12cm or 19cm? Hydroculture grow pots have standard heights. Smaller plants are planted in 12cm high pots and larger plants are in 19cm high pots. There are some larger pots but these are rare and used for extremely large plants.
Grow pots have a channel on the side and a small hole in the rim for the water meter to be inserted. The water meter measures the depth of water at the bottom of the pot, so you can easily see when it is time to water.
Hydroculture plants are never removed from their grow pots. Always put the grow pot and plant into the decorative pot or planter you are using. Use a liner if the decorative pot is not waterproof or too deep for the grow pot. The water meter needs to sit on the base of the liner for an accurate reading of the water level in the pot.
Hydroculture grow pots have standard heights of 12cm or 19cm. So you may need to build up the base of your decorative pot with void fill to get the plant to look right. For example if you have a 12cm grow pot you'll want to build up the base to leave about 14cm depth or 21cm depth if you have a 19cm grow pot. You can use any solid material such as polystyrene, surplus hydrogranules or gravel.
Place the liner inside the decorative pot and the grow pot inside the liner. Remember the water meter must sit on the base of the liner.
If required liners can be trimmed to fit the decorative plant pot. Ideally the liner should fit flush to the walls of the decorative pot and towards the rim. If you do trim make sure there is still enough depth for the grow pot. If there is a gap between the liner and the internal wall of the decorative pot, this can be filled with hydrogranules, just remember to water towards the centre of the plant to avoid water running outside of the liner.
Add hydrogranules around the grow pot in the liner and outside if there is a gap. Create a level finish at the top. You can also add a layer of decorative stones to the top if desired.
Water the plant and check the water meter. Try and stay in the optimum range. Only water again when on minimum and allow the plant to stand for 2-3 days on minimum before watering to avoid overwatering. Turn the red numbered dial on the top of the water meter to remind you when to put feed in the water, for example every other watering.
Feed the plant every 2-3 months in the growing season with a liquid plant food, specifically formulated for use with hydrogranules. Our liquid hydroculture foods make micro and macro nutrients available for uptake by hydroculture plants without the need for the development of "smelly" organic microbial communities required by soil fertilisers.
Please drop us a line if you have further questions about our hydroculture plants and assembly in plant pots.
If you have a larger project in mind, we can supply a wide selection of different planters, custom colours and hydroculture plants to suit all types of interior green designs and budgets.