Does anyone have suggestions for making a self watering pot? Seems simple enough but I want feedback from actual plant peeps :)
Does anyone have suggestions for making a self watering pot? Seems simple enough but I want feedback from actual plant peeps :)
A lot of plant peeps, including myself, don’t recommend self watering pots. A lot of people think that the plant will absorb the water as it needs it but in all actuality, it continues to absorb the water until there’s no water left, even if it doesn’t need the water. This leaves you with root rot!
1 mi piaceI love them for specific plants! Personal preference lolol
0 Mi piaceI agree. Tried a couple once and gave up after three weeks. And it was with moisture loving plants. Maybe I did something wrong because many people love them. I may try a different kind sometime.
0 Mi piaceI LOVEEE them for plants that like to be moist! Not all plants, specific plants but I also use semi-hydro for that, too!
0 Mi piaceI generally agree as well. There are some exceptions that I’ve found, like pottery based self watering plants are gentler and I always let the plant dry out some before refilling the reservoir; I’ve also done well with violets in these pots and I have a calathea that is doing alright in one of these too. The pots with the wick, which are the only pots I’ve seen that you can make yourself seem to inundate the soil and suffocate the roots.
0 Mi piaceI’ve had a lot of success with typical ones that have the insert! I got a planter with no holes and have no actual idea how to convert it to self watering to avoid the roots just sitting in water with no nursery pot large enough for this project😩
1 mi piaceIf you’re on insta check out happy happy houseplant. I remember she posted about making an extra large self watering pot.
1 mi piaceThank you!
0 Mi piaceI have numerous plants in self watering planters; some in soil and some in pon. For the ones in soil; I use the wick method. All I did was find a piece of PVC pipe about 4" in diameter and 2" thick. It raises the plant off the bottom of the cache pot to allow the wicks hanging into the water
3 Mi piaceI love them—especially for my plants in leca! I actually found a plastic dish I drilled a few holes into and it fit perfectly! We’ll see how this goes! Thank you for the tips🫶
2 Mi piaceOh sweet. That sounds great; it should go very well. =)
1 mi piacePersonally, I LOVE self watering pots! But I do use them with pon/or similar, not soil. I have one really thirsty plant in a self watering pot in soil and it’s not happy, but I have at least 30 plants in pon in self watering pots and they are all thriving! It makes it easier for me to have more plants and it be more manageable. I’ve never made my own self watering pots, I just have a bunch from Amazon that work great! I’ll try and attach some of the ones I have. I do think you could get 2 different sizes of plastic cups, one smaller (for the inside to put the plant in) and one larger for the water reservoir that the small one will fit in. You can use a soldering iron to make some holes in the smaller one that you will pot your plant in.
2 Mi piaceOmg I have this one haha! A friend of mine for me a planter with no holes and I’ve needed a self watering pot for my orange bird of paradise! So I’m gonna convert this somehow! My white bird of paradise grew like a weed when I put it in a self watering pot a few years ago!
1 mi piaceI have my Alocasia Regal Shield in this massive self watering pot. I potted it low in the pot, so when it needs an up pot, I can take the plant out, put more pon on the bottom and then put the plant back in. That way I don’t have to get a new pot for it! It is $80 but I think I can up pot the plant at least 2 times so I think it’s worth it. Plus, my regal shield loves it and is getting giant leaves after potting it in this one.
3 Mi piaceThat’s so funny!!! This is my white BOP in the same one! It outgrew it in a year and now it’s in an even bigger one! Tropical plants that like being moist do the best in them! I have a nerve plant in a 4inch self watering planter and she’s also growing like a weed! I wouldn’t recommend planting any type of succulent or cacti in them lolol! He’s easily reaching over 7ft now—towers over everyone lmao
1 mi piacePerfect!! I was thinking this one would be really good for a BOP 😂 do you have it in soil? I don’t have a bird of paradise but I’m hoping to get one soon. I think I’ll do this setup for it!
1 mi piaceI got my white bop before I started using leca, so he’s in soil. My orange bop I have in leca (he’s the one who this post is for lol)
1 mi piaceTerracotta pots are lovely❤️
1 mi piace