Watering Pots
Posted by Fitzroy Nursery on
These are a few general rules to follow to keep your pot plants happy and healthy:
1. The most important rule to follow is to always water until you see the water running from the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. This ensures that you have soaked the core of the root ball.
2. Water slowly and watch the water soak into the soil.
3. Plants in pots will dry out quickly. It is important to maintain adequate soil moisture for pot plants to look their best. If you have let your plants dry out too much fill a container with water and push the pot under until air bubbles rise to the surface. When the bubbles stop remove the pot and let drain.
4. If you wish to have a saucer under your pots either indoors or outdoors make sure the plant isn’t sitting in the water. This ensures that the roots of the plant aren’t kept too w which can lead to rot. There are ways to keep plants free of the saucer such as pot feet or using pebbles to raise the pot up.
5. Don’t rely on rainfall to water your pots. This can be a common mistake in the cooler months. It takes a lot of rain to fully soak a pot.
* Many growers have started using a peat based mix (ask a staff member what the plants you are purchasing are planted in). This mix will hold a lot more water than regular potting mixes so will tend to need watering less often. Sometimes if this mix dries too much it will need to be soaked to properly rewet it.