Find Your Ask the Expert: Peace Lily pot
I recently bought a mature Peace Lily and repotted it into a “self-watering” pot, which is filled from the bottom & you can see how much water is in there. I’m wondering if this type of pot is okay for Peace Lilies, or is it better to water them from the top? Also, should the reservoir be kept full, or allowed to dry up? Is it possible to over-water with this type of pot? What about those “Aqua Bulb” things shown on TV lately (you fill the bulb with water, stick it in the soil, and supposedly they release the right amount of water to the plant based on how much oxygen the soil releases)– do they work, and do you recommend them? Dawn
Plant Expert Reply:
I’m an old-fashioned kind of plant watering gal. For me the best peace lily method is the tried and true watering from the top. See peace lilies want a evenly moist soil that does not dry out but doesn’t leave them soggy either.
I haven’t had any experience with self watering pots. So they could be the next best thing to sliced white bread. However for most plants if the roots stay soggy, the plant could develop root rot. Depending on the design of the self-watering container this could or could not be a problem. If I was going to use a self-watering pot, I would make sure that the soil was moist from the top to the bottom to begin with and then monitor the soil moist for a couple weeks to see how effect these containers are.
I am familiar with the “Aqua Bulb” principle. We sell a decorative blown glass watering bulb at our garden center. I find these mostly useful as a vacation watering method. They slowly drip water as the soil becomes dry, so I don’t worry about over watering. On the other hand with these you could be under watering the plant. Again if you use them make sure the soil is moist from top to bottom before you use these as your watering devise. You will still need to monitor your peace lily occasionally to make sure the soil is properly hydrated.
The key to any of these methods is monitor your soil moisture and adjusting accordingly.
Good luck and keep me posted.
Speak Your Mind