Autistically Planted

Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA)

This will be an unpopular opinion for some, but I am very passionate in my anti-LECA stance.

I highlighted the most popular and important reasons why I don't believe LECA is a good option for growing a plant. The most important reason being, it just plain and simply is not any plants natural environment.

I don't understand why anyone would want to grow a plant in an environment it's not made for.

But of course, the choice is ultimately yours.

I will say though, when I asked a series of questions on my story about LECA the other day, one of the particular questions was "If you stopped using LECA, why?". There were 2 responses that really stood out to me:

1. They wanted to go back to what was more natural to the plant.

2. They had 2 Monsteras, one in soil and one in LECA. The one in soil was thriving so they switched the one in LECA over to soil.

LECA just isn't a good long term option for plants, and in the short term, I don't understand why you would want to shock a plant like that.

For those of you that had never heard of LECA, hopefully you learned a thing or two!

* Picture on Slide 1 is not my own picture, it was taken from Google *

Autistically Planted updated their info in the about section.

Let's talk about the benefits of Terracotta!

Terracotta is made from baked clay. it's naturally a very porous earth based material, which means it allows air and water to pass through the walls of the pot. hence why the outside of the pot will become physically wet when you water your plants!

in turn, this results in healthy, happy plants as it greatly minimizes the risk of root rot and disease that occur from over watering.

on the other hand, this causes the soil to dry out quickly, which means we are watering our plants a little more frequently.

is terracotta a great choice for all plants?

plain and simply, no, it isn't.

if you have plants such as monstera's which prefer to have moist soil, you will want to avoid terracotta pots.

but if you have plants that prefer to dry out between waterings, or succulents and cacti, terracotta is a great choice for you! the moisture wicking capabilities of terracotta can be a real life saver with our succy friends that are especially prone to root rot, as it ensures they aren't sitting in wet soil for longer than they would like.

if you are a vegetable gardener looking to use terracotta, you absolutely can, but you want to make sure you sterilize the pot extra well beforehand. the porous nature of the pot means it can absorb harmful chemicals that can contaminate your veggies.

if you notice chalky, white looking areas on your terracotta pots, don't panic.

while they can be visually unappealing, they aren't at all harmful to your plants. what those spots are, are salt deposits from the water being pulled through the pot.

cool right?

are you familiar with the term 'bottom watering'?

if you're a keeper of succulents, there's a chance you know what i'm talking about as those are the plants that benefit from it the most.

top watering is the method most of us use when watering our plants. very simply put, it's when you pour water on the top of the soil. this can be harmful to a lot of succulents as you run the risk of damaging their leaves with the water.

getting water on the leaves of succulents can lead to rot and sunburn spots very easily.

bottom watering is when you fill a dish of your choosing with a couple inches of water and place the plant (in it's pot) in the water.

this allows the plant to drink up water while protecting it's leaves from any potential water damage. it's also a great way to ensure all of the soil is getting wet.

you leave the plant in the water until the top of the soil is wet. you can visibly see that the soil is wet, or you can feel the top of the soil to check that the water has made it's way up to the top.

this can be a much more time consuming method, the pot size plays a big role in how long it can take. the Kalanchoe Tomentosa pictured had to sit in water for 45min to be fully soaked. but i want to reiterate how beneficial this method is for our succulents!

if you have multiple succulents that need to be watered at the same time, i recommend putting a plug in your kitchen sink, filling it with a couple inches of water, and then adding your plants to that. it can make a time consuming task take a lot less time!

plus, it can be nice to put them water and walk away, doing other tasks in the time before needing to take the plants out of the water 🤷🏼‍♀️

have you ever found slugs or snails in your plants?

they don't just show up in outdoor plants, they can be a problem with indoor plants too.

they tend to go unnoticed as they typically only show themselves at night, when most people aren't looking at their plants.

but we still occasionally find them in our plants, and they can have some detrimental effects to the plant they are inhabiting.

they eat the plants, and they lay eggs in the soil leading to a snail/slug party.

there can be an easy solution to getting rid of them though, a cost effective one for those of us planting on a budget!

coffee grounds.

coffee is a natural deterrent of snails and slugs.

upon discovery of any pest, you want to repot the plant in fresh soil as there can be critters/eggs in the soil, but you also want to make sure you are doing something to ensure any stragglers aren't hanging around, or you'll be stuck in a viscous cycle.

