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.
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