Comments on: How to Use Self-Watering Plant Pots (They’re Not As Self-Sufficient As Their Name Suggests)

By: Caroline Cocker

Caroline Cocker — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 19:33:24 +0000

In reply to Linda.

They sound great! I watched a tv programme on old gardening techniques and the two terracotta pots method was a popular one! There’s also a slightly different version where both pots are unglazed and they’re planted in the ground so that they can absorb ground water too!

I would line the pot with sphagnum – you’d want something with a lot of contact with the terracotta so it can help draw the water through – and then use whatever medium you want in the middle. If you just used orchid bark I don’t think it would stay moist enough.

By: Linda

Linda — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 19:24:16 +0000

Have you tried this other kind of ‘self watering’ pot??
Each pot set consists of an un-glazed pot with NO hole, inside a glazed pot with NO hole. The flat rim of the inside pot rests upon the upper edge of the outside pot, so the inside pot is suspended. (Might limit evaporation and possibly prevent noseeums access to water to breed?)
But the sales pitch sounded strange: “capillary action of the roots draws moisture to them, through the terracotta, only as fast as they need it,” he says, “the soil won’t get soggy OR dry!”
Heh. (Really?!?)
$7 each (abt 3″x3″).
I got two, for my mini African violets. But- none of their little roots actually reached the new pots’ sides. (They were coming from 2″ plastic pots, and had few roots.) So no capillary action is happening up-against the terracotta.
The potting mix was humid, not damp. I packed it moderately. I didnt water them in. I made the water level in the outer pot almost reach the rim of the inner pot … and a week later it is more than 2/3 of the way down the pot. So… water is going somewhere…
The plants are thrilled … they’ve never looked happier. (But it has only been a week.)
The soil is still just humid at the surface, but noseeums moved on!
I’m not convinced that the “capillary action” of hair-sized roots (1/4″ away from the terracotta) is the mechanism bringing water through the terra-cotta. But if contact with soil causes water transfer, what would happen with a surface-hugging orchid root? Orchid bark? Sphagnum? Is terracotta porous enough that water would go though, even if the inner pot was empty? Would love to know your thoughts!

By: Caroline

Caroline — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 08:29:51 +0000

In reply to Marita.

You can (it’s probably more effective than using non-self watering because the soil will be damper), but I personally find any kind of soil propagation pretty hit and miss.

I generally let the roots grow to about an inch before putting them into soil – self watering is great for transferring cuttings because the soil is less likely to dry out, but keep an eye out for root rot.

By: Marita

Marita — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 07:18:07 +0000

Can you use a string-wicking system with unrooted cuttings? If not, how much do the roots need to grow before you can use a string-wicking system?