I've bought some quite large terracotta planters in which to plant some patio shrubs to form a hedging screen, but have found that each planter comes with only one small hole in its bottom, and in this hole there is a rubber plug. I feel that I must, without doubt, remove the plug, to allow drainage in case excess rain-water falls on the planter.

But, given that there is only one small hole, about the size of a 50 pence coin, should I just fill the planter with compost, so the compost sits on the hole, and moisture has immediate and unobstructed exit?

Or should I place stones or bits of broken crockery over the hole first? It seems to me that placing solid items over the hole will obstruct drainage..

I'm concerned about what to do because there's only one hole and it's so small.

David.

On 04/05/2016 14:07, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Wed, 4 May 2016 05:35:41 -0700 (PDT), David
wrote:


I've bought some quite large terracotta planters in which to plant some patio shrubs to form a hedging screen, but have found that each planter comes with only one small hole in its bottom, and in this hole there is a rubber plug. I feel that I must, without doubt, remove the plug, to allow drainage in case excess rain-water falls on the planter.

But, given that there is only one small hole, about the size of a 50 pence coin, should I just fill the planter with compost, so the compost sits on the hole, and moisture has immediate and unobstructed exit?

Or should I place stones or bits of broken crockery over the hole first? It seems to me that placing solid items over the hole will obstruct drainage.

I'm concerned about what to do because there's only one hole and it's so small.

David.

Them that use terracotta pots regularly nearly always have a quantity
of broken pot bits, and they use these to line the base of new
terracotta pots to improve the drainage. Because these bits are not
flat (e.g. they're the sides of plant pots so they're slightly
curved), they do not lie flat in the bottom of the pot and so allow
water to percolate easily. In your case, if you haven't got any of the
above, then pebbles or broken up polystyrene packing or 'squiggles'
make a good alternative.

But if you use anything made of 'plastic', do separate it out and bin
it when eventually the time comes to put the pot contents on the
compost heap, otherwise your compost will be laced with bits of said
'plastic' that will look horrible as it blows around the garden.


If you are going to use the "squiggles" then suck them and see, just
make sure that they are not the ones made from corn starch.

On Wed, 4 May 2016 05:35:41 -0700 (PDT), David
wrote:


But, given that there is only one small hole, about the size of a 50 pence coin,

I would say that's a fair size hole, I use a square of garden
fleece , a very small roll would supply you for years, lets the water
drain away, (I hear older gardeners used to use an old net curtain,
fleece is just easier and cheaper)

On 05/05/16 08:30, divingbrit wrote:
On Wed, 4 May 2016 05:35:41 -0700 (PDT), David
wrote:


But, given that there is only one small hole, about the size of a 50 pence coin,

I would say that's a fair size hole, I use a square of garden
fleece , a very small roll would supply you for years, lets the water
drain away, (I hear older gardeners used to use an old net curtain,
fleece is just easier and cheaper)

+1 (although I use weedproof membrane)

Also stops ants getting in the pots!

--

Jeff

On 05/05/2016 20:15, Chris French wrote:
Chris Hogg Wrote in message:
On Wed, 4 May 2016 05:35:41 -0700 (PDT), David
wrote:


I've bought some quite large terracotta planters in which to plant some patio shrubs to form a hedging screen, but have found that each planter comes with only one small hole in its bottom, and in this hole there is a rubber plug. I feel that I must, without doubt, remove the plug, to allow drainage in case excess rain-water falls on the planter.

But, given that there is only one small hole, about the size of a 50 pence coin, should I just fill the planter with compost, so the compost sits on the hole, and moisture has immediate and unobstructed exit?

Or should I place stones or bits of broken crockery over the hole first? It seems to me that placing solid items over the hole will obstruct drainage.

I'm concerned about what to do because there's only one hole and it's so small.

David.

Them that use terracotta pots regularly nearly always have a quantity
of broken pot bits, and they use these to line the base of new
terracotta pots to improve the drainage.

ISTR something a few years back, maybe on GW. They looked at this
and the conclusion was that it made no difference to how well the
pot drained.

I do stick a bit of weed membrane over the hole to keep compost in.


