Potting Tutorial.. Screens in your drain holes

[Silas_Sancona]

Yesterday in a topic made in the main forum regarding concerns related to critters having access to the drain holes in potted palm / plant specimens, forum member @Gonzer made an excellent point, which, for one reason or another, isn't mentioned much.. but is a very valuable technique for helping to keep soil from slowly eroding from pots, and is a great way to keep out insects or other small animals which can get into the soil.  Thought i might add to his point w/ some pictures..

While the topic was concerning Bees accessing the drain holes for a drink, here at least ..and in Florida, insects such as Ground dwelling Cockroaches, sometimes referred to as "Sand Roaches",  several species of ground nesting Solitary bee species, some Beetles, Ants, and things like Sow or Pill Bugs can also enter. I have also found small Frogs/ Toads in some of my pots in the past when in Florida as well.. Black Widows also like such dark and moist spots, at least until bigger. We also have Bark Scorpions here in Arizona, yea.. not something you want to come across when re potting either.. While most of these don't really cause issues w/the plants themselves, their activity, overtime, can push soil in the bottoms of pots out of the drain holes which can cause root loss simply because there is now air where there once was soil for the roots to continue filling. Using some type of barrier, Screens in this case, those critters cant get in. If you're like me and make specific soil recipes for various stuff, you don't want to watch stuff like Turface, pumice, or grit wash out of the pots each time you soak stuff..

Technique is simple enough..  You can use scrap pieces of Shade Cloth, or thicker / heavier duty Window Screen.. Cut to a size just larger than the drain hole itself, place,  then start filling with soil.. I've also used rocks large enough to sit over the drain hole but this can impede the flow of excess water out of the pot also. Using Screens, excess water flows away, soil stays in the pot where it belongs..

Shade cloth with detached strip i'll cut into six squares, the number of drain holes in this 3 gal pot.



Insert over the inside of the drain holes. Use a finger to press into the hole.



I also do the same for smaller pots.. 1gal, 4-6" Square pots, etc.. Just cut the cloth to different shapes.. In the case of the two different 1 gal pots, i will use the cloth disk for the pot on the left ( drain holes on the bottom ), and cut out squares for the pot on the right ( holes on the side of the pot )



Simple enough, and no more wondering who -else might be living down there.. Bees are fine, Scorpions, and /or Black Windows?, i'll pass thanks  ..And i don't loose valuable soil.. Win Win..

[jimmyt]

I recently started using fiberglass replacement window screen material.  It is durable, flexible and can be cut with scissors.

[palmsOrl]

Just like how it’s done with bonsai pots.  I might start doing that, even though it seems like a lot of work for larger pots.

[Brett in Mission Viejo]

I use organic screening material from my Parajubaea Sunka Trunk. Works great:

 

[Silas_Sancona]

2 hours ago, palmsOrl said:

Just like how it’s done with bonsai pots.  I might start doing that, even though it seems like a lot of work for larger pots.

Years ago, we sold Pot screens at a Nursery i'd worked for in San Jose.. Part of me would think along the same line  when a customer was in line paying for several large ceramic pots/ several packs of the screens. Years later, i have a few things in  15+ gal containers i have to re-pot due to the amount of soil lost through the drain holes over the years simply because i didn't think to use 'em.. 

[Silas_Sancona]

38 minutes ago, Brett in Mission Viejo said:

I use organic screening material from my Parajubaea Sunka Trunk. Works great:

 

Have used Coconut and Washingtonia Thatch also.. Worked pretty good, just broke down too quick.. Works great when attaching Orchids / Staghorn Ferns however.

[NOT A TA]

I use magazines, catalogs, and newspaper that arrives as junkmail. I mostly just need to keep our sandy soil here in the grower pots (lots of them) and have very few decorative pots. Since I'm constantly re potting fast growing plants it would be time consuming and expensive to use anything like screen that has to be bought & cut. The paper breaks down fairly quickly but usually roots are holding soil by then. Plants seem to pop out of the pots easier also. I figure I'm also recycling without transport costs. Currently re potting a couple hundred 6" pots of Dypsis Lutescens clumps up to 2 gallon, takes long enough already. Working my way through a ULINE catalog now.

