Hi! Do you think it’s okay to plant a donkey’s tail succulent in a terracotta pot without drainage hole? Plant is located outside on a porch in part sun/park shade. I usually like to really give it a good bath in its current pot (stoneware w/ drainage) and it’s happy and healthy but now way out growing the current pot. I have this 9” terracotta pot without a hole and I just don’t know what to plant it in! The pot has pretty thick walls. Any thoughts?
That is a pretty planter but I think succulents especially need the drainage hole 🙁 I had a donkeys tail for a long time (smaller version) and although it loved a good bath, I think it needed the drainage. However it wasn’t terracotta so if you try it, maybe you’ll have luck with the water being absorbed.
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With proper layering and soil, you can definitely plant a succulent in there. Terracotta is extremely porous and a lot of the water can pass through the pot. For some of my plants, I use a thick layer of charcoal then a thick layer of perlite before I put in my plant and soil. This way, the water sits in the perlite and charcoal layer vs on the soil layer. It’ll help the plant dry faster this way. I usually don’t water frequently when it comes to plants in this set up. You also want to repot your plant every year - tap water leaves behind a lot of residue that needs to be cleaned out every now and then. You can use distilled water as well
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you could also just plant your donkey’s tail in a nursery-type plant with drainage and plop it in this one as a decorative one. I do this all the time because I want all my plants to have proper drainage. just a suggestion ☺️
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Lay down a good layer of rocks first for drainage. I have a few in non drainage pots that are doing fine :)
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I’m general this doesn’t really work. Due to capillary action it just pushes the water table further up toward the roots and can make the problem worse for people who overwater. I almost never plant anything in a pot without drainage. Especially succulents.
1 likeUpdate! I drilled a hole in the bottom of the pot!! I was very intimidated at first but it was super easy! I soaked the bottom of the pot in water overnight. And like butter the drill went through! Thanks all for the support!
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