after you've made your morning coffee, save your used grounds. mix them in to the fresh soil that you are using to repot your plant, and voila slugs/snails be gone!

they don't like coffee, so they will take a hike, ridding you of your pest problem without having to spend a dime!

our first ever sale to celebrate the mark of our 1 month anniversary!

get 3 of our assorted succulents (of your choosing) for only $16.00 (15% off the regular price)

valid on all applicable orders placed from now until Sunday!

available succulents:
• Donkey's tail
• String of Dolphins
• Aeonium Haworthii Kiwi
• Crassula Perforata
• Crassula Platyphylla Burgundy
• Crassula Gollum Jade
• Crassula Springtime
• Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg
• Echeveria Nodulosa
• Echeveria Pollux
• Echeveria Melaco
• Haworthia Concolor
• Haworthia Limifolia
• Graptosedum Darley Sunshine
• Sedum Adolphii
• Kalanchoe Tomentosa Choc. Soldier
• Sempervivum Sanford
• Sedum Canny Hinny
• Sedeveria Fanfare
and more!

Dm or Email for any orders or inquiries!

NOW AVAILABLE

Assorted Succulents $6.50 each!

I have 24 different types of succulents now available including Echeveria's, Sedum's, Crassula's, Haworthia's, Aeonium's, Graptosedum's, Graptoveria's, Kalanchoe's, Sempervivums, and Sedeveria's.

All of these succulents come potted in sturdy 2.7" black plastic pots that they can continue to live in happily for quite some time, in my personal soil mixture!

These succulents are from a local Manitoba Greenhouse.

Friendly reminder that we are required to charge tax on all our goods, as such all prices are taxes included!

And as always, 10% from every sale will be donated to the Indigenous Community 🧡

DM or Email to order yours 💛

Hi folks!

Just a friendly reminder that today is the last day to enter our giveaway on Instagram! The winner will be announced tomorrow.

Go and tag those fellow plant lovers!

How do I know when it's time to repot a plant?

Slide 2 is exactly how to best tell when a plant is ready to be repotted.

As you can see the roots are not only visible through the drainage hole, but they are growing out of it. That tells me it has run out of room to continue growing and the longer I leave it in there, the more I risk it getting rootbound causing the plants health to decline.

When I took the plant out of the pot, I could see that it was at the start of becoming root bound (slides 3 & 4). Before I could repot it, I had to separate the roots and take off as much soil as possible (slides 5 & 6) so I could get a better idea of what size pot I needed, and allow it to continue growing properly in it's new home.

There are a lot of people that tend to stick to one style of pot whether it's terracotta, plastic, or ceramic. I use whatever the heck I have laying around as long as it's safe for the plant.

My partner brought home this old pot for me to use as a plant pot (slide 7), and he added drainage holes to the bottom of it so that it wouldn't kill my plants! Special shout out to him for adding drainage holes to all my unconventional pots 😂💛

Typically when you repot a plant you only want to go up to the next size (if it was in a 6" pot, you would want to put it in an 8" pot), to avoid having too much free space around the roots. Ideally you don't want more than 2" of space between the edge of the pot and the plants roots at any given point.

Fun fact: you can usually trim up to 30% of a plants roots without causing the plant to go in to shock!

"I know a few folks are wondering what plants I currently have for sale.

At this time it is only spider plants!

I wanted to start off with a singular type of plant so that I wasn't overwhelming myself right from the get go.

I will say though, I will have succulents available in the very near future, so keep an eye out for when they become available!

Thank you all for your incredible support and patience as I start this journey 💛"

GIVEAWAY!

What better way to celebrate the launch of my small business than with a giveaway including goodies from other local small businesses!?

I have purchased goodies from these other creators for one lucky person to enjoy! And yes, there are goodies for any fellow Autistic/Neurodivergent folks too 💛

What you'll win:
• a custom Necklace of your choosing from
• a lined Holay Smiley Notebook, F*ck Racism Vinyl Sticker, and Hey I Think Your Deadly Vinyl Sticker from
• 1 8oz Lavender & 1 4oz Sweet Pea handpoured soy wax candles from
• Plant Lover Acrylic Keychain and Plant Lover Mug from
• Orange Bike Chain fidget from .shopp
• Sloth Marble Maze, Mini Popper, and Acupuncture Pressure Ring from
• a Large bag of Soil (suitable for houseplants, succulents, and cacti), Hawaiian Variegated Spider Plant, Donkey's Tail Succulent, Graptoveria Moonglow Succulent, and Split Rocks Succulent all from

Head on over to our Instagram account to find out how to enter to win all these awesome goodies!

