Plants that don’t need soil are very beautiful and easy to grow. You can grow them easily because you do not need to mix heavy dirt for their substrate and only need to regularly fertilize them.
Read this article to learn some of the most beautiful plants that you can easily grow without soil.
Contents
Types of Plants That Don’t Need Soil
Types of plants that do not need soil can be both practical and beautiful. Just because they are low maintenance does not mean they are inferior in some way. The list below includes such beauties such as snake plants and peach lilies.
1. Snake Plants
If you are looking for a plant that you simply cannot kill no matter how you abandon it, here is the snake plant.
Snake plants are well-adapted to different types of growing conditions, so if you want to grow your plants without soil, snake plants are suitable for you. Snake plants have slow-growing, beautiful, green leaves with underground stems.
– Growth Requirements
- Substrate needs: If you want to grow your snake plants without soil, mix one-part peat moss, two-part perlite, and one-part potting mix to make their substrate.
- How to feed the plant: You should feed your snake plants with a balanced fertilizer, especially in spring to encourage growth. Feed the plants monthly.
- Watering: If the humidity of the room is high, you do not need to water the snake plants. However, water them weekly, especially in the summer months.
- Light needs: Snake plants need full sun if you want them to produce green leaves quickly.
- Humidity: Grow your snake plants at 40-50 percent humidity. The humidity levels do not need to be high, though snake plants can tolerate high levels.
- Temperature: Grow your snake plants at 60-80 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Air Plants
You are looking for plants that do not need soil? Well, here is a plant that does not want anything to do with soil in the first place.
Air plants are weird-looking plants that grow on any type of substrate so long as their roots are not covered. You can grow these plants on any solid surface, so they are recommended for you as someone looking for soilless plants.
– Growth Requirements
- Substrate needs: These plants can grow on anything such as logs of wood, rocks, glass, etc. You can even keep them on your table if you want.
- How to feed the plant: Mist a nutrient solution on the leaves of your air plants. Mix a water-soluble fertilizer with water and spray the leaves of your air plants monthly with the nutrient solution.
- Watering: If you like, you can spray the leaves of your air plants with water every five days. However, the common watering technique is to submerge the entire plant in water for a few seconds every seven to ten days.
- Light needs: Air plants grow best when given filtered light. Do not grow them too close to windows receiving hot sun.
- Humidity: Grow your air plants at 50-60 percent humidity. They can tolerate up to 85 percent humidity.
- Temperature: 50-90 degrees Fahrenheit is optimal for the growth of your air plants.
3. Peace Lilies
Here is a very beautiful plant with lush green leaves and very beautiful, showy, white flowers. Its leaves cover its substrate so that you cannot see below them, so you will not know that this plant may be growing in perlite and rocks instead of soil.
– Growth Requirements
- Substrate needs: You do not need soil to grow peace lily plants. All you need is a general-purpose potting mix with extra perlite so that the roots of your lilies can grow on an airy substrate.
- How to feed the plant: Feed your peace lilies with a balanced fertilizer occasionally (every 6 weeks) to encourage the plants to grow in the spring and summer months.
- Watering: You can water your water lilies every two to five days depending on how quickly the substrate dries out.
- Light needs: While water lilies can grow in full sun, you do not need to grow them in direct sunlight. Just ensure that they get at least four hours of direct sunlight daily.
- Humidity: The optimal humidity levels for lilies are 70 percent and above, but the plants can grow at around 50 percent humidity.
- Temperature: Grow your water lilies at 68-85 degrees Fahrenheit. Ensure that the temperature of the room is stable.
4. Swiss Cheese Plants
Swiss cheese plants which are better known as Monstera deliciosa are some of the most popular indoor plants in the United States.
They are popular for the beautiful holes in their green leaves which resemble the holes in Swiss cheeses. Even though they are common indoor plants, you might think that they need soil to grow. Well, they do not.
– Growth Requirements
- Substrate needs: You can grow your Swiss cheese plants in an airy potting mix. However, please add coffee grounds or compost so that the substrate is not nutrient-depleted. To encourage the quick drainage of water, add extra perlite to the mix.
- How to feed the plant: You want to make use of an all-purpose liquid fertilizer for your monstera plants. Feed them monthly.
- Watering: Water the plants every five to seven days or when their substrate is almost fully dry.
- Light needs: Monsteras can grow in any well-lit room. They prefer bright light though indirect.
- Humidity: Grow your monstera plants at 50 percent humidity or more.
- Temperature: The plants need to grow at 60-85 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. English Ivies
Here’s a plant that does not need substrate in the first place. Well, its substrate needs are different from other plants.
English ivy plants can grow on vertical substrates such as walls and trees. They produce some beautiful heart-shaped leaves to cover your building or whatever you choose to grow them on.
– Growth Requirements
- Substrate needs: English ivies are climbers, so they need an erect or vertical substrate. If you want to grow them with pots, use wood shavings, pebbles, or a very airy substrate.
- How to feed the plant: Feed the ivies in the spring and summer months using a 20-20-20 or any balanced fertilizer. Please make sure that the fertilizer is water-soluble so that the ivy leaves can easily absorb the nutrients.
- Watering: Water the ivies every three or four days. Ensure that the plant does not grow in an arid environment.
- Light needs: Ivies can tolerate a wide range of light exposure. They can grow optimally with five to eight hours of direct sunlight daily.
- Humidity: Grow the ivies at 40-50 percent humidity.
- Temperature: 65-85 degrees Fahrenheit is optimal for English ivies.
6. Lucky Bamboos
Who knew that you could grow bamboo at home? Well, the lucky bamboo plant will shock you as you can even grow it in water. If you are looking for plants that don’t need much soil depth or soil at all, this is a good recommendation for you.
