Hey guys, I have done some research and I heard you have to soak terracotta pots before putting plants in them? Because I repotted some plants recently and alot of them didn't have water come out the bottom of the drainage hole and water would "stain" on the side. One of the terracotta pots worked fine though.
Should I take the plants out for awhile and soak the pots? I don't want to damage anything though especially since I just potted a prayer plant cutting yesterday. (And this picture I was told by someone on reddit yesterday is a mangave that needs more sunlight,even though it's been by the window for months..I am going to get a growlight for it and hopefully that will do the job.)
Any advice on terracotta pots and if I should take out my plants and fix the pots will be helpful. But I also want to be cautious and not damage anything. )
by Scatterbrained12345
2 Comments
Terra cotta is a great container for your plants.
Over time the clay gets a wonderful aged patina of salts and sometimes a slight glaze of moss….then again some folks do not like the look of this.
The very porous pots will always wick moisture and help the soil breathe and dry out the soilless mix in the pot. I use matching saucers to catch the overflow and help the pot stay hydrated.
Many gardeners use an additional plastic pot as a liner to slow the transpiration process that is common in terra cotta.
If you wish you may soak the pots but in a week or so it will be as if you did not.
In 6our situation, a short bottom watering is all thats needed to “prime” the pot, aka hydrate it. See other respondents post for more info. What’s really important is watching moisture levels as terra cottage will dry out faster and cause peat to go hydrophobic with impressive haste. Even a snake plant who likes it drier will benefit from having a well mixed substrate that both is free draining and somewhat more retentive than normal to offset the swiftness of drying conditions.