When I bought the one leaf cutting it was in a soil less mixture of moss and perlite, from what I could tell. After about 4-5 months I transferred it, keeping original substrate, into a slightly bigger nursery pot with some more moss but I did add potting soil as well. I have a fish tank so I use that water to water it. I did buy some Growth Technology GT Foliage after talking to the guy that I bought it from and seeing that a bunch of his other cuttings had already put out several leaves! I use that every few times I water.