Growing plants without soil
By Satish Narula

HORTICULTURE is fun. Growing fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants both indoors and outdoors is a routine matter. Do something like growing plants without soil and you will find in it an element of surprise and curiosity. That makes all the difference.
Plant propagation is a matter of routine with any garden enthusiast. A suitable plant part is propagated in a suitable medium and then transplanted in a pot or bed. But do you know that most of the indoor plants that are grown in soil could take roots and grow equally well in water? The accompanying photograph is of one of the most common indoor plants, dracaena. This plant was propagated by me in pure sand. When it struck roots in abundance, I transplanted it in water bottle and not the soil pot. It is now more than 10 months that it is flourishing well, putting forth excellent growth and a good amount of roots.
When the plants strike roots these are usually brown at the time of transplanting. When such plants are put in water the old roots are shed one by one to be replaced by brilliant white roots, which are also an excellent showpiece when grown in glass containers. However, under this type of plant culture there are certain things to observe.
Never use fresh water for filling the bottles. Your plants will decline in no time. This is due to the chlorine present in fresh water. Use stale (stored) water. Keep the plant straight and secured in place with some artificial support like a piece of cork or pith or a splinter. Do not fill the bottle to the brim. Leave some space for the roots to breathe. There is no need to change water every second day. You can keep it for 15 days or even more. However, if at any stage you find any foreign growth, replace it. You can also add some fungicide like bavistin — a pinch of it — to keep the water free from any fungal growth. Do not put fertiliser in the bottle. Unnecessary concentration of salts in the roots might kill them. Another precaution you can take is that the plant should be kept at a place where it gets sufficient light but not the direct sun. Confined to the darkness of a room for long, the growth will be unnatural i.e. elongated and frail. The leaves may also die. The plants that could be subjected to such an adventure are dieffenbachia dracaena, syngonium, money plant, philodendrons and yucca (even a grown up plant could be rooted in water)
It is very easy to handle and carry such plants in bottles for display at prominent places. Many plants could be accommodated in a small space.
Another interesting venture with plants could be growing these in small glass containers especially bulbs. The plants grown in bulbs give an excellent miniature effect. The best size for this purpose is a 500 w bulb. In this case it is growing the plant in a sand-soil mixture like any other plant. As the glass bulb is an enclosed structure, a few precautions have to be taken.
The wired part of the bulb has to be carefully removed. The glass should be thoroughly washed with soap solution to make it spotless. At the base, add small marble chips. Above this add a mixture of soil and sand.
Give a little water.
The loss of water from such containers is minimum. Do not add water frequently. Moreover, the water requirement of bryophullum is minimum. You can hang this ‘pot’ with thread at a suitable place. The bryophullum plant is easy to obtain as it can be produced by placing a mature leaf on any growing medium. The plant lets appear on the margin or tip of the plant. In case there is moisture or dirt on the inner side of the bulb, clean it with the help of a cotton swab tied on a half broken and bent splinter.

This feature was published on June 20, 1999