The science does not stand still and releases novelties which please fans of houseplants and garden on the balcony. Hydrogel it is deserved has occupied the niche in the sphere of care for plants.
Hydrogel happens two types - colourless powder and bright granules. Multi-colored balls often use for decor of plants. But it is necessary to know features of hydrogel not to do much harm to houseplants. What represents this ball? The hydrogel granule is polymer which absorbs in itself(himself) moisture, bulking up at the same time several times. Granules happen different color, but it does not affect their functionality.
At the same time, hydrogel is not toxic at all and it can be used in the enclosed space. And it is necessary to water plant to which soil hydrogel is added only once to one and a half - two weeks.
The soil of houseplants pretty fast dries up during summer heat and at the included heating in the winter. It is necessary to water often plants and to control constantly that the soil has not been strongly moistened, but was not also dry. For this reason the prepared granules spread to plants and hydrogel slowly gives water to plant roots.
The hydrogel mixed with soil helps to make watering of plants more rare and at the same time to exclude peregnivaniye of roots because of big humidity. Hydrogel granules reusable and during the next watering of plants they napityvatsya again by water. Thus, granules of hydrogel are reserve source of water for houseplants.
Even the child can independently cope with hydrogel. For a start it is necessary to prepare the container with clear water. Further it is necessary to add hydrogel in proportions, according to the instruction on packing. Usually, it is 1 gram of substance on the 200th water milliliter. But it is better to take water with stock. All water which polymer will not take in itself can be merged then.
After immersion of granules in water it is necessary to wait 2 hours. Later this time check granules for readiness: they have to be elastic, jellylike and uniform. If granules soft or inside are the overflowing gel, then leave them for hour, if necessary water makeup.
Cast away ready granules on colander and let's flow down to excess water. After that it is possible to add hydrogel to the soil of plants in approximate proportion: 1 part of hydrogel to 4 parts of the normal soil.
Hydrogel can be used for seedling prorashchivaniye. For this purpose spread out ready hydrogel in glasses and place seeds directly in it. But it is so best of all to arrive with large seeds. Small seeds to exclude their fall on bottom, it is better to land on gauze. That is on hydrogel we put gauze, and already on gauze - seeds. It is necessary to add water at such jumping of seedling in process of contraction of volume of granules in the amount of.
One of the main mistakes in use of hydrogel is addition of the unprepared (not bulked up) granules in pots to plants at once. In that case when watering granule will bulk up and will force out plant from pot.
Also one of mistakes is use of hydrogel in constantly growing houseplants without soil. It can be used without soil only in case of cultivation of seedling or for cut flowers. If to use it thus long time, then hydrogel from constant excess of water will creep away and lose the properties, and the lower ranks can grow mouldy. Therefore do not forget that hydrogel needs to be added to the soil to plants, and then it will be your chief assistant in care for houseplants.