what small size herbs or shrubs or fruit trees can i grow in hydroponics?
1 Like
Welcome to the forum! Most herbs can be grown in hydroponics, so it becomes perference. Rosemary, basil, sage are all good examples. If it roots in water, you can grow it in hydroponics. Strawberries are very popular hydroponic fruits, although not quite shrubs. I’ve also started pineapples in mine, but they get too heavy to keep them in it to maturity. Tomatoes grow really well, as do most leaf vegetables. Peppers need a good medium or the struggle, but they are possible. Depending on your system, you can do some root vegetables, like beets, turnips, radishes. On a floating system you cannot (unless you just want greens).
The main issue for shrubs and trees is size constrants. Unless you have something to support them, its pretty hard to do. With that in mind, a dwarf everbearing mulberry theoratically could, as I kept my cutting growing in mine until it started putting on decent new growth and had decent roots. A fig kept small has that pontential too. I guess with a large system, you could feed full sized trees, but the amount of food needed to keep them alive without soil wouldn’t make it fesible.
Hydroponics are great for rooting cuttings though if you can’t support a whole tree but still want to use it in the process. I’ve rooted barbados cherry in them before, and attempting to root a peanut butter fruit tree right now.
3 Likes
Thanks for the above tips and as for shrubs can they potted in pots (those grow bags ones) and if possible what are possible shrubs in can go for
1 Like
In an open system thats possible, and you would also have to use a physical medium. In a closed system, I don’t think shrubs would get the nutrients they need in pots unless it was a very large system. Your medium would probably determine what shrubs you could grow, it would have to be something that can grow in coconut coir or a perlite mix and doesn’t have a long tap root.
I have a liquid closed system, so I can’t grow full-sized shrubs in mine. Mine guess for good shrubs would be something like a well trained dwarf fig or mulberry, or even an ornamental. If you don’t have much experience with hydroponics, I would reccomend strawberries. There is tons of resources on growing hydroponic strawberries.
1 Like
Well trained as in with stable dwarf characters ?
1 Like
Not necessarily, although I’m sure that could help. Just pruned to stay small and controlled. The larger than plant, the more nutrients it needs. Since in hydroponics you are supply nearly all the nutrients yourself, larger plants can pontential drain a system.
2 Likes
By keeping them small, will it effect fruiting
Yes, a smaller plant will have less fruit do to the nature of having less places to grow said fruit. That being said, hydroponic plants are usually fed more than in-ground ones, so they may bloom more profusely. I’ve never grown shrubs in hydroponics before, so we are into the speclative realm of my knowledge.
1 Like
Then i will do some exp and let u know.
1 Like