Beginner Gardening: Newbie question about "Self-Watering Pots/Planters", 1 by tapla

tapla wrote:
It was late last night, and I was going to add to the thread what TJ just said, but decided to wit until this AM, so now that I've been saved the effort, I'll just second what he/she said.

There are potential issues with SWCs for houseplants. The main two are passive over-watering due to overly water-retentive soils that wick too well (peat based soils from a bag generally don't work well in these containers for this reason) and the fact that they ENSURE a build-up of soluble salts, because ALL the dissolved solids from tapwater AND fertilizer solutions remain IN the soil. It's much better to water from the top and flush the soil each time you water, removing accumulating salts from the soil, than it is to water by wicking from the bottom. If you feel you cannot water in this fashion, your soil is inappropriate for best health/vitality/growth.

You can't see it well, but notice the soil this plant is in - It is like fine gravel mixed with a little bark. It is VERY easy to grow in, provides an extremely well-aerated environment for roots, and provides the grower with a much wider margin for error in the watering/fertilizing departments. I've been using it for more than 20 years, and the many photos of houseplants with perfect foliage is ample evidence to its efficacy.

Al