Aqua Globes

Has anyone heard of Aqua Globes? Someone got them for me as a gift and I just love them. Not only are they beautiful, but they are great for keeping hoyas that are hard to reach watered. For those who don't know, they are made of hand blown glass, and no two look the same. You fill it up with water and the plant will absorb the water as needed...as the soil gets dry, it releases oxygen into the globe, and then the globe releases the exact amount of water the plant needs. I love them!!

If anyone has any good or bad experiences with them, I'd love to know.

Gabi

Here's a pic of two of them...one is in my lacunosa and one in my carnosa.

And another pic...

When I first saw them advertised I googled "reviews". What I read stopped me from buying them. Apparently, they only last a couple of days and drown the plants. Just keep an eye on things is my advice.

I've seen them for sale and advertised in magazines but have never tried them myself. I'd probably use them for decorative purposes as I love stuff like that. The last time I was down visiting my sister she had bought a set of two at Costco and her DH put one in a Pachira (Money Tree) plant and the other one in a palm tree in their family room. The next time I talk to them I will have to ask how their aqua globes are working. I think I saw them for sale in a Target ad recently. They are pretty to look at even if they don't get filled with water.

I have a couple that I received as a gift, I don't use them for hoyas because I was concerned about them keeping the soil too wet. Maybe for H. bella? or any other that needs more moist. I have them in regular plants and they last about three days.
They look very pretty, they have them at Walmart for around $10 a pair.

My brother in law and his wife have a few of these aquaglobes, and they love them. I have also seen them at Wal*Mart. They are pretty, and I think they might work well with something like the African Violet family, but I would not trust them with a Hoya. I don't think they would work with a chunky mix either - all the water would run out of them in short order. I think they would work best in a soil or peat based mix where the capilary action would draw the water out slowly. There is one more thing that would be a pain for me. When you fill them with water, you would always have to clean the tube, because it would be full of dirt. I guess you could poke it out with a wire or coat hanger.

Doug

I have had them for about three years. I love them.It is hot here in the summer there great outdoors. In side i do not use them in small pots in the winter. I keep all plants on the dry side that time of year.

Thanks for all your advice.

Day 1 in my obovata and it was EMPTY! So I took it out of that one. But it's been doing well in lacunosa (probably because it's a water guzzler and the soil is just regular soil...not "chunky"). BTW, that was a great point Doug...I think it would be great for peaty soil like EA hoyas. I just put another in H. wayetii (from EA), so we'll see how fast the water drains out of the globe. I'll be on the lookout. I will be putting one in multiflora of course. And Lourdes, bella would be another I would use it on (if I could keep those alive!!). Oh, maybe I'll put one in linearis....only problem is that I like to water that one from the bottom.

I also got mine for 10 bucks at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I think a lot of places are selling them now. They were in the "As seen on TV" section.

Thanks again for all your input,
Gabi

I hear you Gabi! My specialty is to kill H. bella among others (I'm almost crying here LOL) I agree, they should work fine with EA hoyas.

I was given a water globe at c-mas and was very skeptical about their value. I un-wound and trimed my 6 ft+ H. carnosa, let the cuttings harden off and then replanted in the same pot as Mom. They prefer to be a bit root bound and Mom's pot was too big. So far I have lost none of the cuttings and everyone seems to be very happy! :)
barb

Barb,

I'm not sure if you are saying that you used it on your carnosa or chose not to...

Gabi

I did use it in the Hoya and it seems to have done a good job. I tend to forget to water plants, but the globe seemingly kept it moist enough that none of the cutting showed any ill effect.
OK! Curiosity got the better of me. I gently took out one of the cuttings and it has lots of roots. One cutting w/ only 1 leaf did croak, but all else is fine.