out Dr Greenthumbs MAB. It’s like the Aussie version of pon. I’d like to see how Lechuza compares.
Oh mate, I just saw that the other day and it's way cheaper so definitely think I'll be trying to get my hands on some in the future.
Lechuza is a German brand that belongs to the same company like Playmobil but the name itself isn‘t a german word. It’s spanish and means „Owl“.
Nice! Never knew that :D Thanks Mino
Girls from unplantparenthood and youdontevengrowhere are using mostly aroid mix with a soil and tree fern fiber for about a year now ( close to) 😂 what are your thoughts about pon after year of using it ? I think you have good equivalent of pon in AU, no need for paying so much for german product.
I still use mostly pots with holes, easier to rinse.
yeah, I'm wondering how the flushing will go.
@@petevsplants7516 a lot of people use vessels with no holes, I love the all the glass Alice uses
Noticed lately some growers adding a bit of Leca to their substrates.
Yeah, I wonder if that's recycled stuff after it's been used elsewhere.
I just looked on eBay I live in the United States and there are only three listings for this stuff all from the same seller in Italy
Wow, I thought it was way easier to find in the US?
I put socks on my glass pots/ jars so I don't get green algae u can change them up Xmas socks at the moment 🎅😂
Hehe very clever :D
Hi Pete , 118 $ is really a lot of mula .
It seems you really chose a Lifestyle that your country is making a good amount of buck from .
For this amount of money they should send a personal Potter for free .
Hope your journey with the rocks Rock.
See ya later
Matt
Thanks, mate lol
I see my roots growing all sexy in LECA and I just can’t see them being as happy in pon.
When I buy plants growing in pon, I try to keep them in pon but I move them to something else eventually because the algae and sad roots freak me out. Could just be the setup/grower not positioning them for success?
Can’t wait to watch your journey.
Would you consider experimenting with pon by transferring cuttings out of different mediums and maybe include a fresh cutting too?
Love your experiment videos.
Yeah, I haven't had many problems with Leca, but I think the stuff with smaller roots might have an issue with the lower surface to area and reduced wicking of the water. I'll have to see.
What do you mean re: cuttings out of different mediums? Do you mean transferring them from other mediums into pon, or just comparing pon to other mediums with the same cuttings in them?
@@petevsplants7516 - I wish I had a more scientific mind 🙃
I guess I’m curious about side-by-side comparisons of how plants grow in pon vs other mediums. I think transplanting from one medium to another is interesting but taking a few fresh cuttings would also help shed some light on what works best at different stages. This is because new cuttings wouldn’t be impacted by other mediums. Consider using a plant you have growing in multiple substrates, say soil, LECA, and perlite. Transfer those plants to pon. Then, take a cutting from each and transfer those cuttings to pon too. See which takes off. You could also try pon in drainless, with a wick and net pot, etc.
I ran a different experiment along similar lines and the results surprised me. Either way, experiments are fun and with your goal of growing a plant business 😉, it could result in working out how the actual best options (because us plant people have a lot of biases).
It's only online in the states too. Pete put the lechuza pon down. Your an adult. Put out of you reach. Lol
lol
I know a place where you can get it Pete! You need to call me to find out!
Hehe I should. Thanks mate!
There's fertilizer in the Pon!
Hehe cheers, Debbi. Will see how it goes and hopefully I don't over-fertilise then.
Pumice is a gnat barrier
wow you paid an awful lot for that pon! I'm in New Zealand and bought the 18L bag for $40
Yeah, I realise that now that everyone's telling me the prices. I don't get why it's so expensive in Aus.
@@petevsplants7516 I believe there was a shortage which is probably why, mine I ordered in May and didn't get til October because the shipment kept being delayed. Ended up getting a generic one in the meantime because it was taking so long - which is a good point, see if any of the small planty businesses in Aus make an alternative pon because there's a couple at least that do it here.
Why bother with all the ph levels and self watering pots, good old chunky aroid mix is the best. Here in the Philippines they grow everything in coco cubes and the plants are massive.
I don't worry about ph level. Lol. I don't care that much. Lol. Just use pumice. Cheaper
hehe nice
I got my bag of lechuza pon locally here in Perth from @plantercraft!