of rooting or growing........works well with clay pots (which are hard on av stems as i remember putting a collar around them)...one puts a small clay pot who's drainage hole has been plugged...it contains water....that seeps through the clay into the bigger pot which holds the medium and the leaves or plants....
anyone do this?...and what's your experience...
i know...you're all "wickers"....roflmbbo
anyone do the pot within a pot method....
I've never done it but seen it in Av books. Too much work for me. I use the little plastic pots with wicks. lol
i know...i heard you saying that as i wrote the above...that's why i said..i know you're all "wickers"...he he
I use self watering pots, and I've also made a couple of DIY self watering arrangements that sounds like they're the reverse of what you're describing... AV is planted in a clay pot with the hole plugged, which goes into a larger container that serves as a water reservoir.
My happiest AV is in a self-watering pot.... I should post a pic ~ maybe soon. But by far, it is the happiest of all!
Sanna
Sanna HI :)) Nice to see you ! Pictures please ! And post your smile too !
sanna...sounds great..in the end...it's all about what works for YOU...and yep...please share your pics with us...
Here is the type of pot that I use. It follows the same type of principle I think. Probably what Critter is talking about. The pot on the left is not glazed. It sits in the pot on the right, the ceramic one. I put water in the ceramic one and sit the other one down into it. I have several of these and my AVs seem quite happy with them. I have wondered, like Bob said, if I buy just a plain clay pot and plug the bottom and put it inside another pot if that would work the same way. But I have not tried it yet.
These pots are also the ones that I had mentioned that I would like to paint someday since they are so plain. What kind of paint would you use on the ceramic part? Anyone have any ideas?
JesseK
Very nice Jesse. Beautiful plant. Thanks for sharing ! Your pots will look so pretty painted. I can't wait to see them. I can't help you with paint sorry I don't know anything about them.
probably acryllic paint....some foks take the easy way and put decals on them....am sure the plain clay pots would work
oooh Jesse, who is that? Love the little bit of blue edge! Very pretty. Yea, critter uses some kind of ceramic paint that works great. of course I can't remember the name. Critter where are ya?
Bob,
That is one of the things that I have thought of but have not been able to find any decals that I like. I would like something that had AVs on it if I can find them. If not I will probably paint them later.
JesseK
I know your plant is so pretty !
Begonia,
Thanks. This one is Chico. It is really pretty with the little hint of bluish-purple around the edges. Sometimes the color does not come out as pretty as it really is but this is one of my favorites.
JesseK
Thanks Allison. It is one of the ones that my DH really likes.
JesseK
Porceaine brand ceramic paint! It comes in paint pens and little pots of colors, and Michael's carries it, as does DickBlick (online supplier). You "fire" it in your oven, at only 325' (follow the directions), and it's dishwasher safe for years! It's best to put pieces into the oven while it's heating up so you don't shock & crack anything delicate, but I've used it on all sorts of things!
I've got a couple of plugged clay pots set inside one of those double ceramic planters, and it seems to work fine. The self watering planters do seem to vary in just how wet the soil inside gets... and a few of my AVs just hate them, but most like them a lot! A couple of tips... allow the potting mix to dry out pretty thoroughly every so often (watering before the plant actually begins to wilt is best), and you may have to water a little from the top if the mix has pulled away from the sides of the pot as it dried. Also, don't fill the reservoir to the top, just enough that the bottom 1 inch or less of the inner pot is wet.. again, different pots and different plants will have different water levels that work for them... my "Big Blue" loves a self watering pot and doesn't mind having the outer pot completely full.
Thanks for the tips Critter. I have wondered how much water to fill the outside pot with and how often. Your tips really help.
JesseK
JesseK, ask Kenton ( JamesCO)about paint for pots - he does beautiful paintings on them.
yes indeed jill thanks for tips from your experience
Kenton mentioned in another thread that he uses acryllic paints on his pots, with a sealer on top of the paint if you wish to protect it... but the paint should go on the unsealed surface of a terra cotta pot (if you put sealer down first, the paint wouldn't adhere as well).
I haven't tried the Porcelaine paints on terra cotta, only on glazed pottery, china, and glass.
What I would love to do is to find some african violet decals. The ones with just the flowers and no background. That would be very pretty on the white pots. If anyone finds any, please let me know. If not, I will have to get out my paint.
JesseK
I wonder if you could make your own decals. Use overhead projector film and run it through the copy machine with blossom pictures. It's worth a try. Great idea
Hmmm.... I seem to remember a thread over in the craft forum... somebody makes decal paper that you can run through your printer! Wouldn't that be fun!
Found the thread! http://davesgarden.com/place/t/565417/
Of course, you could also print out photos on regular paper, cut them out, and decopage them onto the pot with "modge podge" or even white glue... a few coats of polyurethane over that should do the trick... I haven't tried this, but it seems feasible.
Critter,
You come up with some of the most interesting ideas. I think that would work great. Now I just need to search for some AV pictures. Thanks for the idea.
JesseK
jill that certainly seems possible