On 8/10/2010 6:32 PM, Eggs Zachtly wrote:
Kate said:

I have noticed that many stores do not sell the bases (can't think of
the official name) that go with plant pots anymore.

They're called "saucers". And, I've never seen a store, that sold planters (of
any material), that didn't also stock the appropriately sized saucer.


Therefore, I won't be drilling holes in the bottom of this pot for
drainage. I will be putting small rocks on the bottom for drainage and
planting a dwarf alberta spruce in it.

Has anyone done this and did the tree survive?

You're not going to be achieving any sort of "drainage" by putting a bunch of
rocks at the bottom of the planter. All you will do is:

A. Make the container much heavier than it needs to be. (Might as well have
bought one that was actually carved from stone, instead of an imposter.) =)

B. Create an environment that keeps the roots of the plant in a saturated state.
The rocks and the potting mix aren't going to stay in nice, neat, separated
layers. The potting mix is going to seep down through the rocks, displacing...

You guessed it! The water that has no place to go. So, now, the water table is
rising, simply by the potting mix pushing it up. This process gets sped it up by
the dry potting mix above, absorbing the water rising from below (wicking).
Pretty soon (after many fewer waterings than you think), the entire pot has
become saturated, and with no way for the water to be removed, the plants, in
essence, drown.

You MUST provide drainage that will adequately remove the excess water from the
container. If you don't want to use it properly to contain live plants, then buy
a quality "fake" plant to put in it.

Sorry for this late reply, but you are right on.

I decided against this pot. Walmart and Lowe's did not have the right
sized saucer.

Thanks for your input. Much appreciated.