Protecting Patio pots

[kranser]

Hi,

I am growing some small bushes/shrubs in some large plastic patio pots, and I have a couple of questions:

1) Lately, the soil has been very damp and has remained damp continually - mostly due to the rainfall. The pot has drainage holes in the bottom but the soil still feels damp. Should I be worried about this and try to stop the pot getting so wet?
I tried putting bark mulch on the top of the soil in the pot - but that hasn't helped with the dampness.

Should I cover the pot with some material to stop the rain getting in - at least until it the spoil dries? Or do I need to make more drainage holes in the pot?

2) How should I protect plants in patio pots against the cold - can you recommend any material that I can use to cover the pots with?

Thanks,
kranser.

[Primrose]

I've occasionally suffered this problem with plants in patio pots in periods of torrential rain and got some thick sticks and spiked holes in the earth around the edge of the pots to try and help dry the compost out. It did help a little but your drainage holes may have become clogged and causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the pots. I've acquired a few of the large plastic water bottles which you see in drinking dispensers in offices and these are very useful for protecting small shrubs, but shrub size is an issue here. To protect delicate shrubs from the cold you can buy fleece bag covers but the commercial ones are hugely expensive, and if you've got some strong wire and somebody in the house with a sewing machine you could buy some lengths of fleece and sew up some bags for yourself of a suitable size and use them to cover your wire framework. Alternatively, some very tall fronds of brown bracken might help. It's a good idea to move any pots with sensitive shubs to a sheltered position against a house wall if you don't have a greenhouse.

[Primrose]

I've occasionally suffered this problem with plants in patio pots in periods of torrential rain and got some thick sticks and spiked holes in the earth around the edge of the pots to try and help dry the compost out. It did help a little but your drainage holes may have become clogged and causing water to accumulate at the bottom of the pots. I've acquired a few of the large plastic water bottles which you see in drinking dispensers in offices and these are very useful for protecting small shrubs, but shrub size is an issue here. To protect delicate shrubs from the cold you can buy fleece bag covers but the commercial ones are hugely expensive, and if you've got some strong wire and somebody in the house with a sewing machine you could buy some lengths of fleece and sew up some bags for yourself of a suitable size and use them to cover your wire framework. Alternatively, some very tall fronds of brown bracken might help. It's a good idea to move any pots with sensitive shubs to a sheltered position against a house wall if you don't have a greenhouse.

[kranser]

Thanks for your reply Primrose. Does fleece prevent too much rain getting in too - or does it freely let all the rain through?

[Johnboy]

Hi Kranser,
If you suspect that your pots are too wet at present then really the way to combat this is to cover the top with a polythene cover to prevent more wetting by rain. Then carry out what Primrose has said and ensure that your drainage holes are free. If you poke something like a screwdriver well into the drainage holes it will not do any damage and note the result.
A friend of mine puts an expanded polystyrene jacket around her pots when the weather is forecasted to get very cold. Apart from that I do not see what else you can do.
JB.

[Geoff]

Are the pots flat on the ground or raised on feet? These help drainage and pest infection.
You don't say what you are growing - many things survive at least as well if not better in pots than in open ground despite the fact the roots can be colder, don't know why. Also where are you and how exposed is your patio?

[kranser]

Are the pots flat on the ground or raised on feet? These help drainage and pest infection.
You don't say what you are growing - many things survive at least as well if not better in pots than in open ground despite the fact the roots can be colder, don't know why. Also where are you and how exposed is your patio?

Hi Geoff,

The pots are near the patio - on pebble dash - but, no they are not raised on on legs (but I'm hoping to get some raised pots).

I growing a goji berry bush in one pot and a Sollya heterophylla (Bluebell Creeper) in the other.

I'm in Norfolk, and the patio area is quite exposed.

I'm not intending on putting any cover around the pots - to protect the roots. However, I've heard that you would need to protect the roots as well if I had a fruit tree (ie. peach or apricot) in a pot. I'm wondering if that is so, as I do intend to try fruit trees at some point.

Kranser.