Did you know that a lot of succulents have a protective coat?

If you have fish you've probably heard about their slime coat. It's what helps naturally protect the fish from getting sick. Touching the fish with your hands or a net wipes off or damages their slime coat, resulting in a weakened immune system which makes them more susceptible to illness.

Succulents have the same thing, only for them it's called Farina!

Farina is the white powdery looking substance that coat the succulents leaves. All of the succulents in these pictures have Farina on them!

Majority of people with succulents don't know what the Farina is and they panic that it's something bad, so they wipe it off. Don't worry, I did it too before I learnt what it is.

Farina is the plants natural way of protecting itself from illness. Wiping it off can be very harmful to the plants health. Avoid rubbing or touching the plants leaves at all costs!

This is another reason it's very important to be careful when watering succulents to ensure you don't get water on the plants leaves. Not only can it rot the leaves, it can wash away the plants protective coat.

Nature is pretty heckin' cool if you ask me.

Here is our current price list for anyone curious!

Understanding Plant Language!

It's a skill you learn over time. You have to take their lead, and learn to trust that they will tell you when they need something. It can take a lot of trial and error!

Each plant will communicate with you differently, but generally, it's not that far off from each other.

I find reading Succulents and Cacti the easiest. Houseplants can be a little trickier to tell what they need as the signs they give can usually indicate more than one thing.

Cacti are a desert plant, as such, they don't appreciate frequent watering. You typically only water it once every 4-6 weeks. When it is ready to be watered it will start to wrinkle and it's colour will fade. That is when you want to give it a good deep soak, and proceed to leave it the heck alone.

Other Succulents, which are desert plants too, also don't appreciate frequent watering. When they are thirsty they will lose the plump and full look to their leaves, and they will start to appear wrinkly.

On the flip side, when they have been over watered, their leaves will start to split and scar. The scars typically appear on the underside of leaves first, but when it's been severely over watered, they will appear all over the plants leaves.

Don't panic water your plants because you feel like it's been too long. When they are thirsty, they WILL tell you!

If you look at slide 1, this plant looks wrinkly. It's telling me it's time for water. Slide 2 is the same plant, but it's not thirsty at the moment. It's not wrinkly and it's got strong colours.

But it's also telling me something else...

Notice the bright green colouring? While this happens with most new growth, this plant has a lot of it, and it's looking a little stretched out. Although this plant lives in a South Facing window, it's telling me it's not getting enough direct sun! To help remedy this, I have placed it under a growlight for 12 hours in the same window.

The areas that have stretched, won't ever fill out, but the new growth that comes in will be nice and full. This is because Succulents grow from the top down, whereas most houseplants grow bottom up!

Are you familiar with the soak to dry watering method?

If you own succulents and cacti, you'll want to keep reading!

Soak to dry watering is the top recommended way to water succulents and cacti.

When the plants are ready to be watered, you give them a good soak, doesn't matter if you water top down, or bottom up. Then you leave the plant the heck alone until its COMPLETELY dry and asking for water again!

Easy enough right?

Succulents are drought tolerant, they hold water in their leaves. They are very smart plants that will communicate with you when it's time to water again.

If you water your succulents and cacti weekly like your houseplants, you're giving them too much water and putting them at high risk for root rot and other problems!

Curious as to what I mean when I say your plants will communicate with you when they are ready for water? Our next post will explain 😎

Just a friendly little PSA:

Autistically Planted is in the process of becoming a registered home business. As such we are required to charge taxes (PST) on all our goods.

All of our pricing already reflects the tax charge. Please keep this in mind when looking at and comparing prices!

Thank you for your support 💛

Soil Soil Soil!

Did you know that regular potting soil and soil labeled as "cactus mix" actually isn't good for your plants? Yes, that includes Promix Cactus Soil. While the Promix Cactus Mix has some useful compounds to it, it is still far too dense to provide the necessary drainage for most plants. The only exception to this would be Plant Stores that actually hand mix their own soils too!

