Subtitle: When you move, ignore the books & dishes and deal with the plants
first.

While moving into my new house two weeks ago, and then focusing on
unpacking, there were two potted plant casualties. One's just plain
hopeless. The other is a huge plastic pot containing basil & parsley. It had
been living on an apartment balcony, so the pot had a dish snapped onto the
bottom to protect the outdoor carpeting. The pot was placed outdoors on the
lawn in the sun when I moved. It rained heavily for two days, and the herbs
began sagging as if they'd been through a drought.

I know all about drainage, so I kept tipping the pot to drain out the tray.
Five cycles of this and it was still draining, so yesterday morning, I
removed the tray completely. (Normally, I wouldn't even use a tray on an
outdoor pot that received rain). I placed the pot up on some bricks and
water trickled out the bottom all day long. I've never seen potting soil so
saturated.

This morning, the basil is still sagging, but not totally lifeless. The
parsley has lost its deep green color and has turned pale. I'm taking votes.
Wait another day or two, or repot quickly?

On Tue, 14 Sep 2004 11:34:42 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

Subtitle: When you move, ignore the books & dishes and deal with the plants
first.

While moving into my new house two weeks ago, and then focusing on
unpacking, there were two potted plant casualties. One's just plain
hopeless. The other is a huge plastic pot containing basil & parsley. It had
been living on an apartment balcony, so the pot had a dish snapped onto the
bottom to protect the outdoor carpeting. The pot was placed outdoors on the
lawn in the sun when I moved. It rained heavily for two days, and the herbs
began sagging as if they'd been through a drought.

I know all about drainage, so I kept tipping the pot to drain out the tray.
Five cycles of this and it was still draining, so yesterday morning, I
removed the tray completely. (Normally, I wouldn't even use a tray on an
outdoor pot that received rain). I placed the pot up on some bricks and
water trickled out the bottom all day long. I've never seen potting soil so
saturated.

This morning, the basil is still sagging, but not totally lifeless. The
parsley has lost its deep green color and has turned pale. I'm taking votes.
Wait another day or two, or repot quickly?


Parsley resents repotting. But you are right about saucers. I move
part of my large cactus collection to the deck from spring to fall and
never water them. I place each pot on two sticks, so that they are
lifted at least 1/4" up off the surface. Not only that provides quick
drainage, but also prevents mold/mildew on the deck. Place your soggy
plants in full sun, and bring them in if there is any chance of rain.
A fan will help dry them up too. Unglazed clay pots provide better
drainage.