As much as we all love pretty flowers and house plants brightening up our spaces, there is nothing more critical than ensuring your planters have adequate and effective drainage. Drainage is the single most important factor in determining whether your plants will flounder or flourish. We have rounded up some of the most informative tips and tricks that will keep your plants healthy and happy. In a natural setting, plants would have different layers of soil to absorb excess water but in a planter, this water can become trapped and cause the plant roots to rot. We are here to help you ensure this does not happen, so you can have consistently beautiful plants looking their very best!
Balance is Everything:
Plants require warmth, air, water, and light to thrive. Removing one or more of these elements and you are pretty much dooming your little green friend to a life of struggling. In fact, studies have shown that almost 40% of plants will perish if you remove the water or light elements from this equation for too long, even if your plant is exposed to too much of one of these then the same odds apply. The key is to find a balance. Luckily we are here to help you find that balance and bring your modern planter ideas to life.
Adequate Drainage is Key:
First things first, your planter will need drainage holes. Then can change in size depending on the size of your planter. Some planters are sold with holes already built into them, but these are not necessarily of a sufficient or adequate size, especially if the planter only has the one hole. More holes can be added to the planter with relative ease, a metal planter can have additional holes hammered in and a cement pot can have new holes drilled in with a masonry bit. These holes will be vital in preventing waterlogging of the soil. More plants die from being waterlogged than from under-watering so as a general rule of thumb, the more drainage the better.
The second part of ensuring your planters have effective drainage is ensuring the soil does not drain out with the water. Place a permeable filter between the soil and the drainage holes to allow water to pass through and out of the planter but keeps the nutrient-rich soil particles safely inside. There are many different options when it comes to choosing a material for the filters, you do not need to buy anything special for this purpose – coffee filters, paper towels or newspaper do the job just fine. Avoid using gravel or stones, these do not work effectively at all and will end up making the problem worse.
Elevated Plants are Happier Plants:
The last part of making sure your plants live healthy lives is to elevate the planters and allow them to drain properly instead of just trapping all the water inside. You can use anything you like to achieve some distance between your planter and the ground, we recommend planter feet for our modern planter ideas for an attractive option that does not detract from the look of your chosen planter or plant.
By Nabeel Ali
Bio: Nabeel Ali is a tech enthusiast with a specialization in Digital Marketing. He is passionate about technology, internet marketing, & writing. He is currently working in a Mobile App Development Company.