Water saving tips

Choose drought tolerant plants and flowers such as succulents, petunias and pelargoniums.

Avoid small pots. The greater the surface area to volume ratio, the faster they will dry out.

Choose glazed or plastic pots, which hold water for longer than porous terracotta or concrete.

Group pots together. This makes for quicker and easier watering (or setting up irrigation drippers). Also, the pots help shelter each other from wind and heat, slowing down the water loss.

Avoid windy locations, especially for hanging baskets.

Use fixed irrigation. If pots are grouped together, it’s easy to run a length of irrigation tubing to them. As well, a programmable timer can be installed to turn the water on and off at appropriate times.

Water crystals act as mini reservoirs and are especially useful in summer. It is best to add water crystals to the potting mix in the gel state by pre-mixing in a bucket of water. Don’t add too many.

A wetting agent, such as Saturaid, helps the potting mix absorb and hold water. Dry potting mix can repel water, especially once it is filled with roots. A wetting agent increases the wet-table volume of potting mix up to four fold. Water spreads evenly through the mix rather than washing straight out the bottom. The wetting agent is best mixed in at repotting time. Only a very small amount is needed.