In article , NC wrote:
Water will indeed pass right through as long as you give it room to do
so. I was thinking of pebbles or stones deflecting it off and into the
surrounding grass. Putting a length of pipe or your cut off bottle
into the ground and watering through that is a really good solution and
is something used a good deal in places where water is in short supply.
When I lived in Jersey, many jobbing gardeners were Portuguese from
Madeira and they employed that method quite often.

OK - understood. I'll give that a go. How deep should I bury the pipe /
bottle ??

6" for those - deeper for larger shrubs and trees.

However, it really isn't worth the effort in most of the UK. Once
those climbers get their roots down, they will not be worried about
anything except unusually long, dry spells. They do NOT need (and
will not appreciate) frequent watering - just soak them well when
the soil gets dry 2" down until they get established, and then do
it only occasionally in extreme conditions.

That technique is seriously beneficial in Madeira, but probably
pretty marginal even in Jersey. It doesn't do any harm, anywhere,
so it is worth doing if it has any advantage (like reducing mess).
Note that it works in two ways: saving water by putting it right
in the middle of the root ball, and reducing evaporation (which is
the aspect that is almost irrelevant here).

With care, my guess is that you might save 30% in the UK, compared
with 70% in Madeira. Without considerable care, it will only reduce
splashing and not save water.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.