When potting and re-potting, do you you use gravel or screen or anything else to cover the drain holes and prevent soil loss?

Just wondering. For outdoor I normally add ~1" of chunky gravel.

Indoor not so often unless they're in a terra cotta (larger drain holes compared to plastic).

I have friends who use window screen. I see the logic I guess but not going there.

I always use a mesh to cover drain holes. A long time ago I got packs of round or square plastic mesh at Daiso stores..then I also have a leftover roll of landacape fabric which I just cut to whatever size I need.

I know some uses paper towel or coffee filters..those works too.

I do not use gravel or rocks to block the drain holes, to avoid increased perch water table inside the containers that may end up rotting the roots if media remains too damp than needed. Most of my plants are succulents too, so that is the last thing I would want for their root systems. Got to keep media well draining.

We all have our gardening preferences, what works for me may not be okay for others so, whatever satisfies ones needs..go for it, as long as one is aware of the consequences it may entail.

tarev said:
I know some uses paper towel or coffee filters..those works too.

I do not use gravel or rocks to block the drain holes, to avoid increased perch water table inside the containers that may end up rotting the roots if media remains too damp than needed. Most of my plants are succulents too, so that is the last thing I would want for their root systems. Got to keep media well draining.

We all have our gardening preferences, what works for me may not be okay for others so, whatever satisfies ones needs..go for it, as long as one is aware of the consequences it may entail.

Preferences:)

Good to hear screen works for you!

I can see paper towels or coffee filters working for soil prevention, but they're going to degrade quickly and all but stop water from exiting for a while. Soak the roots a few times, maybe too much, and then be gone.

As long as I don't have one damn stone blocking drainage I love gravel. Bottom layer is always larger than the drainage hole.

I use it for the exact reason you're trying to avoid, root rot.

For mine, if the gravel is course enough it don't block water drainage, just most soil loss.
And works as a buffer against soggy roots.

Adding anything to the bottom of pot inhibits drainage. The old idea of adding gravel or whatever to help drainage is a wive's tail, debunked in the 1800's but some ideas never change. The problem is a phenomenon called a "perched water table". The basic idea is every layer you add to a pot adds a perched water table. The "perched" part are layers that inhibit water flow. Each layer above the perched water table must be saturated before moistue moves on. The bottom of the pot is the first. Gravel, pot shards, screen... is the second. The soil is the third. You can't get rid of the bottom of the pot or the soil but you can eliminate the gravel, shard, screen layer or at least minimize it. Screen is the minimize for large holes. I use a piece of newspaper or paper towel over smaller drain holes. By the time the paper rots away, the soil has packed enough so it won't fall through the now open hole.

DaisyI said: Adding anything to the bottom of pot inhibits drainage. The old idea of adding gravel or whatever to help drainage is a wive's tail, debunked in the 1800's but some ideas never change. The problem is a phenomenon called a "perched water table". The basic idea is every layer you add to a pot adds a perched water table. The "perched" part are layers that inhibit water flow. Each layer above the perched water table must be saturated before moistue moves on. The bottom of the pot is the first. Gravel, pot shards, screen... is the second. The soil is the third. You can't get rid of the bottom of the pot or the soil but you can eliminate the gravel, shard, screen layer or at least minimize it. Screen is the minimize for large holes. I use a piece of newspaper or paper towel over smaller drain holes. By the time the paper rots away, the soil has packed enough so it won't fall through the now open hole.

Thanks, I'll try the paper towel trick.

I do paper towel too, it seems to work.

sallyg said: I do paper towel too, it seems to work.

Good to hear, will try my next round.

A piece of window screen is the best thing I've found. Also prevents worms or other soil dwellers from entering pots that way, their usual method of entry. A lot of my drain holes have other plants growing out of them if the pot is hanging.

I have intentions of screen or mesh, but it's a lot faster and easier to grab whatever is at hand, often a dried up maple leaf if at my potting bench.

I also use a piece of fiber window screen that I cut up from the roll after replacing screens. It lets the water flow out freely and stops the dirt from dropping onto the concrete and lessens the stains after a summer. I've been using the Ups-A-Daisy blockers lately in the larger planters to help cut down on yearly replacement soil mix costs, and I cover the holes of that too with screen.

In the past I've used mesh window screen but discontinued that use because roots were attaching to the screening and I'd have to tear, or cut them away when repotting. I've also used coffee filters which allow drainage and keep the soil from exiting the pot but they also break down and disintegrate over time. Nowadays, I buy the compressed blocks of coco coir chips on amazon and use it in the bottom of pots and I also mix it into potting soil for aeration and I've used it for mulch atop the soil on some of my outdoor containers.

My iris group uses coffee filters. . .very cheap and easy to find.

plantladylin said: In the past I've used mesh window screen but discontinued that use because roots were attaching to the screening and I'd have to tear, or cut them away when repotting.

Same.

Worked great until it didn't.
For smaller plants or what will be up-potted I still think it's a good option.

Old wire window screen was always used but with the advent of plastic... I use the plastic craft screen stuff - my mother used to make kleenex boxes with it. It seems to come in at least two sized holes.

Apparently its called plastic canvas.

DaisyI said: Old wire window screen was always used but with the advent of plastic... I use the plastic craft screen stuff - my mother used to make kleenex boxes with it. It seems to come in at least two sized holes.

Apparently its called plastic canvas.

Thanks!

Had to look it up but looks similar to window screen.

Like the different sized holes option.

Plastic canvas, good idea now that those crafts aren't so popular.

Landscape fabric cut to size to fit in the bottom of a pot will also work well but nowadays I just put Coco Coir Chips in the bottom of pots. I buy the condensed block on Amazon and use it for mixing in with my potting soil and I also use it as a top dressing.

I would have to break down and use something here, if I didnt save the insert they come with. Haha

plantladylin said: In the past I've used mesh window screen but discontinued that use because roots were attaching to the screening and I'd have to tear, or cut them away when repotting.

In my case, I use the window screen outdoors in my annual planters. The roots do get through the screen a bit, but since it's all tossed every fall, it doesn't matter if I damage the roots.

Back when I had a room full of windows and indoor plants, I'd use just one larger stone that would block the drainage hole. It's never a perfect fit so water still seeps out but not the soil. A way to avoid damaging roots if using a screen then would be to just slice the very bottom of the pot right above the screen when replanting with a sharp knife, like when doing root pruning to repot but to keep the same size planter. I've done that a lot and it's never harmed the plant at all for me.

If I find one, I always cut the "root pie" off of the bottom of root balls when repotting woody entities, so roots grown into screen would have been removed, regardless of whatever was used to manage the drain hole. Without removing that pancake of roots, the old soil is hard to remove, and burying those packed, circling roots in a new pot (potting-up, vs. repotting) is the one thing I would do if trying to purposely rot the roots.

For smaller, non-woody entities, root pies may or may not form. If they don't, potting-up is fine, IME with repotting over the decades.