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Preventing Container Stains on Stone Patio
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Posted by sdbeginner 10 (My Page) on Tue, Oct 27, 09 at 14:21
| I was told that in addition to raising the pots off the ground, I should put a screen over the hole of the container, and put a piece of broken terracotta above that, with sand above that, and then soil, so that the sand would act as a filter to clean the water coming out of the drainage hole.
Now, I have a landscaper who is saying I should not use sand or clay/terracotta, but just put a screen with gravel on top, with a fabric barrier on top of that, and then the soil. Sounds fine for drainage, but doesn't seem like gravel is fine enough to clean the water, though he thought sand or terracotta would clog the drainage hole altogether.
Any suggestions for the best way to minimize staining, while not drowning my plants? |
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RE: Preventing Container Stains on Stone Patio
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Tue, Oct 27, 09 at 14:52
| Maybe it's just me, but I would worry first and foremost about the vitality of my plantings, then about how to keep the deck from getting stained. Both sand and gravel in the bottom of your containers would present problems in most situations. Best, is a homogeneous well-aerated and stable soil mix in the container - bottom to top. To keep the deck from getting stained, you could raise the pots above saucers with blocks or bricks - water goes into the saucer; use a wick through the drain hole of the pot - water follows wick & drips between the decking; use some sort of water-proof shield - direct water over the edge of the deck ....... Al |
RE: Preventing Container Stains on Stone Patio
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| Thanks Al. Though I would like to keep my plants healthy and viable, I will only have about 4 (very large) containers on my patio. The patio is stone over concrete, so there is no way to wick without something ugly showing (I didn't know enough to provide drains where I wanted pots during building) and I'm afraid it's going to be difficult to put trays under because I cannot lift the pots due to their size, so the plants would just get overly wet, which is why they do have feet under them. I do want some greenery up there to break up the hard look of pure stone, but the reality is that 4 plants will cost me a lot less to replace than all the stone work, so I guess I'm wondering whether sand or gravel or clay/terracota is the best filter for the plant water in terms of preventing staining...? |
RE: Preventing Container Stains on Stone Patio
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- Posted by tapla z5b-6a MI (My Page) on
Tue, Oct 27, 09 at 17:28
| Well, if all you're worried about is eliminating as much organic material from the water as possible, then the finer the material the better it will filter those solids. I would think that the 'filter' would soon get plugged though because of the fact the soil you'll be using is going to me almost ALL organic, so some sort of progression in particle size might help. You could also eliminate the organic component from your soil entirely & grow your plants in a mix of screened Turface and granite. Just a thought. Al |
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