Capillary Matting

[David Nicholson]

I wonder if I've made a mistake? I got this idea in my head that I would take out the grit and hortag, on which my pots stand, from my greenhouse benching and line them with polythene and stand the pots on capillary matting. I even ordered the matting and it came today but now I'm having second thoughts!

The major reason why I thought I might change is that given the number of pots of Primulas I have (over 185) and the time it takes me to look after them something else doesn't get the attention it deserves. This year it has been my ever growing Cyclamen collection. I don't have the time to water them from the bottom and I'm very careful when watering from the top to not over-water. I've not, so far, suffered any losses to tubers rotting but my plants leaves do die back very early. So, I thought, change to clay pots and stand them on capillary matting.

Am I on the right lines  or should stick to grit and hortag? Views for and against welcomed.

[ranunculus]

All these namby-pamby growing techniques … here in darkest (wettest) (and daftest) Lancashire everything is grown outside in plastic (or old and hardy clay) pots with no regard to climatic conditions, impending monsoons, snowdrifts in June or occasional sun.  Be bold young man and throw caution to the wind … it's not as if you have any chance of a Farrer Medal anyway!!! 

Kindest regards from sunny Sorrento.

[David Nicholson]

Well, it was nice to get a reply even if it did come from some strange touristy bloke obviously well into several Limoncelli

I shall try this one in the Cyclamen thread as well.

[brianw]

I was puzzled by "clay pots and matting". You will have to wick them all to get much water take-up. Never seen it done. Or am I missing something?

[ArdfearnAli]

I have capillary matting over a capillary sand bed in my alpine house. I also have it covered in black ground cover to help with keeping it clean of liverwort and algae. I use plastic pots and have no real trouble. Watch things like penstemon rupicola and others that resent there roots lying wet. I have found that you get a zone at the bottom of the pot that the roots tend to rot or die if its a plant that likes it on the well drained dry side. Clay pots as mentioned may dry out too quickly unless the matting is very wet.

Alasdair

[David Nicholson]

Thanks Ali and Brian. I shall re-post my original in the Cyclamen thread and hopefully see what the Cyclamen growers think of the idea. I'm inclined not to proceed with the idea though. Anyone interested in buying 5m x 0.6m of capillary matting, then I'm your man.