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Re: African Violets - Rock in the pots

At 09:31 PM 97-11-26 -0500, Butch Ragland wrote:
>Over watering AF can be problem so place rock in the bottom of the pot
>above the saucer height then build a rock wall with soil in the center all
>around the center root ball. This root ball surrounded by rock can not be
>over watered. 
====================================================

It is a misconception that rubble or rock in the bottom of a pot will
increase drainage. In fact, just the opposite occurs. This is a case of
people writing books by simply taking information from older books and not
checking facts. The taller the column of soil, the more quickly it will
drain. A wide squatty pot is the worst sort for plants which require fast
drainage. If you doubtthis check your physics text book or do a simple
experiment in your kitchen sink with a set of three identical sponges.

If the idea is to provide a humid apmosphere by having the plant sit above
a source of evaporating water, then rocks to the level of the saucer top
would serve the purpose but better would be to fill the pot with soil and
place the rocks in the saucer.

John Montgomery
Monashee Perennials
Vernon  BC  Zone 5
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