Tips
What's wrong with my pot plant?
No modern garden is considered complete without a few potted plants decorating outdoor courtyards and patios. But unhappy container plants quickly become garden eyesores, which is why it’s important to find out what’s causing the problem. This can take a bit of detective work, but here’s a checklist of some of the most common causes:
- Has the plant been fed? Fertilisers don’t last as long in potting mix as they do in the soil, because the mix itself tends to gobble up some of the nitrogen in the plant food. It’s easy, though, to burn confined roots with salty bagged fertilisers so, for pots, it’s always safer to use something organic like Dynamic Lifter pellets, slow release like Acticote or a liquid such as Nitrosol.
- Is the potting mix getting old? After a few years, potting mixes tend to lose their quality and begin to break down. This can cause what’s termed ‘slumping’ – when the mix sinks right down in the container. If a plant is likely to be in a container for years, use a top quality potting mix (something like Yates Professional). And it’s good practice to repot and, thereby, renew the potting mix every three or four years.
- Has the mix become water repellent? Another problem that can occur as potting mixes age is that they tend to become water repellent. Water runs down the sides of the mix rather than seeping into the root area. Renewing the mix can regularly will solve this problem.
- Is the drainage blocked?Many pots have only one drainage hole and, if the pot’s sitting on the ground, it’s only too easy for the roots to grow through to the soil. Here they’ll gradually expand and eventually block the hole – and the drainage. You can prevent this happening by choosing pots (like Yates Tuscans) that have plenty of drainage holes, or by sitting the base of the pot above ground level on pot feet or paving bricks.
- Is the pot drying out? Some pots are very porous and they lose water by evaporation through the pot sides. Terracotta pots are the most likely to experience this problem. Before filling porous pots, spray the inside walls with Yates Pot-A-Seal. This easy-to-apply aerosol contains superfine particles of bentonite clay, a natural substance that is commonly used to seal ponds and create a waterproof layer beneath new buildings. Pot-A-Seal will also prevent those unsightly salt stains forming on the outside of the pot.
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