The issue with regular old potting soil is that it's really organic, making it incredibly dense. Why is that bad? Well, it results in really poor drainage which means it's staying wet for way too long, which can cause harm to your plants by promoting the growth of bacteria, and resulting in root rot.

I make all my own soil mixtures for my plants, and I sell them!

I use Promix Potting soil as my base which has fertilizer in it, then I add a lot of Perlite! Perlite is volcanic glass. What it does is it acts as a natural aeration tool, providing excellent drainage throughout your soil. This is extremely beneficial for any succulents or cacti in your collection!

If you have houseplants in your collection such as Spider Plants or Pothos, it can also be helpful to add Vermiculite to the soil mixture with Perlite. Vermiculite is a mineral. It also adds natural drainage to the soil, while holding moisture that it slowly releases over time. This is awesome for houseplants, but avoid using it for succulents and cacti as they don't appreciate the moisture retention and it can be detrimental to them!

There are 2 different sizes available. Small is just under ½ a lb of soil for $2 which is the perfect size for repotting your spider plant in it's next size up. Large is 2lbs of soil for $4.

I have only 2 Large bags of soil with both Perlite and Vermiculite (slide 1) left, which is suitable for houseplants ONLY.

I have multiple quantities of soil with just Perlite (slide 2), which can be used for houseplants, succulents, and cacti.

These make great additions to orders when you are purchasing plants to give as gifts, as it saves the person receiving the plant from having to go and find an appropriate soil, especially if they are new to plants!

DM or Email to order yours 💛

Introducing Hawaiian Variegated Spider Plants!

Hawaiian Variegated Spider Plants are unique from the other variegations of spider plants as these start off variegated with a white stripe in the middle of their leaves (can be seen on slide 6), and as they mature, they turn a solid deep green. Any pups that grow off the vines will also be variegated until they start to mature too!

Spider Plants are fast growing and easy as heck to take care of. Place it in a spot with bright indirect light. If you notice holes in the leaves it's likely getting too much sun. Water it only once the soil has dried and try your best to water it with filtered water, as tap water has flouride in it which can cause the tips of the leaves to turn crispy. As always, make sure it's in the appropriate size pot with good drainage, and the proper soil mix.

These plants grow approximately 2-2½' wide and 2-3' tall. I have had my mother plant (pictured in slides 7&8) since November 2019 and it's currently 2½' wide and 1' tall.

Spider Plants are non-toxic making them a safe option for those with furry companions!

I have 2 sizes of these available. The purple pot is an example of a $4 plant, and the black pot is an example of a $5 plant.

Smaller Plants are 1 for $4 or 3 for $10.
Larger Plants are 1 for $5 or 3 for $12.

DM or Email to order yours 💛

I am beyond excited to officially introduce you to Autistically Planted!

Having my own plant gig is the ultimate dream of mine, and this is the first step in helping make that dream, a reality!

As an Autistic person and having plants as a special interest, I share a totally unique connection to plants. Doing anything involving plants is extremely regulating and fulfilling for me. From shopping for new plants, to reading up on plants unique care needs, I could do it all day and not feel like i've missed out on a thing.

Nothing makes me happier than being able to help other people in their journey to thriving plants. I am always more than happy to help anyone and answer any questions or concerns you have about plants in your care regardless of where they have come from!

Minimum 10% from every sale will be donated to helping Indigenous People and Houseless Folks. This is something I am very passionate about.

I would also just like to state that there will be a ZERO tolerance for ableism and hate in all of my spaces. This is my space, and this is a safe space. I won't allow anyone to try and change that or make it unsafe for anyone at any point in time. I refuse to help or do business with anyone that can't respect my space or boundaries.

If you require assistance diagnosing an issue with your plant(s) please ensure you send pictures and as many details as possible about the care you provide such as the light it receives and how long, how frequently you water it, the type of soil it is in, how long you have had it, the last time it was repotted, whether or not it's pot has drainage, etc. this helps me narrow it down as quickly as possible!

As mentioned in the slides, all orders can be placed through Direct Message on here, Instagram, or through Email!

I also have something super exciting planned for the VERY near future that I guarantee you won't want to miss out on 😉

I look forward to connecting with all of you and sharing our love for our green jungles 💚

Autistically Planted updated their website address.