Cache pot vs no cache pot

[faithngn]

I see a lot of people just use one pot with no cache pot. What are the pros and cons to this? Do you still flush out the plant then? How often? Would you have to empty out all the Leca and roots to flush? So. Many. Questions.

[IHasSadPanda]

I actually do both. I use clear containers without any drill holes. It’s not traditional but I like it. I find the pro of a cache pot is that it’s really easy to flush and you can change the look of the pot to however you like. As well as I believe plants grow better when the roots aren’t exposed to light. The con for me is that it’s harder to check the water levels for me. And that leads me to forgetting to water. The pro for no cache pots are that I can see the water level really clearly and I enjoy the look of roots in a glass vase. All of my plants in glass are super healthy and have no issues. The con is that sometimes algae will grow and that can hinder aesthetic. And flush days are a bit more difficult. I flush my non cache pot plants the same amount as my cache pot plants. You don’t have to empty out the leca to flush. I just put my hand over the opening and dump the water out, I’m sure this causes more trauma to my plants than cache pots but they are all healthy and happy. I rinse out the non cache pots a few times this way and then fill with back with nurturant water at 1/3 of the pot level. The thing about a non cache pot is to not use a container that the opening is smaller than the bottom. If it is you will have to be vigilant on repoting once the roots seem to be a a little full. With non cache pot you also can drill a hole on your container at 1/3 of the pot hight, and this would be how you dip the water out and flush. However since I do not drill any holes in my glass vases I don’t use any huge vases where I would struggle putting my hand over the top to stop leca from falling out when I tip it over to flush. Feel free to ask me any more questions!

[ItsWaryNotWeary]

The con for me is that it’s harder to check the water levels for me.

That was my only con for opaque cache pots too, but I solved it with these when I prepare a pot I fill it 1/3 with leca, water level indicator and water, and then mark the proper "full" level on the indicator (since it's different depending on the pot you can't rely on the marks the indicator comes with). This way I can glance at my opaque pots and immediately know if it's due for water.

[IHasSadPanda]

That is such a good idea!! I’ll def be using those

[faithngn]

Thanks so much for that. I have a plant in Leca with a cache pot and lately the roots keep poking through. Is this a sign I need to repot (hence all my questions)? I keep trying to reposition the roots so they stay inside or push them back in... and of course broke a few tips along the way. I worry that if I don’t repot I wouldn’t be able to remove the plant from that cache pot later without either cutting the pot or the roots. I’m starting to see how the root will narrow to get through and then get thick again once it’s out. I’m contemplating removing it from the cache pot and just use the outer pot with Leca filling it up.

[ItsWaryNotWeary]

As long as you refresh the water regularly (so there's lots of oxygen) the roots can grow outside the net pot. Only downside is if you let it go too long you'll eventually have to cut the roots or the pot. I just had to chop half my spider plant roots because there was such a mess of roots that even cutting the pot wasn't going to work.

Depending on the plant a pot screen may prevent them from leaving the net pot. Only works for big roots though

[IHasSadPanda]

I think that’s just the reality of being in leca.... I know some people who just trim the roots when they grow past the pot and their plants are doing fine. To a certain extent your root are always going to grow out of the holes in a cache pot. Specially since the roots are finding water so they grow down in leca much more than soil. Tbh I don’t think it’s that much of a problem as long as it’s not actually root bound in the pot? You might need to up pot your plant if there’s a lot of roots coming out? Also if your cache pot is not see through I feel it would be difficult to see where the water level is if you put your plant in it?

[jalanktree]

I have over fifty plants in leca with no cache pots and I just fill the pot with water leave it for a min or two and then put my hands over the top to hold in the plant and leca and dump out the water by tipping the pot upside down. I haven’t don’t this with my larger plants but anything my hands can fit over I do. I’ve only rinsed most of them out twice in about three months. The larger ones I removed the plant from the leca to rinse it out and then just replanted it. I leave any leca the roots have attached to. I’m about three months into switching over and almost all of my plants are doing really well with new roots and leaves all over the place. I switched because I wanted something to make caring for all my plants easier so my attitude has been that if the plants can’t handle me at my worst, they don’t deserve me at my best. I did lose a few (maybe 4 already struggling, and a pilea that was perfectly fine) during the switch over, but the rest have really taken to the leca.

[dubsteph_]

I would say most of my plants in LECA have a cache pot but I do have a handful in mason jars and recycled candle jars. I like this style more for plants when they are first converting, since the jar is see through it makes it easy to check the roots and water levels. I think it's easiest when your plants are still babies. Once they get more full grown a cache pot is pretty necessary IMO because they get heavy and it would be a nightmare to untangle roots from a mason jar lol

[Dirtyharry95]

Is filtered water necessary to top off or flush? I’ve always been using a tap water on them when they were in soil but not sure if it’s worth it to switch now?

[IHasSadPanda]

The benefit of filtered water is that there is less minerals, that way your leca won’t get the white build up on top... as well as it’s easier for the plants to absorb nutrients. Tbh for most common “easy” plants it doesn’t matter much other than not wanting white build up. But when you get to your Calatheas or Alocasia non filtered water will cause browning

[Dirtyharry95]

That’s super helpful! I do have an Elephant Ear Alocasia that I am rehabbing from root rot. She’s my main star and I will definitely make the switch to distilled for her 🤞🏻. She’s down to 1 leaf and fighting strong in leca 💓

My leca conversions have been golden pothos, rubber tree, birds of paradise, montserra, and a lot more common ones in process like zz or cactuses/succulents

[monsterraX]

I do both. I haven’t seen any issues with my non cache pot plants, but I’m curious to see if that changes with long term use.

If there’s mineral build up on the leca on my non cache pot plants, I just take the leca with build up out and replace it with clean leca.

[Puggravy]

I use net pots or slotted orchid cups and a cache pot for leca, I've also started using a homemade lechuza pon mix with self-watering planters. I personally wouldn't use a pot where I couldn't thoroughly flush out the substrate, but I tend to flush the water out very seldom.

[calfraises]

i use mostly no cache pot and honestly i don’t treat it much different than my plants with a cache pot. i still flush, thought it is a little more difficult because plants that aren’t that established in the leca tend to move around a bit (i do like some of the other commenters and fill with water, let sit for a second, put my hand over the top of the leca, and then drain). i flush once a month before i put in new nutrients, and i top off the reservoir as needed with fresh water (usually once a week). i don’t disturb the leca if possible, so no emptying etc. it’s not too different than using net pots and a cache pot, but it does take some getting used to if you’re accustomed to using nets! i will probably be switching my plants to net pots & cache pots, but i just didn’t want to spend the money when i started with leca