Do I have to put rocks at the bottom of a pot/planter before adding the soil?
Hi!
I аm planting petunias аnd geraniums іn round plastic pots wіth holes аt thе bottoms (fοr drainage).
Sο mу qυеѕtіοn іѕ dο I hаνе tο рlасе rocks down before adding thе soil?
I normally dο рlасе thе rocks down, аnd mу flowers grow fаntаѕtіс, bυt I don’t hаνе rocks аnd wаѕ wondering іf putting rocks іѕ really necessary.
Thanks fοr reading аnd I hope уου саn hеlр, hаνе a fаntаѕtіс day.
As you say, rocks promote drainage, as soil tends to “compact” and if its “clay” it will not let the water drain properly.
Marbles or anything that gives “space” will work also.
I wish you well…
Jesse
It is not really necessary.
You don’t have to. The rocks help drainage, but are not really necessary so long as you have holes at the bottom.
I place rocks, broken pots, Styrofoam chunks, etc whatever i have around to fill up the bottom a few inches so I don’t have to spend alot on potting soil. I don’t add any if my pots aren’t huge – 12′ dia or smaller.
I usually place rocks in also but in some I didn’t (got bone idle looking for some) and I don’t see any difference. Rocks just help the drainage a small won’t effect the growing of the plants if you use excellent potting soil like miricle grow.
It is a excellent practice to line the bottom of a pot with rocks or broken pieces of pottery to improve drainage, but you can do other things like using a light soil mix (adding sand, perlite, etc) so that the soil doesn’t hold as much moisture. You can use a slightly smaller pot than you would have for the size plant. Just keep an eye on how rapidly (or not) the soil dries out and make sure you don’t overwater.
It’s not necessary, but it does help for drainage. Another excellent thought, which involves recycling, is breaking up dried corn-cobs and placing them in there. They decompose, which adds nutrients to the soil and they provide sufficient drainage.
The rocks add a small space for water to drain away from the soil and roots. And they help keep the soil from coming out of the drain hole bit by bit when you water your plants.
If you have an ancient clay pot that you don’t mind breaking up, you can do that and add the shards to the bottom of the pot.
The rocks in the pot are not absolutely req’d – but they will aid drainage a bit and help deter root-rot if you over-water and aid drainage for ‘more pleased’ plants, and they do help keep soil in. … (I have a Bachelor’s in Horticulture, herbaceous plants -and I have planted without any buffer at the bottom of the pot a few times.)
All the other answers are excellent but if you don’t add a some of the weed landscaping cloth to prevent the soil from going around the rocks then you are defeating the purpose. Don’t not remember to break off the older flowers on the geranium to promote more budding.
Putting rocks in the pot only helps if you have no drainage holes, It prevents “root rot”. It sounds like it will be unnecessary.
The small answer is no you don’t. The principle behind chucking a few stones in the bottom of the pot is to keep the pot more aerated,and to stop the soil being too compacted. but present potting mediums, though still based on the traditional John Inness composts, are generally much lighter, simpler to handle. In the ancient days it was place a few crocks of a broken pot over the hole before you extra the compost.
Now I’ve recently potted up a plant, and I chucked in a few stones I picked up from here and there simply to add weight to the pot. I don’t want it blowing about here and there.
Get some hints from your local gardening centre. The probability are they haven’t extra rocks to the bottom of the pot for ages. But I’d like to be proved incorrect.
I’ve used styrofoam “peanuts” or rocks,and a coffee filter – works fantastic.
I use styrofoam. Styrofoam “packing peanuts” work well too. Sometimes rocks make the pots too heavy.