Sitting Johannesteijsmannia in trays of water

[happypalms]

Having a few Joey palms the ones in personal collection in the greenhouses in my yard. I place them in trays of water about one inch in depth of water. And they love it continuously drinking when they want. The roots end up coming out the bottom of the container. I do this with quite a few exotic tropical water loving palms. A old plate from the kitchen works wonders giving the palm that extra water in between waterings. In winter i remove the tray as the roots get to cold also with the plant’s metabolism slowing down or basically shutting down in the case of super tropical palms it’s best to remove the tray. But come spring when the weather starts to warm up I replace the trays it seems to work for me and the joeys.

[PalmsandLiszt]

2 hours ago, happypalms said:

How do you get the pot off that without fatally damaging the roots? A couple of mine have grown roots out the bottom of the pot when they have been allowed to stand in water. I shall have to up-pot them somehow, probably next year. I recoil in terror at this prospect!

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

I have done that for water loving plants before. It works great. Have to carefully cut the pots off with a razor knife though. Sometimes I pull the pot wall away from the root ball a bit and insert a length of metal or plastic down between the pot and root ball then use a razor knife to cut through letting the inserted piece protect the roots. Gets a little tricky around the drainage holes. With our long possible mosquito season I use non toxic mosquito pellets (baccilus thuringiensis), in the standing water trays, to keep mosquitos from being able to hatch larvae there. I also put the pellets in ditches and low areas where rains may puddle for a few days after heavy rain. It works great except for times when we have excessive rain that lays around in untreated puddles for a while. Sometimes I use baited buckets with standing water to lure the females to lay their eggs there but with the pellets in the water NO larvae survive so I head off the little buggers. Keeps me mozzie free probably 95% of the time.

[Harry’s Palms]

I wouldn’t think that plants would like having their roots in water. I have always drained standing water when I used trays under the pots. It looks like some could benefit in the right environment. Harry

[happypalms]

6 hours ago, PalmsandLiszt said:

How do you get the pot off that without fatally damaging the roots? A couple of mine have grown roots out the bottom of the pot when they have been allowed to stand in water. I shall have to up-pot them somehow, probably next year. I recoil in terror at this prospect!

I just carefully do surgery on the container with needle secateurs. Don’t be afraid of cutting the container it’s quite simple, just think you’re a specialist surgeon. The problem some growers make including myself is baby and Molly coddle plants. If it’s a super rare exotic species don’t panic just think it’s a golden cane.

[happypalms]

4 hours ago, Jeff zone 8 N.C. said:

I have done that for water loving plants before. It works great. Have to carefully cut the pots off with a razor knife though. Sometimes I pull the pot wall away from the root ball a bit and insert a length of metal or plastic down between the pot and root ball then use a razor knife to cut through letting the inserted piece protect the roots. Gets a little tricky around the drainage holes. With our long possible mosquito season I use non toxic mosquito pellets (baccilus thuringiensis), in the standing water trays, to keep mosquitos from being able to hatch larvae there. I also put the pellets in ditches and low areas where rains may puddle for a few days after heavy rain. It works great except for times when we have excessive rain that lays around in untreated puddles for a while. Sometimes I use baited buckets with standing water to lure the females to lay their eggs there but with the pellets in the water NO larvae survive so I head off the little buggers. Keeps me mozzie free probably 95% of the time.

Now iam more intrigued about your mosquito eradication program than water in trays. Especially the baited buckets mosquitoes in my area can get down right annoying to the point that they will attack in squadrons. They spoil the whole thing of being able to just sit and relax in the garden. Baccilus sounds like the go to me thanks for the tip. Oh and yes the water tray technique is the go  for water lover super tropical palms.

[happypalms]

4 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I wouldn’t think that plants would like having their roots in water. I have always drained standing water when I used trays under the pots. It looks like some could benefit in the right environment. Harry

In hot environments for sure or if you’re going away for a week or two it will buy some watering time. Capillary action combined with the wick affect works for super tropical varieties. Just not in winter. 
Richard 

[Jeff zone 8 N.C.]

6 hours ago, happypalms said:

Now iam more intrigued about your mosquito eradication program than water in trays. Especially the baited buckets mosquitoes in my area can get down right annoying to the point that they will attack in squadrons. They spoil the whole thing of being able to just sit and relax in the garden. Baccilus sounds like the go to me thanks for the tip. Oh and yes the water tray technique is the go  for water lover super tropical palms.

You will have to work out just how often to add fresh pellets. They work for a long time but for some reason (I think too much rain overflowing buckets) they will not last as long as in ditches. I guess the ditches are a more natural environment.  Add pellets to a bucket, with water, full of wriggling larvae in the evening and the next day all larvae are dead. I have a hard time finding the pellets now but I just buy the donut shaped ones, designed to be thrown into a large body of water and crumble them up. The pellets and the donuts are just dried ground up corn cobs and the baccilus is in a dormant state in them.  When wet it activates. Totally harmless to people. The baited buckets of water with baccilus works a treat. but I would spread some out into nature too.

[happypalms]

8 hours ago, Jeff zone 8 N.C. said:

You will have to work out just how often to add fresh pellets. They work for a long time but for some reason (I think too much rain overflowing buckets) they will not last as long as in ditches. I guess the ditches are a more natural environment.  Add pellets to a bucket, with water, full of wriggling larvae in the evening and the next day all larvae are dead. I have a hard time finding the pellets now but I just buy the donut shaped ones, designed to be thrown into a large body of water and crumble them up. The pellets and the donuts are just dried ground up corn cobs and the baccilus is in a dormant state in them.  When wet it activates. Totally harmless to people. The baited buckets of water with baccilus works a treat. but I would spread some out into nature too.

Thanks I can get powder form of bacillus. It’s targeted at caterpillars in the horticulture industry as an organic control, iam assuming it would do the same as the pellets . But definitely worth a try. I usually empty any stagnet water I find in containers it’s just the area I live in go for a walk in the bush around and the mosquitoes attack you. Once again thanks for the information.