I don't use anything in the bottom of my pots as I found that the dry out too much in the summer. I try to only bottom water my plants so they can take what they need, also top watering washes nutrients out of the soil. I use a good mix of compost, John Innes, and slow release fertilizer, seems to work ok for me.
Bottom watering is okay if you're very careful but you can so easily either under water or drown your plants. And washing through can be a good thing. You can get away will absolutely no drainage at all if you know what you're doing. I used to look after literally thousands of container grown trees and plants all without any drainage whatsoever. You just have to learn how much water to give, sometimes you learn the hard way. I killed three trees that cost £1.5 G each once. Only once though, an expensive lesson.
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I don't use anything in the bottom of my pots as I found that the dry out too much in the summer. I try to only bottom water my plants so they can take what they need, also top watering washes nutrients out of the soil. I use a good mix of compost, John Innes, and slow release fertilizer, seems to work ok for me.
Bottom watering is okay if you're very careful but you can so easily either under water or drown your plants. And washing through can be a good thing. You can get away will absolutely no drainage at all if you know what you're doing. I used to look after literally thousands of container grown trees and plants all without any drainage whatsoever. You just have to learn how much water to give, sometimes you learn the hard way. I killed three trees that cost £1.5 G each once. Only once though, an expensive lesson.