Water collecting at bottom of pot - do I have to get it out?
 

Hello. I use one of those standard transparent plastic orchid pots with some cuts on the side and plenty of holes on the bottom. However, whenever I water, there is always water collecting at the bottom that has trouble flowing out. It can be only a few mm high, but also up to 1cm high if the bottom is filled up with roots or potting medium. Right now I always get the water out by 'fingering' it out of the holes. Am I wasting my time doing this?

I attached a picture of what I mean.

That came up recently in a different thread. I find that it can be an issue because any bark sitting on the bottom may stay wet and eventually start breaking down earlier than the rest of the pot. To prevent I like to keep a thin layer of something like leca or lava rock at the very bottom. Someone also suggested putting the pot on some paper towels for a few minutes after watering; that should draw out the excess water.

I suggested the towel trick in the other thread. Regular cloth towels (old hand towels, beach towels, whatever) work better than paper towels and they’re reusable too. They have a larger absorption capacity so they help pull all the extra water out. You’d go through a lot of paper towels to achieve the same result. Fluffy towels make the best contact with the medium in the pot but any towel will do.

For the plants that need more humidity I let some water in the dish so that it can be absorbed by the bottom of the medium. But it works in my environment with 20 or less % RH. And I always put a layer of LECA at the bottom of the pot so the medium is never in direct contact with the water.

That doesn't look like a standard pot, though maybe that depends on what you consider standard. 'Standard' pots have an edge along the lower rim, and enough holes in the bottom that I have never seen water pool at the bottom like that.

That being said, I don't think it is a huge problem. Most ends up getting used up quickly or drains away more slowly. I'll often leave a bit of water in the saucers in the summer to try to lengthen the time between waterings, also to no ill effect (my plants are all in straight bark).

If it is a problem for you, I would consider switching to better pots or adding a layer of inert material at the bottm rather than spending time with towels/paper towels getting the excess water out. Watering plants takes enough time as it is!


For reference, this is what I consider 'standard' : 10cm clear plastic pot or this with air cone :12cm clear plastic pot

I've had great success with adding some holes with a soldering iron.
WARNING
DO THIS OUTSIDE AS IT PRODUCES FUMES.
I just hold the iron on an angle at the bottom of the pot, this creates a hole where the top of the hole is on the side and the bottom is on the underneath of the pot.
Hope you can make sense of that description!