AlbearusGoneBanana

Does anyone have an experience or success with using a larger self watering planter, such as Lechuza and so on? Were there any complications that arose from potting one in such a planter?

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Currently own - Many 'Nanas

edwmax

Banana plant roots need air! So when the pot soil mix is course & fast draining, as needed by the plants, the soil will not have the capillary ability to draw water up from the bottom of the pot. The water collecting in the pot bottom will become stagnate and promote root rot when the roots grow into it. This also explains the need for potting soil of bananas to become dry or near dry between watering's. ... The banana corm and pstem store a large amount of water for survival during drought.


So use a pot with drain holes and a very fast draining soil mix; and do not let the pot sit in the excess water drained into the saucer. Do not use a lot of peat or water absorbing additives in the potting mix. Banana plants need fresh water!

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carlynorama

Hi! In a dry part of southern California I've had good success with self irrigating planters(hereafter referred to as SIPs). Would I recommend them in the muggy South East or under the marine layer? Maybe not. Indoor with winter heat no humidifier, under grow lights, again probably yes. I do notice that a lot of people use them wrong.

• The Lechuza pots have a removable overflow plug to prevent you from over filling. Remove it or only ever very very very carefully fill it, thwaking the water level meter. Filling it too high will rot the root/give you an anaerobic bacteria environment in the reservoir. STINKY.
• Don't use mosquito bits in the reservoir (...anaerobic bacteria environment) again STINKY. Plug 'em up. The lechuza planters come with a cover. Try not to loose them
• A mix with plenty of their fancy Lechuzapon as they call it, or Expanded Clay Aggregate that one can get at a hydroponics store (or actually IKEA these days) does seem to draw the water up. Although, I haven't had the "doesn't draw the water up" problem with any soil though really. YMMV.
• Don't keep toping off the reservoir. Let it get EMPTY before refilling it. And then wait for the top of the soil to be dry to for good measure too. Be patient.
• Some plants I only ever fill the reservoir up halfway at a time. This is Lechuza's recc for plants that are particularly intolerant of wet roots. It's also what I do in the winter.
• repot/check the roots every year, maybe two or you'll be doing some serious root trauma when repotting. This is where the basket-style platers do better than the direct plants, the ability to lift and check the roots.

Frankly most of this was in the hefty brochure that came with my first Lechuza pot. The hardest tip to follow is to not immediately top things off.

That all said, in many of my pots I've switched to terracotta watering spikes with wine bottles sticking out of them or sunken ollas if they are big enough. The wine bottle spike serve as a good visual indicator to me to water, so that alone has been a win.

I do prefer Lecheuza when I can afford them because of the indicator. That said I do have a big Monstera Delicosa in a cheaper self watering planter with one of those spikes and I use the level of water in the wine bottle as a thirst indicator.

Outdoors the DIY models are good enough. They let you control how many fingers stick (orchid/netpots/modified solo cups) into the reservoir and you can water them enough to refresh the water in the bottom, letting it drain into the yard to water the ground plants.

The pots with the water-me-from-the-bottom lip have killed pretty much everything I've ever put in them. They don't have the ratio right. You need little fingers dipping into the reservoir, not the whole base of the plant.

I would be curious if anyone has used the Kratky method on bananas?

I have several Dwarf Lady Cavendish stands growing in various pots now and the ones in SIPs are much happier than the ones with just the wine bottle spikes, but I am pretty negligent, to be honest. A different person in a different place might end up having the opposite result. (Anyone in SoCal want a pup?)

If I could just wire everything up to automated irrigation that would be better. Everything would be happier I'm sure. But realistically I'm not going to be watering my plants everyday in the summer and I've needed to mitigate that. Used correctly, SIPs have reduced my kill rate. Used incorrectly, yeah, they turn everything to mush.

Hope any of that helps!

cincinnana

I use the brand Earthbox and on my fourth year with it.
Plants growing are a Thai giant colocosia and an Orinoco banana plant.

The plants live in the box year round but after this grow season they will need to separate due to size .
Watering is from top down into a resevoir which is now a giant root ball.
Requires a daily fill in hot weather.
I agree with the other posts ......there is a learning curve.🌱

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cincinnana

I have EarthBox brand self watering planters this one is three years old+-.
This planter is on drip irrigation and the plants will need to be divided soon into other containers.
The planter is setting atop two five gallon buckets for the photo.

EarthBox planter
by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr


You can do this too if your feeling creative.

.
TopsyTurvey planter
by
Hostafarian,
on Flickr

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cincinnana

Only complications were .....expieriance and knowing your plants.
Mine are on irrigation and I have to still watch them.

I have garden cohorts who grow tomatoes/cannnibis in these types of planters.
Largest complaint is watering issues.

Other than that....you can pretty much grow anything in these types of systems.

For a balcony/small space this brand would be perfect along a wall.....mine are in tight spaces.

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