CRONCH

POTTING

The Cronch is most seamlessly used when potting or repotting plants that have rooted in water, PON, or LECA, as plants rooted in organic matter can take longer to adjust to an inorganic substrate.

If your plant has been rooted in moss or soil, be sure to clean the roots up before repotting. A bit of soil or moss still stuck to the roots won’t be the end of the world, so don’t damage your roots just to get them perfectly cleaned! Rinsing or power spraying your roots at the end is a great idea.

When repotting, keep roots in the top 2/3 of the container (top 1/2 is even better if you can manage it) with the remaining bottom containing only Cronch. This will allow you to keep a reservoir of water (if you choose) without the roots coming into direct contact with the water.

Once potted, run water through the pot to flush out silt/dust until it runs clear. You can use tap water for this if the plant is already well rooted, otherwise we suggest using distilled water.

WATERING

Watering in The Cronch has never been easier.

Never let the substrate dry out completely to ensure the most stable growth for your plants. You can accomplish this by keeping the pot in a shallow dish or tray filled with water. The Cronch does an exceptional job of wicking water evenly throughout the substrate without making roots too wet. Once in a while, let the reservoir run empty before refilling it again.

You can choose to “water like soil” by foregoing the reservoir and just watering it from the top any time it dries out. You’ll be able to tell because the substrate gets noticeably lighter in color.

FERTILIZING

We don’t believe in slow-release fertilizing because the nutrient availability can fluctuate greatly based on a variety of factors, and there’s no way to tell when the fertilizer has run its course and needs to be replaced. Pre-fertilized substrate is a marketing ploy that can leave your plants with deficiencies and wildly variable vigor.

We strongly recommend building your own liquid fertilizing routine. Our favorite fertilizer is Dyna-Gro Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 because it contains the full spectrum of micro and macro nutrients that plants need for growth. This is called a complete fertilizer, which differs greatly from incomplete fertilizers such as Superthrive and Liquidirt.

We’ve noticed the best growth when supplementing with CalMag 2-0-0 and Dyna-Gro Pro-Tekt. The Pro-Tekt is optional, but I would highly recommend the CalMag. An analysis of plant leaf litter from Michigan State University shows that tropical plants use a MUCH greater amount of calcium and magnesium than is provided in the current fertilizers on the market. Unfortunately, Foliage-Pro falls into this category, but excels in every other way.

ROOTING

Rooting in The Cronch is a straightforward way to grow a plant directly in the medium it will live in so you avoid having to repot once rooted.

Start by taking a cutting from a healthy and actively growing plant for greatest success. Dip the cut end immediately into a liquid rooting hormone. We use Dip-N-Grow since it also contains alcohol to sterilize the cut and help it callous properly.

Once the cut end callouses, pot into The Chonk making sure that the cut end stays above the bottom 1/3 of the pot. Make sure your node is buried so that the moisture in the substrate encourages it to root. For hoyas, just stick as much of the stem in as you can/you’d like since they can root anywhere along their stems.

Flush the substrate using distilled water or reverse osmosis water (do not use tap or purified) to drain out the silt and dust until the water runs clear. Afterwards, follow the watering guidelines listed above, but only with distilled or reverse osmosis water. This ensures that no bacterial contaminants enter your substrate through the water. A sanitary and sterilized rooting environment is the key to successful rooting.