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Index : Container Plants & Patio Gardening
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- 4. Line Pots To Conserve Moisture - Top
- Now that daytime temperatures are once again in the 90's, it’s time to think about conserving moisture in you potted patio plants. Actually, I’m talking about ways to retain more moisture in the pot during hot weather to keep plants from drying out.
The best way to avoid sudden plant death from dehydration is to line all of your clay pots with a plastic liner. Clay is porous and as such will seep moisture out the sides of the pot. The sides of the pot won’t actually appear wet, but even though you can’t see it, water molecules are streaming out through literally millions of tiny pores in the clay. In the winter, or in wetter climates it’s an advantage to have excess soil moisture bleed off in this fashion, but not in the Summer in the Desert!
To keep moisture from seeping out clay pots, line them before planting with plastic. Waste paper and trash bags make ideal liners because they come in a variety of sizes. Black, white or brown, the color of the bag doesn’t matter.
Use the bags to line new pots before planting and to repot plants currently growing in unlined clay containers. Just be sure that after you’ve placed the bag in the pot, poke a hole(s) in the bag to line up with the drainage hole(s) in the bottom of the pot. Be careful when you fill the pot with soil to keep these drainage holes lined up. After filling, you’ll need to trim off the top of the bag to conform with the rim of the pot.
Another advantage to using plastic liners is that they’ll prevent salt stains from forming on the outside of the pot. Salts in our irrigation water build up over time and cause a white staining on the outside of clay pots. With the plastic liner in place, water can’t seep through and deposit these salt residues.
Some clay pots come pre-painted with a black inner coating used to water-proof the pot sides. This coating is a tar compound and can be toxic to some plants. So if you purchase one of these pots, I would recommend using a plastic liner. This will provide a barrier so that the tar compound does not come in contact with the soil.
Plastic liners will significantly reduce moisture loss from potted plants as compared to unlined clay pots. However, close attention should still be given to watering. The smaller the pot, the less water can be stored in the soil and the more frequent water will have to be applied. The smallest container I recommend to be used outdoors on the patio is one with a 16 inch diameter.
The moisture level in pots should be checked daily to determine how frequently water should be applied. Use a plant moisture meter, available in garden centers and garden departments of most stores. For potted cacti and succulents, allow the meter to fall into the dry range before applying more water. For all other plants, keep the soil evenly moist and the meter’s indicator needle in the moist range at all times. As the weather changes from warm to hot, use the moisture meter to check and make adjustments to your watering schedule.
Even with plastic lining, potted plants in full sun are likely to require daily watering when temperatures approach the century mark.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona,
520-626-5161. - Updated: April 6, 2006
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