FAQ - Botanopia

When should I repot my plant in soil?

You don’t need to repot in soil, unless you want to. With suitable nutrients, your plant can thrive in water forever (it’s called hydroponics).

Should you want to repot your plant in soil or in the ground, no problem. Just gently pull out the plant from your germination plate and spread them around in their new pot. The plant will have to adjust and create new type of roots, but should recover quickly.

Sometimes you will see some staining on your germination plate after removing the plant. An easy and gentle way to clean them is to soak in vinegar or hydrogen peroxyde for a day or so. The staining is actually clinging to calcium deposit on the surface. You can also run your Botanopiathrough the dishwasher.

Which size germination plate should i buy?

It depends on the type of plants you want to grow on your Sprout.

Size S: acorns, chestnuts, walnuts, beans, small bulbs like snowdrop and muscari, crocus, small cactus or succulent plants, cuttings such as spider plant or pilea.

Size L: avocado pits, larger succulents and cactus, larger flower bulbs such as tulips, paperwhites, narcissus or hyacinths.

I want quick results!

If you don’t have the patience to watch your seed grow and send roots through the opening of your germination plate, go for quicker options that look instantly lush:

Cuttings, such as the spider plant, pilea offshoots, philodendron or use traditionally grown cactus or succulent and rinse out the soil. Tutorial here. For lots of ideas, check out our gallery.

Where can I buy Botanopia products?

Well, in our webshop is a good start ?

If you want to hold it in your hands before you purchase, seek out one of retailers near you.

No retailer near you yet? Email us to let us know which store in your area would be a good match for Botanopia, we’ll get in touch with them.

Do I need to add fertilizer to the water for my plants to grow?

In the beginning, the seeds themselves contain big stores of energy for the growing plant. When it runs out, or if your plant is looking a bit sad, you can add a small amount of suitable nutrients to the water. Watch out that you don’t overdo it and burn the roots. We recommend this plant food.

How often should I change the water for hydroculture plants?

Fill the glass with water almost all way to underside of the porcelain germination plate. Don’t let the roots dry out, refresh the water, every week or two.

I’ve received my germination plate. Now what do I do to get plants growing in it?

Depends on the plant/seed you want to try. We’ve made lots of video tutorials for different plants to get you started.

Acorns, chestnuts, walnuts and other seeds from cold climates need to be germinated according to the cold treatment.

All other seeds like beans, avocado pits, and other warm-climate plant seeds can be germinated using the regular baggie method.

For all seeds: once you have a long enough root, place it on your Botanopiawith the root in the water and watch it grow.

My acorn is not growing.

Did you follow the instructions from our how-to?

If yes, and no results, here’s some pointers.

It takes time. Don’t give up on your acorns yet, it can take between 3 to 8 weeks to start seeing signs of germination. The acorn needs to reach the right level of humidity and temperature to wake up and start growing.
Not all seeds are viable. That’s just how nature works, only a percentage of seeds actually germinate. The germination rate decreases the older the seeds are. Increase your success rate by starting multiple seeds at once!
Don’t put all your eggs acorns in the same basket! While you’re waiting on one type of seed to germinate, try your hand at other sorts as well and give cuttings and cacti a try too.

I want my acorn to grow leaves already!

There’s no shortcut to nature’s process. So sit back, relax, and watch the slow and peaceful progress your plants are making.

If you’re set on winning time, you can start by locating a germinated acorn already. In the northern hemisphere, roughly between November and April, you can search amongst the leaves at the foot of oak trees. With a bit of luck you’ll find several acorns that are already showing the first signs of sprouting, or even better, find some with a tap root already coming out. That will cut your waiting time by at least a month. If you live in a warmer climate, you might have live oak/summer oak growing around. These carry acorns far longer than their northern cousins.

Can’t find any? Start from seed!

I have a store and would like to sell your products.

Great! Get in touch with us through our wholesale registration page, we’ll get you all set-up.

Do you ship internationally?

We do! We ship our porcelain plates all over the world! Add your desired products to your shopping cart for an estimate of the shipping costs to your exact location.

Seeds and live plants are trickier, as many countries restrict the import of foreign plant matter for fear of diseases and pests. We only ship those within the EU.

There’s mould on my seeds!

So most of the time, seeds germinate in soil, where there isn’t a lot of contact with the air, so mould is not that common. When germinating seeds out of the soil, like we do we the baggie method, it happens more often. But no panic!
First thing is to make sure you wash your hands well before you handle your seeds and baggies. Warm, moist environments + bacteria and mould spores present in our houses = a perfect breeding ground for mould.

Second, you can gently wipe your seeds with a bit of diluted hydrogen peroxide, that you should cut down on the mould. Change the paper towel and bag, and keep going. Some species are more prone to mould than other, to be on the safe side, you could wrap your seeds each in their own towel to prevent cross-contamination.

In the end, mould won’t prevent the seed from germinating, but it’s just not very pretty to look at.