Plants growing through aeroponics get all their needs met through nutrient-rich mist, directly applied to the naked roots. To hold the root structure and plants in place, pieces of foam or support collars are used around the bases or stems. These collars must be firm enough to stabilize the plant, without holding it so tightly that it can’t grow.
You’ll find most aeroponic designs including a suspended platform, hanging plants over a reservoir of water. A nutrient solution and the water is pumped through sprinklers in order to form a nutritious mist. Misters or sprinkler heads then keep the plant’s roots moist, but only as much as they need. Much less water is used this way than compared to typical irrigation, which usually floods the plant’s surrounding furrows and is no longer absorbed once the soil is saturated. Plants who don’t have to grow their roots in order to find nutrients and nearby moisture can focus on becoming large, happy, healthy plants.
Aeroponics changed the world of horticultural cloning, also known as vegetative propagation. This involves clippings from living plants to generate new, identical plants: clones. High levels of oxygen around the plant’s root zone strengthens and hardens the exposed roots, making them more resilient and easier to move.
In aeroponic cloning, cuttings are removed from the parent plants and anchored in their own grow bed. There, the babies are sprayed with nutrient filled mist. Since these set-ups are typically indoors, grow lights are often used. An indoor design ensures a level of sterility and a controlled environment. Within three to five days, new roots appear and begin to grow out into more advanced root networks. After a week or two, most plants that are cloned aeroponically are ready to be transplanted into the soil or a growing system.
