Potting plants without drainage holes are very common as not all pots come with them or the plants do not require them. Many people argue that all plants absolutely need drainage holes if they are being planted in pots and require air circulation and an outlet for surplus water.
Although this is true however, it is also known that house plants can survive without drainage holes and still be healthy and thrive.
In this article, we will talk to you through the ways that you can pot your plants without drainage holes and also the important tips and tricks regarding the matter.
Contents
How To Use Potting Plants Without Drainage?
You can pot your plant without drainage by filling it with some rocks, and by using a cachepot. You can use the plant in its pot and just place them inside the second pot which will allow no drainage as it will be without any holes.
No one can deny the importance of drainage holes, but they can be an annoyance to look after. This is why many plants can be kept in pots that do not have drainage holes because such plants do not require constant drainage.
– Cover the Pot With a Non-Draining Pot
A non-draining pot is any pot that is completely sealed and will not let any material go by. The best way to use these pots is that you can place your draining pot inside them.
These pots will act as a barrier and catch all the water coming out of the pots, and they will not let any water or soil fragments pass on. You can water your plants with ease and the water will not be expelled on the sides.
After a few days, you can choose to clean these pots and remove all the collected water. This will keep the place clean, the plants watered, and the mess contained. This would also be a way that you could help your plant to thrive and not become unhealthy.
– Place Rocks in the Non-draining Pot
The above method is great but sometimes the accumulated water can cause any bacterial, algal, or fungal buildup if not cleaned for a long time. To get rid of this, rocks can be used.
The rocks can be laid in the pot before putting the plant in, and it would somehow, so that it would lead to a successful result in the end. The rocks will act as a barrier between the expelled water and the plant thus keeping them clean and with no unnecessary growth of any kind.
– Use a Cache Pot
The last step to try to pot your plants without drainage, but you should now aim to use a cache pot. This would require you to have some sort of saucer in which you can place your pot with drainage holes and a big container of some sort that can hold the saucer and the potted plant.
The little place is the source that will hold the pot and collect all of the water in it. You can easily empty the saucer once every week, and this means that the moisture will remain below, but it will leave slowly from the source.
How To Grow Plant In Pots That Don’t Have Drainage Holes?
To grow potting plants without drainage holes you should give the plants less water, always keep them away from rain, and use soil amendments. Lastly choose the right size of pot for potting your plants, and make sure that you know the right variety that will grow.
Even though the drainage holes are a necessary part of a pot with plants because they offer an outlet for the excess water and also allow some air to circulate in and out of the plant. But there is a very fundamental problem with these holes and that is the mess that they can create. The holes will expel the water which will cause dirty and messy surroundings.
– Less Irrigation
If you give the plant less water, there will be less need for it to expel or drain the unused water. You will have to do a little studying for the type of your plant and its correct requirements.
Which means that you should also try to decide a plant for indoor keeping that requires less water, less sunlight, and basic nutrition; to elaborate further, you could also check it in a way that the plant shouldn’t be one that needs constant watering. This will help you a great deal in maintaining it in a low-water environment.
– Keep Away From Rain
If your plants are potted anywhere near the window or on the porch where the rainwater can get to them, you should probably change their location as quickly as possible. Even if it is not raining in a horrible matter, the constant water spray on the plant will disturb the water balance of the soil and the excess water will go to the bottom.
Keep in mind that the plant should not be in a vulnerable state; knowing this, you shouldn’t place it in a location where it could absorb a lot of rain. The reason why is that this plant’s pot, specifically, lacks the holes for the excess water to drain out; in short, the matter would lead to different issues.
In short, don’t locate it in the rain, because plants do not grow better without drainage holes especially when they are constantly receiving water. This is because the excess water will just go to the bottom of the pot and make an ideal condition for the algae to grow.
– Try Soil Amendments
Using soil amendments is a great way to get aeration and an even distribution of water inside the pot under the soil. The common soil amendments that are used are pumice, perlite, orchid bark, vermiculite, and horticultural activated charcoal.
These all amendments can be found in any garden ware shop and most of them can be found in a grocery store. The greatest thing about them is that they are of a porous material; to elaborate further, this porosity helps in storing water inside them so when your house plant is not watered in a white, the water from these pores can travel to the roots, giving them oxygen. They are also very much resistant to the growth of bacteria, algae, and fungi because the water is not just sitting there but gets used in the process with time.
This means that what you can do is fill your first pot with drainage holes or the second pot without drainage holes with soil amendments is a good way to keep the plants happy and alive for a long time. Note that the plant doesn’t have a place that is like an “exhaust” which would draw the unwanted water out; which is why the amendments are a perfect choice.
Most plants, therefore, need a proper drainage system, the least of which are holes in the pot. These holes will act as outlets for surplus water and overall help in the growth of the plant. So if you have a plant that requires water, do not forget to get drainage holes in the pot. You can also drill the drainage holes yourself.
– Choose the Right Sized Pot
Choosing the right-sized pot for planting your house plant is very important regardless of whether it has any drainage holes or not.
The bigger the pot, the more soil it will need to be filled with and the more water it will need to stay moist, and when wanted excessively, it will also keep more humidity.
In case the right-sized pot is decided, the amount of soil and water will be optimum and there will be no excess waste or usage of water or soil.
– Know the Right Variety
The most commonly known indoor plants that don’t need drainage holes are spider plants, snake plants, Spanish moss, Chinese evergreen, lemon butter fern, lucky bamboo, and prayer plant. These plants can be potted easily with any drainage holes indoors or outdoors.
The main reason that they don’t require drainage is that they do not require high water intake, so they do not need to expel it. Also, you should know that they can tolerate the soggy soil after watering for a long time and mind a gooey environment.
Conclusion
In this article, we talked about how you can use three easy ways to pot plants without drainage but in case you missed anything, here is a short review:
- You can pot your plant without drainage by using a non-draining pot alone or with rocks, and by using a cachepot.
- The way to grow potting plants without drainage holes is to give them less water, use soil amendments, and lastly choose the right size of pot for potting your plants.
- The common soil amendments that are used are pumice, perlite, orchid bark, vermiculite, and horticultural activated charcoal.
- The standing water under the soil can form ideal conditions for bacterial, fungal, or algal growth or root rot, which is why you shouldn’t overwater them.
Here we come to the end of the article. We hope this was a helpful article for you, and now you can pot plants without drainage successfully, because you know the right ways.
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