Self Watering Pots
WaterUps Wicking Solutions
Our self watering pots keep your plants in optimal health
Self-watering pots is another way of describing a wicking pot, of which WaterUps offers popular variations for home and commercial applications.
Self-watering pots are essential in residential, commercial, or public open space garden design where water supply is expensive or unsightly. Indoor or outdoor planters fitted with self-watering wicking systems enjoy the benefits of extended watering intervals and highly increased plant survival rates. This is particularly valued in public places where time spent maintaining adds to the cost.
The biggest advantages of the self-watering pot for the home garden are that it appeals to people who:
- have busy lifestyles
- may be forgetful when it comes to watering
- may be amateur gardeners and not confident as to how much water a plant needs and how regularly it should be watered.
How they work
Self-watering pots, like the WaterUps Square Planter, come with an in-bult water reservoir in the base. Water is added via an inlet pipe at the top, above the soil, to fill the reservoir below. This water is then wicked up to the soil above via capillary action through the perlite wicks. This provides moisture to where it is of most valuable, in the soil, not running out the bottom of the pot.
Self-watering pots and planters will have a dry layer of soil on the surface. The further down you go, the more water is in the soil. Between 5 and 10cm down the soil will be perfectly moist. The dry soil on the surface reduces evaporation and humidity at the base of plants. This almost eliminates mould and mildew disease often present on indoor plants and the dry soil layer also deters insects that lay their eggs at the base of plants.
An overflow pipe connected to the reservoir drains off any excess water, avoiding damping off leading to root rot.
WaterUps has been providing self watering pots for several years with our solutions using 80% less water than top down watering, while increasing growth and yield of plants by up to 30%.
Topping up the reservoir
Self-watering pots and planters allow the planting mix to hold a lot more water than normal pots. In the case of the Square Planter, the 50lt of soil will carry 12.5lt of water. That is about 2/3 of the reservoir, so when planting and filling for the first time it is important to understand that it will take a few days for the soil to draw the maximum amount of water into its pores.
Give it 3 days for the water to wick the soil above, fill up the reservoir again and then you top up as needed.
This can be anything from 1 to 6 weeks depending on: the time of year, whether your plant is inside or outside, the environment you live in, the type of plant in the pot, and the size of your reservoir.
The WaterUps range of Self Watering Pots
WaterUps has the following self-watering pots:
Square Planters
Measuring 480(L) x 480(W) x 430(H) with a reservoir capacity of 17L, these are made from 100% recycled plastic and available in popular on trend natural colours for use indoors or out. They can be purchased with an additional wheelbase for easy movement around a courtyard or balcony.
The WaterUps Tree Reservoir
This innovative – world-first solution – from WaterUps can be used for in-ground applications and for larger off the shelf pots.
It can make self-watering planters out of:
- Any square planter or pot larger than 400 x 400mm internal
- Any round planters or pot larger than 600mm internal diameter
With no modifications. There is no need to block drainage holes or seal with liner. No drilling required. The WaterUps Tree Reservoir simply sits in the pot or planter of your choice. Installed on the level, the Tree Reservoir will drain itself when full, using the drainage holes already at the base of the pot. Taking only moments to fill and lasting up to weeks, it’s the perfect solution for potted balconies and outdoor space where dripline irrigation is unsightly.
WaterUps Oasis Planter Boxes
These self watering pots are available as Colorbond rectangular planter boxes that come complete with the WaterUps wicking solution. They can be used on apartment balconies, inner city courtyards or backyards. They are ideal for attractive border displays or for growing edible food. Be sure to check the weight limits of any balcony or roof structures before installing anything as heavy as a planter.
Two models are available, the 1240 and 1680, in a selection of colours.
WaterUps DIY Wicking Kits
The WaterUps DiY Wicking kits let you create self-watering pots or planters in popular garden bed sizes out of the frame of your choice (wood, stone, metal, cement etc.)
They are available in 4 sizes, can be used for interior or exterior raised garden beds, providing the full advantages of wicking to plants above.
Supersize Self-Watering Pots
WaterUps wicking is the world’s most scalable wicking solution enabling virtually any size or shaped container or garden bed to become a self-watering pot or bed. All that is needed are our wicking cells, joiners, a reservoir (which could be a pondliner), an inlet and overflow pipe, perlite for the wicks and you are away. See our wicking bed installed in Australia’s iconic Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney.
This is the must-have solution for landscapers wanting to create a garden that endures and lives up to their original vision. LEARN MORE.
Advantages of Our Self Watering Pots
The advantages are numerous. Here’s just a few:
Water Management
The water run-off / overflow is minimal. You can stop adding water to the top inlet as soon as water starts coming out of the overflow pipe. It is easy to catch or wipe up any spills – which you see at the time. There is no excess water appearing half an hour later.
Savings — Time, $$, Water
They save you time and money when it comes to watering as you don’t have to water as often and you use less water when you do.
Performance
Plants in our self-watering wicking beds perform better with at least 30% more growth and yield and stronger healthier plants. Plants grown with a constant supply of water and nutrient are stronger and more resilient. Your plants will always be well watered especially for the days that are only getting hotter, giving you the freedom to leave your garden for time away without the fear of coming back to a dry and dying garden.
Creativity
You have creative freedom as to the type of pot you can use for your self-watering pot, including large pots for rooftop terraces, landscaping features and street furniture. You can put plants in places that otherwise might be difficult to green up due to access or space.