Edited June 14, 2019 by NOT A TA

[Gonzer]

Excellent commentary about a basic tenant of gardening that seems to have been largely forgotten. All the responses show the same result; keeping the soil in the pot and allowing drainage. Redwood bark nuggets work great also if you make your own mixes and have it on hand. The first nursery I worked at we used metal cans that had to have their drain holes manually punched in using a can opener! This was before plastic pots were really affordable in quantity. The last thing you wanted to do was stick your fingers down around the drain holes because of the sharp triangle of metal that was at the bottom.

[RJ]

I put large pine bark chips at the bottom. Seems to do the job. By the time they're decomposing it's already time to pot up or go in the ground. This might not however work for long term indoor/outdoor potted palms. 

[Fusca]

This is practically manditory for growing germinated Bismarckia, Hyphaene or Medemia seed in those deep tree pots with very large holes at the bottom.  I use a lot of large plastic drink cups that are deeper and narrower than typical 1-gal pots for seedlings and drill several small holes to avoid having to use screen at the bottom.  But definitely used in the larger pots.  This Hyphaene coriacea root slipped right past the screen I used, so in the ground it went!

[Silas_Sancona]

2 hours ago, Fusca said:

This is practically manditory for growing germinated Bismarckia, Hyphaene or Medemia seed in those deep tree pots with very large holes at the bottom.  I use a lot of large plastic drink cups that are deeper and narrower than typical 1-gal pots for seedlings and drill several small holes to avoid having to use screen at the bottom.  But definitely used in the larger pots.  This Hyphaene coriacea root slipped right past the screen I used, so in the ground it went!

Thinking along the same line, i did something similar with the Hyphaene seed i germinated before leaving Florida.. Didn't have any Tree pots which were wide/ deep enough so i used PVC  drain pipe cut to 15" length, in a similar fashion that had been shared somewhere here on the forum..  Used old Window Screen and Hardwire cloth on the bottom.  Hardwire cloth is formed somewhat like a hinge and can be moved to slide the seedling out of the tube when stepping into 5gal cans with as little disturbance as possible. Worked pretty good but, still an idea in testing. A little labor intensive, and probably not practical on a larger scale, but pretty cheap.

[NOT A TA]

I like the pipe concept, have a friend who's a plumber so maybe I can get "scraps" big enough to use from him and test them out for deep rooted seedlings. I try to re-purpose or reuse things, particularly things that can still be recycled after reuse. Here's pics of examples with coffee containers and various plastic containers.  I like using the coffee containers for certain types of propagation and cut drain holes with a pruning saw ranging from just a simple small 1" slot in the bottom corner to multiple triangles cut out so I can have drainage at the rate I want. When plants are ready to re pot I just slice the container with a sharp knife and rinse before it goes in the recycle bin. In pics below the Corn Plants Dracaena Fragrens cuttings like to be very wet so i make just a slot to drain water while Adonidia Merrilli seedlings seem to like more drainage so they get triangle cuts that create bigger holes. For small scale backyard leisurely propagators they work out well, if you've got hundreds or thousands of a plant not so much.

I use various household recyclable containers to transport collected rain water to plantings where there's no running water and when they're sun fried they go in the recycle bin. When I need growers pots I stop at new construction sites where plantings are being done and ask if I can have pots. I know from when I worked landscaping we always had waaaay too many used pots so most are happy to have someone take them away, again reuse. If they give me a big pile like the ones below I'll go buy them a couple $10.00 gift cards at local supermarket and give them to them saying "Lunch is on me!". The guys digging holes are thrilled to get an unexpected free lunch.

And yes I'm renovating the house exterior, doesn't look like that anymore!

Edited June 14, 2019 by NOT A TA

[Missi]

I love threads like this!!!