AusBonsai

What do you do when you're getting day after day of rain? I'm a bit worried with all the rain we've been getting here some of my plants might get root rot from being over watered, is it a good idea to move them to a spot where they won't be getting rained on and just water them instead of letting the rain do my job?

ma7t wrote:What do you do when you're getting day after day of rain? I'm a bit worried with all the rain we've been getting here some of my plants might get root rot from being over watered, is it a good idea to move them to a spot where they won't be getting rained on and just water them instead of letting the rain do my job?

Tilt the pots so that they drain better, this is done in Japan in the rainy season. They have been doing it for century's.

Cheers Pup

Also depends on how free-draining your potting mix is too ...

Rain water will be way better for your trees than tsp water so if possible better being left in it. How days of rain have you had send some our way if you want
As Ryan said, how free draining is your mix.

Pup wrote:

ma7t wrote:What do you do when you're getting day after day of rain? I'm a bit worried with all the rain we've been getting here some of my plants might get root rot from being over watered, is it a good idea to move them to a spot where they won't be getting rained on and just water them instead of letting the rain do my job?

Tilt the pots so that they drain better, this is done in Japan in the rainy season. They have been doing it for century's.

Cheers Pup

What do you mean by this Pup. If I tilted mine I'd end up with water sitting at one end of the pot??

Josh.

I agree with Mr Pup.

Josh, Try this; water a couple of your pots very thoroughly so water is draining thru the drain holes. let the pot sit for a while till no more water dripping out bottom. Then pick up the pot , Tilt up on a 45 degree angle side to side, and see what comes out the drain holes.. Should be more water draining out of the soil.

If a block is put under one side of the Pot , the the actual soil/substrate will remain alot dryer than if the Pot sits on its base/legs.When sitting on it's bench the block size needs only be about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch.

Bonsaitrees wrote:I agree with Mr Pup.

Josh, Try this; water a couple of your pots very thoroughly so water is draining thru the drain holes. let the pot sit for a while till no more water dripping out bottom. Then pick up the pot , Tilt up on a 45 degree angle side to side, and see what comes out the drain holes.. Should be more water draining out of the soil.

If a block is put under one side of the Pot , the the actual soil/substrate will remain alot dryer than if the Pot sits on its base/legs.When sitting on it's bench the block size needs only be about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch.

I understand that even hours after watering if you tilt the pot, water will run out as but the part I have circled in the picture below is what I was referring to. I totally respect Pup's comment and knowledge and am not doubting his comment. Just wondering about the part of the pot circled holding water?

Josh
Ps. this is a cheap pot so maybe that would be the issue but most pots would be similar I would think
Josh

I totally respect Pup's comment and knowledge and am not doubting his comment. Just wondering about the part of the pot circled holding water?

Josh
Ps. this is a cheap pot so maybe that would be the issue but most pots would be similar I would think
Josh[/quote]
That part of the pot should have a drainage layer if it has indentations. As I said in Japan it has been going on for a long time and I have tried this. When we have had excess rain which is something of a rarity here in WA.

Pup wrote:I totally respect Pup's comment and knowledge and am not doubting his comment. Just wondering about the part of the pot circled holding water?

Josh
Ps. this is a cheap pot so maybe that would be the issue but most pots would be similar I would think
Josh

That part of the pot should have a drainage layer if it has indentations. As I said in Japan it has been going on for a long time and I have tried this. When we have had excess rain which is something of a rarity here in WA.[/quote]

Im a bonsai newbie but have been an irrigator for 18 years here is what i think. Soil can only absorb so much water 'Field Capacity' after that it runs off. My guess is tilting the pots would cause the water to run off the pot rather than soaking through and also prevent water pooling on top which would help the soil to dry out quicker when it stops raining

Water always pools at the bottom of a pot. Surface tension causes this and it is independent of the depth of soil. So with a pot of mix sitting on a bench it may have 20 mm of saturated zone after watering, during rain events it will be saturated for as long as it rains. By tilting the pot, you effectively change the width and depth of soil. Water will flow down to the lowest corner and drain to a saturated depth of 20 mm.

You will still have a saturated zone, but a reduced volume of saturated soil. The steeper the angle the smaller the saturated zone in the corner of the pot. Plants will cope a lot better with a small corner of saturated soil then with the entire width of the pot saturated.

Tilting shallow pots in spring and during rain events is standard practice for shallow pots, especially japanese maples as these trees are susceptible to root roots due to anoxia.

Paul