Do you guys find that having nursery pots inside decorative pots they take along time to dry out? I have had mine in decorative pots and find they take weeks on end to dry out using a moisture meter to determine when they need watering. After only a couple days outside of the decorative pots they have shown signs of drying out quite fast, could this be a potting mix issue or is it that the decorative pots don’t have drainage holes although the nursery pots do?
Also have you guys had any issues with root rot because of the extended time they stay ‘wet’
0 Mi piace
I have almost all of my plants (140+) in plastic pots that sit in ceramic or concrete outer pots. Some outer pots have drain holes, some don’t. The potting mix varies. I don’t have slow drying issues. I would question the accuracy of the moisture meter if it takes weeks to show the soil is dry. Pots sizes under a gallon should not take weeks to dry. Note that moisture meters checks for conductivity not wetness. Any thing in the soil that affects conductivity will give false readings. I recommend: 1) using additional means to check moisture levels such as your fingers or a wooden skewer stuck in the soil momentarily, then, checked for water marks. 2) Let the plastic pot drain thoroughly until it stops dripping before putting it in the outer pot. This reduces the water trapped between the pots. 3) Add more aggregate to the soil to help it drain and dry faster. Dense soil with less air pockets takes longer to dry. Consider completely changing the soil mix on the plants taking weeks to dry. 4) Check if the plant is root bound which can block drain holes and slow drainage. Good luck 🍀🪴
7 Mi piace Thank you I’ve only had them for around 2 weeks so I’m tempted to repot them all in a chunky aroid mix so I know exactly what there growing in
3 Mi piace
i had this same issue when i brought a big plant home. here for the suggestions bc i lost three leaves waiting for it to dry. my thoughts are that it may not be the plastic pot v the amount of sun we’re giving the plant. i got a grow light and just in the waiting phase 🤞🏽
0 Mi piace
Funny, I just repotted 3 of my plants yesterday for that exact reason. One of my plants had a tiny bit of root rot, the others were ok but I bet it wouldn’t have been long. I mixed potting soil with coco coir & peat mix and put back in plastic pots.
2 Mi piace I’ve just got some new ingredients to make my own potting mix although where I went didn’t have any orchid bark😞 but I’m gonna start using hydrogen pebbles instead. Ingredient list is: House plant compost Perlite Coconut coir ( not sure if I’m gonna use it in my ‘chunky aroid mix’ mainly for trying to propagate dendrobium cane) Hydroton pebbles
0 Mi piace