has anyone used an air-pot before??

http://airpotgarden.com/

Hi guys i have bought 2 air potz for use in the garden. According to the manufacturer the holes in the side of the the pots allow the roots to grow out of the container, where they are then air-pruned so to speak (the root tips die in the cones as air is moving through the cones). The same way a plant regenerates after pruning leafy growth should apply to the root zone and after using an air pot they say the plant will grow a much denser and stronger root system within the pot, with no extra maintenence.

I have some spreader mat for the bottom of the pots but im not sure if i need to start my plants from seed in the pots or can i transplant from a regular pot into the bigger air pot
Has anybody else ever tried this system???

Thanks guys.

 

I have 2 alocasia Mayan Mask in 3 litre airpots .... it's the 1st time that I am trying these

they are a bit strange at 1st, as the bottom has large openings .... I was told that you do not use pebbles etc on the bottom ..... just add your potting soil, tap it a few times so as to compact the soil, then plant .... place the pot on a pot tray and don't overwater (if water runs out of the bottom when you water, then that means that you have overwatered) .... you will also see some water drip out the side holes

the holes of the cones have to point outwards .... the top 2 rows dont have holes, and the bottom holes are larger than the top holes ...



I'm keen to get the huge ones that are used for making compost:

 

Nice one Dim.

I was told you can use any medium you wish but if it is a finer medium to use a spreader mat in the bottom. I read on the net somewhere though clay pebbles and a soil mix can work extremely well but im assuming that untill the roots reach the holes in the pot there are going to be no visual signs of any extra growth.

When did you start your mayan masks Dim?? did you start them from seed in the air pots?? how are they doing now?? I have seeds here and was thinking of starting two seeds one in a standard pot and one in an air pot to compare results although reaslly i need to use clones to do this and im way to impatient to wait for some rooted clones when i have a grapevine i could pot on today

What type of fertiliser are you using pal??

 

Thanks Marley, i had no idea these pots had been around for so long (they are still marketed as the latest inovation in gardening lol) I can`t wait to see how my grapevine will perform, if it was not for the price of the pot compared to that of a standard pot i would replace all my pots with air pots even if they are half as good as they say they are.

 

I used plagron bat mix and added a bit more worm humus to the mix ... I also used rootgrow.... the Plagron bat mix has perlite added

not sure if you are supposed to close up the bottom with a mat .... I think the whole objective of the slotted base is to allow air in from the bottom .... if you check, you will see that when you assemble the airpot, the base sits higher than the bottom of the pot.... they also advertise the compost bin to work this way (i.e. allow air in from the bottom)

I bought 2 Mayan Mask small plants from the owner of the hardy tropical forum.... they are doing well and I have them in full sun (when it does shine) on my bathroom window sill ... I have only had them for a few weeks, and so far both have formed new leaves and look very healthy..

I also feed them compost tea and a seaweed/fish foliar spray every 2nd week .... not sure how the roots are performing, but have also given them stuff called 'Dutch Pro Take Root' (this was given to me for free to test).... it's supposed to make the roots grow bezerk .... I will only know when I transplant them into the garden

I will transplant them into a garden that is landscaped in exotic sytle, but will only transplant them when all signs of cold have disapperared .... I like these and may get another 2 for myself for indoor plants (they do drip water from the leaves though)

 

they are not too expensive ... I paid £2.69 for mine (3 litre pots) .... they last a lifetime and when you take the plant out, you loosen the attaching screw thingy and the side carefully unfolds without damaging the roots
http://www.camgrow.co.uk/air-pots/

 

Oh yes I remember this well as I didnt realise no bottom to the pot , I picked up a tree to buy at the Garden Centre and the whole thing came through the bottom of the pot including the stem and all the braches and the root ball tottaly fell apart as it hit the concret path. I quickly put the pot down and told the woman at the till that a plant was in the walkway and the soil etc was all over the floor , I quickly got in the car and left I was so embaresed I know I should of told them what actualy happened

Spruce

 

there is a bottom, but it's a plastic disk with large slots/openings ... you can see it in this pic (strangely, the soil/potting mixture does not fall through these slots once you have compacted it):

 

Hi Dim

I went back two weeks later and bought a golden yew in the sale I dont know what happened to the original one I picked as that was nowhere to be seen (Ginko ££ ) but the new one didnt have a bottom to it either I placed it on a old pot tray they gave away free...

Hey at least I know what they should have but I will still check 1st that was the garden centre that closed down as I bought a Ginko a week before it closed in January for £5.00 reduced from £35.00 just looked like a branch in a pot but we are wiser knowing what will happen and only in the past weeks have the buds started to swell , thinking about it you never know it may be the one I droped as it was in a plastic pot and they never usualy sold them like that , you see I was meant to have it

Spruce

 

LMAO Spruce!! I wonder if they bothered to rewind the CCTV.

Thanks Marley i will remember to do that...i have some slate i can use i think will do the same job not even thought about support for it yet though lol

Dim, i think the spreader mat they have supplied will still allow air to flow through the bottom, it is kinda like a fibre mat, it just stops smaller particles from washing through the bottom grid. The bottoms of the pots can be removed and i found quite difficult to insert when assembling so maybe the garden centre either put the bottoms in wrong and they fell out at some point or they just couldnt be bothered figuring out how to put them in lol

 

Well, really, if they were that vulnerable to falling out there should have been a warning notice next to them. You could have sued them for ruining your new shoes, so you let them off lightly.

Where can you buy these pots? I have never seen them on sale, but then I don't spend a lot of time browsing the sheds.

Maybe they just don't work that well or have some sort of flaw that needs ironing out, which is why they have not caught on yet. A bit like rootrainers, which have both pluses and negatives.

 

these are highly regarded by those that use them and there are no flaws in the design... I have never seen them at garden centres .... but they are freely available on ebay and the internet ...

 

Seems like a good idea for plants that you want to root through the pot bottom.
Similar to how some grow brugs or tomatoes.

Other than that it must be a nightmare trying to keep up with the watering in summer.