Hydroton for Substrate?

[brinkerh420]

So, I know that it is not good for broms to be planted in the substrate, but what about putting a pocket of hydroton in the substarte, planting the bromeliad in it, and covering up the hydroton with leaf litter?

Thanks for any suggestions,
Will

[therizman2]

That can work. Some broms are more suited for being terrestrial as well, so you should do your homework on the broms you plan on trying to plant that way.

[frogface]

I grow plants in hydroton outside of the viv, so, I don't see why it wouldn't work in viv too. The only problem with broms in it is that hydroton holds moisture and most of the viv broms you see like to get air around their base and roots.

[brinkerh420]

But since the hydroton pebbles are so big, wouldn't there be a large air flow through the hydroton to the roots?

[B-NICE]

you need to see what brooms you are geting becase some might not do will if they are taking lots of water.

[Brotherly Monkey]

I don't have much experience with broms, but if they need to dry out you'll likely run into rot issues with the hydroton staying wet, due to it wicking moisture from the substrate

[therizman2]

After you cover the hydroton with leaf litter though, any air flow is pretty much eliminated. You need to figure out what type of brom though, some do better terrestrially than others.

Keeping plants alive is a balance between a lot of things... temp., air flow, humidity, watering frequency and amount, light levels, substrate, etc. Not all plants are the same, not even all species are the same in requirements.

[MrFusion]

I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Hydroton irritates my skin after giving it a good wash. That stuff breaks like glass so I suspect it's from tiny shards. I always figured that if it bothers me it will probably bother the frogs. Anyway, the rest of the guys are pretty much leading you down the right path. If the brom isn't a terrestrial brom it's just not going to work.