This debate of crock or don't crock really goes back to when many people
used either garden soil or soil based composts in their tubs/ urns/
large pots.
This was much slower draining and had the habit of going "solid".
Now our composts are chiefly Peat based or other soil less compost make
up which has very different properties so using a membrane will suffice.
The advantage of soil based compost if you are planting a tall
plant/tree in pots then the extra weight helps to stop them blowing over.
Have a look at the citrus and olives being imported from Italy, feels as
if they are growing in concrete.
David@a sunny side of Swansea Bay.

David wrote:
I've bought some quite large terracotta planters in which to plant
some patio shrubs to form a hedging screen, but have found that each
planter comes with only one small hole in its bottom, and in this
hole there is a rubber plug. I feel that I must, without doubt,
remove the plug, to allow drainage in case excess rain-water falls on
the planter.

But, given that there is only one small hole, about the size of a 50
pence coin, should I just fill the planter with compost, so the
compost sits on the hole, and moisture has immediate and unobstructed
exit?

Or should I place stones or bits of broken crockery over the hole
first? It seems to me that placing solid items over the hole will
obstruct drainage.

I'm concerned about what to do because there's only one hole and it's
so small.

David.

It doesn't matter how small the hole is, and I think 50p size is quite
large, the pot will never become waterlogged for any length of time as water
always finds the lowest point, which will be through the drain hole.. Cover
it with anything that won't degrade, a piece of plastic with a hole in it,
or any kind of nylon mesh.

Many thanks, people, for all the generous help.

Very much appreciated.

David.

On Wed, 4 May 2016 05:35:41 -0700 (PDT), David
wrote:

Or should I place stones or bits of broken crockery over the hole first? It seems to me that placing solid items over the hole will obstruct drainage.

I've tried several systems, including

(a) doing nothing
(b) adding large stones, kindly left by builders in case I needed them
(c) adding terracotta pot fragments
(d) adding terracotta fragments plus grit.

With all these methods, silt from the JI compost I use would
eventually wash through and block the hole, it just took varying
lengths of time. So now I use option d AND I put all my pots on pot
stands. It helps when the window cleaner comes anyway.

Them feety things are hopeless, I was forever knocking pots over when
I tried them.

It's a good idea to use mesh or fleece, though: I'm definitely going
to give that a try. Can't believe I never thought of it. But I'll
still use a pot stand just in case.
--
Bob Moore
http://bobmoore.mvps.org/

On Fri, 03 Jun 2016 17:10:49 +0100, Bob Moore wrote:


It's a good idea to use mesh or fleece, though: I'm definitely going
to give that a try. Can't believe I never thought of it. But I'll
still use a pot stand just in case.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... perts.html

Personally I don't put crocks at the bottom of my pots, sometimes fine
netting to keep out bugs, and I do use lots of broken up 'polystyrene'
to reduce the amount of compost needed, as a large plant looks better
in a big pot, but does not need always a large pot of compost!

In article ,
says...

On Fri, 03 Jun 2016 17:10:49 +0100, Bob Moore wrote:


It's a good idea to use mesh or fleece, though: I'm definitely going
to give that a try. Can't believe I never thought of it. But I'll
still use a pot stand just in case.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... perts.html

Personally I don't put crocks at the bottom of my pots, sometimes fine
netting to keep out bugs, and I do use lots of broken up 'polystyrene'
to reduce the amount of compost needed, as a large plant looks better
in a big pot, but does not need always a large pot of compost!

Where I live we experience very high winds. To help stabilise
large plants in large pots, I always put some large stones or bricks in
the bottom of the pot; plus smaller stones for drainage.


Janet (Isle of Arran)

On Wednesday, May 4, 2016 at 1:35:42 PM UTC+1, David wrote:
I've bought some quite large terracotta planters in which to plant some patio shrubs to form a hedging screen, but have found that each planter comes with only one small hole in its bottom, and in this hole there is a rubber plug. I feel that I must, without doubt, remove the plug, to allow drainage in case excess rain-water falls on the planter.

But, given that there is only one small hole, about the size of a 50 pence coin, should I just fill the planter with compost, so the compost sits on the hole, and moisture has immediate and unobstructed exit?

Or should I place stones or bits of broken crockery over the hole first? It seems to me that placing solid items over the hole will obstruct drainage.

I'm concerned about what to do because there's only one hole and it's so small.

David.

I use polystyrene packaging, it keeps slugs out.