Our very popular clusia princess is now available planted in a glass bottle. There are two big advantages to this kind of planting. One, it looks beautiful. Two, it means you never have to worry about remembering to water your plant.

This method of growing is known as hydroponic planting, which means growing without soil. Your plant will just suck up all the water it needs. You’ve probably read our guidance saying plants don’t like their roots too wet, but that only applies to plants growing in soil. Bacteria breed quickly in very wet soil. That bacteria can attack your plant’s roots and make them rot. Because there’s no soil here, bacteria can’t breed and your plant is perfectly happy with wet roots. Remember to change the water every few weeks to keep it clean.

Plants usually take their nutrients from the soil, so hydroponic plants need to get their nutrients from plant food. Add a little to the water once a month and leave it in there for 24-48 hours. Your plant will then have taken all it needs and you can change the water again. You’ll only need to do this in spring and summer, because your plant won’t be growing in winter.

Clusia princess is an easy plant to look after anyway. It’s a slow grower that is happy in anything from bright light to part shade. It’s nicknamed the autograph tree because when fully grown its leaves are so thick that you can carve your name in them. In the wild it can reach 6 metres tall. Don’t worry, yours will stay small.

Did you know?

Wild clusias grow by attaching themselves to larger trees. As they increase in size they gradually strangle their host tree until they’ve crushed it completely. Don’t mess with a wild clusia.

This plant is 100% peat free.