NO THUMBS NO THUMBS NO THUMBS NO THUMBS
I'm changing my name soon.
Our newest addict, Mike, said---" The pot does look a bit deep, I realize, but I should have included that probably the bottom 1/3 of the container is filled with pea sized river gravel. I did that to help provide more drainage since the pot only has one hole in it. "
OK, there is something that nurserymen know as "Perched Water" Perched just like a bird perched on a limb. It just sits there.
Water in pots does three things, 1. drains 2. evaporates 3. is taken up by the plant, if there are enough roots. Then where is this perched water? Here's an illustration-- You have a big sponge. You run water over it, in the sink--- until it is full, and some dribbles away. After a bit, it's not drooling any more. But, it's full of water! Give it a mash with your hand, and a lot of water will come out. Perched water. Put this sponge on top of another sponge, and the extra---perched water will go down into the bottom sponge.
If the plant is in a deep pot with a thick layer of stones or gravel or something, the water will not drain so well, it will perch. Evaporate from the top, and then you think the mix is dry, but there's still that water in the mix on top of the gravel, which does not wick the water down and out. Easy to over water a plant in this scene.
I've been trying different things to get water to drain well. One is to set the pot in something that will draw out water, like an inch of perlite, making sure the dry perlite is up into the holes in the pot, in contact with the mix. If I find I've over watered a plant, I do this for sure. Perched water likes to fill with organisms that promote rot.
Sometimes I poke a strip of cotton fabric up into the mix through the one hole in the bottom, with the end of the strip coming out of the pot for a few inches. This should wick water down and away.
Root bound is not bad for Adeniums. Over potting, a small plant in a big pot is bad.
Whew, that's about all I can type at this go.
Questions? But I might not be online again until Monday---
NO THUMBS NO THUMBS NO THUMBS NO THUMBS
