Separating Howea cluster & transferring to Leca

[PsyPalm]

Hey guys!  I'm toying with the idea of splitting up my cluster of four kentias into four individual pots.  During this process my idea is to convert them from soil to a semi-hydro setup using Leca.

I was inspired by the following thread concerning palms in Leca, specifically the impressive success story by user wimmie of two very large howeas growing semi hydro in pure Leca.  

My questions/concerns about the process are the following:

-I've heard a lot about how sensitive kentias roots are and I'd want to go about separating my cluster in the best possible way, so any advice on how to do that without shocking/killing the plants would be much appreciated.

-Part of transitioning a plant to semi hydro is washing ALL soil and organic matter off of the roots before placing in Leca, and I'm wondering if this extra rinsing and cleaning of the roots/root ball is a mistake given the delicate nature of kentias roots, and general ideas as to the best way to go about this.  (mine are currently growing in a fast draining sandy soil mix with a generous amount of lava rock)

-My plan is to transfer them into Lechuza pots with an internal reservoir but any recommendations or advice on the best type of pot to use for a large semi hydro format would also be appreciated.

-If I do end up pulling the trigger, should I wait until spring to do so?  (This palm cluster is currently growing with virtually no natural light and is provided 10 hrs of led grow light each day.  They've put out two new fronds this year and seem to be very happy in this setup)

I attached a pic of my howea cluster for reference, the tallest of the four is around 6' tall.  If I end up going ahead with everything I'll be sure to document the process and keep this thread updated with their progress. Thanks in advance everyone!

[JohnAndSancho]

Def following this  Your Kentia is an absolute unit 

[PsyPalm]

After doing some research I'm wondering if Lechuza Pon might be a better suited inorganic soul replacement for a Kentia because the roots are more delicate (?) they'll have better support?  From what I've read people say the pon is better suited for finer roots and the like, which seems like it could be less of a shock to switch to from soil than big leca pebbles.  And apparently it performs just as the Leca would with regard to the hydroponic process.

Has anyone had experience planting palms in this stuff?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lechuza-PON-12-l-Self-Watering-System-Substrate-Refill-19791/205606554

[Imhotep1989]

Hi PsyPalm,

 

I know its a year old thread but I'm thinking of doing the exact same, with a similar sized kentia, did you go ahead with it and how did it go?

I'm thinking of transferring from soil to lechuza pon.

 

I already have large various dracaenas in pon which seem to love it.

 

Thanks

[PsyPalm]

@Imhotep1989 I actually haven't split the cluster up yet.  I did repot it from the nursery pot it came in into the white ceramic pot it's sitting in in the previous picture, but Diego realllly didn't like the disturbance.  He had pretty severe transplant shock and I ended up losing the smallest of the 4 plants in the cluster, along with a few of his largest fronds.  He's since bounced back but I'm very hesitant to attempt a separation after how repotting him went.  I have another howea cluster in a 10" plastic nursery pot that seems like it's too small and that cluster is absolutely thriving. I've read that Kentias enjoy being somewhat underpotted and in my experience it's very much the case.

That being said, I do know people on here have had success growing Kentias in leca and pon but personally I don't have experience with it.  I'm still too scared from Diego's transplant shock to make any drastic changes to their medium, and honestly it won't be necessary to repot them up a size for a number of years to come.  

I have had success growing Cyrtostachys renda in pure lechuza pon, that's the only palm I own that seems to really enjoy pon as a substrate.

[Imhotep1989]

Thanks for the reply,

I have 2 large kentias which I obtained for a good price, I may attempt to change one of them from soil to lechuza pon and see how it goes. I have more lechuza pon arriving tomorrow, if I do go for it I'll let you know how it goes on here. I have just changed a few dracaenas from soil to pon, hoping they go through it ok.

[PlantDaddyDC]

 

On 12/20/2021 at 10:36 AM, Imhotep1989 said:

Thanks for the reply,

I have 2 large kentias which I obtained for a good price, I may attempt to change one of them from soil to lechuza pon and see how it goes. I have more lechuza pon arriving tomorrow, if I do go for it I'll let you know how it goes on here. I have just changed a few dracaenas from soil to pon, hoping they go through it ok.

How did Lechuza pon work for you with the Kentia?  I’m looking to do the same in a few weeks.  

[Imhotep1989]

Hello PsyPalm and PlantDaddyDC,

I had 3 fatalities (All had rotten roots) from 8 medium conversions which isn't too bad for my first attempt.

 

I'm using lechuza planters although any self watering planter would work.

2 of the fatalities (Dracaena Marginata and another unknown Dracaena) were the 2 I was expecting to live 99.9% as they went from Leca to Pon. Both died although I read Marginata doesn't convert well. The other fatality was my medium size kentia which was in soil, but to be honest it was in a bad way anyway when I bought it, I was half expecting it to die during the conversion.

The other successes (all soil to pon) were:

Dracaena Fragrans 3x varieties (I think Lemon Lime, Janet Craig and Compacta) the lemon lime in particular barely affected. In pon now for 6 months.

Ficus elastica barely affected. In Pon now for 3 months.

Small 4 cluster kentia barely affected (Second kentia attempt, I didn't clean the root ball of soil as much on this one. Everything else was completely cleared of soil) In pon now for 3 months.

If you do try, there is some important things I learned, which may have contributed to the latest ones all surviving (the 3 fatalities were my first 3 conversions.) When you wash the pon (hose it through a colander or something) to get the dust off, you put it in the pot and it's very damp and wet for quite a while (days to weeks depending where), make sure it's bone dry through out when you add the plant. For example, leave it in a hot sunny green house for a week. Root rot sets in fast if you add them to damp pon. Also, don't water for at least 7 days, then water as you do in soil, but not overdoing it and ignore the water meter for the first few weeks.

I still have 2 full pots of pon left so plan on doing 2 more conversions, I'm considering my larger Kentia but not sure yet. I would definitely not clean the Kentia rootball as fiercely as I did the others though, Lechuza do also state that you can plonk the whole soil root ball within the pon and it would be fine.

Also, all of my conversion were done in December and March, I'm in the UK so it was still winter but the bigger issue was I'm renovating my house, I didn't (and still don't) have roof insulation in yet and I think this didn't help at all as it was often cold in my house. I should imagine during summer it greatly increases chances of success.

Hope that helps

 

 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Imhotep1989