Lucky bamboos have a woody green stem and green leaves to grace your office and home.
– Growth Requirements
- Substrate needs: You can grow them in a clear glass cup with beautiful pebbles in it. You can also use coarse gravel when the roots are submerged in water.
- How to feed the plant: To feed the bamboo, you only need to add a few drops of water-soluble fertilizer into the water or substrate every two or three months. You can also spray the bamboo leaves with foliar fertilizer.
- Watering: The bamboos are already growing in water, so you do not need to water them. However, you can mist their leaves with water.
- Light needs: Bright but filtered sunlight is best for the bamboo.
- Humidity: Grow the bamboo at around 50 percent humidity.
- Temperature: Ensure that the plants grow in a room with 65-90 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Aloe Veras
The thing about succulents is that you can grow them in soilless substrates. Aloe vera is one of the most popular succulent plants worldwide.
While aloe veras are beautiful plants, people usually grow them because of their leaves with saps that have both medicinal and cosmetic importance. Aloe veras may be slow-growing, but they are truly easy to grow.
– Growth Requirements
- Substrate needs: While you can grow your aloe vera plants in sand, they grow pretty well in rocks.
- How to feed the plant: You can spray the leaves with foliar fertilizer in the morning. However, you can also use a slow-release granular fertilizer for their substrate. If you want to use organic fertilizer, please add perlite.
- Watering: Water the plants as soon as the substrate is almost fully dry.
- Light needs: Grow the plants in full sun. This means that they should get at least six hours of direct sunlight daily.
- Humidity: Aloe vera plants grow best at around 50 percent humidity.
- Temperature: Your plants grow best at 55-80 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Zanzibar Gems
Looking for an African plant to grace your room or office? The Zanzibar or ZZ plant is just the plant for you.
Its leaves growing from opposite directions on branches directly from the substrate go perfectly well in rooms of different colors. This plant is super easy to grow and you can just leave it in a corner so long as all its conditions are met.
– Growth Requirements
- Substrate needs: Your ZZ plants need nothing special when it comes to substrate. Just grow them in a regular potting mix.
- How to feed the plant: Feed the plants once or twice yearly with a balanced fertilizer. You should add compost and perlite to their substrate.
- Watering: Water your ZZ plants every week or twice weekly.
- Light needs: You can grow these plants in a room with access to six or more hours of sunlight.
- Humidity: Grow your gems at around 50 percent humidity.
- Temperature: 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit is optimal for the plants.
9. Spider Plant
Are you afraid of spiders? Well, here is a plant that resembles spiders and will surely not be scary for you. The spider plant has long leaves growing from an underground stem, resembling the legs of spiders. The leaves mostly have green edges and cream or white centers and this plant is a very beautiful plant fitted for hanging baskets.
– Growth Requirements
- Substrate needs: Mix one-part perlite, one-part peat moss, and four-part pine bark to make the substrate. Ensure that the pH is 6.0-6.5.
- How to feed the plant: Any all-purpose fertilizer will work. It would help if it is water-soluble, however, you can also use a granular slow-release fertilizer. Feed the plants every one or two months.
- Watering: Water your spider plants weekly.
- Light needs: The plants need indirect but bright light.
- Humidity: 40-60 percent humidity is best for your spider plants.
- Temperature: 70-90 degrees Fahrenheit is optimal.
10. Money Plants
Originally wetland trees, money plants or Pachira aquatica plants are grown as indoor plants or aquarium plants all over the world. They are indoor plants that grow in water without soil if you want, though you can also grow them in soil-like substrates.
If you like, you can grow them directly on top of an aquarium so that their roots will reach the water while their leaves cover the top of the aquarium.
– Growth Requirements
- Substrate needs: Ensure that the potting mix is not made of soil. Just make sure that it is very airy. Note that you can grow these plants in aquariums with roots in the water.
- How to feed the plant: Feed your money plants every three months when growing them in a pot. As for plants on top of aquariums, spray them with foliar fertilizer monthly.
- Watering: You do not need to water your aquarium plants. However, water the potted ones once or twice weekly.
- Light needs: Grow the money plants in a partially shaded location.
- Humidity: Grow your money plants at around 50 percent humidity.
- Temperature: Money plants need 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal growth.
11. Marimo Moss Balls
If you are looking for an unconventional plant that you can grow completely off the soil, here is a type of algae for you.
This very beautiful alga is spherical and grows in water. You can grow it in an aquarium with fish in it or inside any glass cup. Would you not like to grow these very beautiful algae plants that grow in water only?
– Growth Requirements
- Substrate needs: No substrate is needed. Just grow it submerged in water.
- How to feed the plant: So long as the water is nutrient-rich, you are good to go. This means that you do not need to feed the plants in an aquarium with fish. However, add a few drops of balanced fertilizer for the algae you are growing on their own.
- Watering: No need for watering.
- Light needs: Bright light is okay. Algae do not need a lot of light.
- Humidity: No need to consider humidity in water.
- Temperature: Grow the algae at 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Conclusion
Plants that you can grow in soilless media are truly beautiful and you can grow them with ease.
Please remember the following:
- Air plants do not need soil at all and are beautiful, so consider growing them if you truly want to eliminate the use of soil when growing your plants.
- While Swiss cheese plants can grow without soil, ensure that their substrate is nutrient-rich so that they can have consistent nutrients even before you feed them.
- You can grow your lucky bamboo in water and feed them with a few drops of fertilizer in the water.
- Grow your English ivies in a solid vertical substrate.
- If you want a medicinal plant that you can grow without soil, go for the aloe vera plant.
Now you have so many options. Remember the plant care tips in this article so that you can easily grow plants without soil.
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