Repotting taro plants questions

[magillilnb]

Hi! I'm new to this website and hope to get help with my taro plants. They stay in large pots of water during the winter, and I've recently put them back in the pond. I'm going to repot them. I bought some non-clumping, unscented, clay, kitty litter from Walmart called Special Kitty, which others recommended. I also bought some pea gravel to put on the top of the kitty litter.

My questions are:
1. do the pots need to have holes in them, and if they do, how many?
2. if they need holes, can I put light weight canvas in the pots to keep the litter from getting into the pond? If that's not a good material to use, what should I use and where can I find it?

Thanks in advance to anyone reading or answering this.

 

[WaterGardener]

The pots don't need holes. If there are no holes, the top of the pot needs to be below the surface of the water so the plant can get water that way.

I use plastic mesh planters filled with river rock for my taros. They are exposed to the water all around them, but there is no soil to leak out.

I've also used solid plastic planters for them. They do well in either one as long as water comes over the top of the pot.

 

[addy1]

Mine have just been stuck in the pea gravel of the bog, no pot.

 

[magillilnb]

The pots don't need holes. If there are no holes, the top of the pot needs to be below the surface of the water so the plant can get water that way.

I use plastic mesh planters filled with river rock for my taros. They are exposed to the water all around them, but there is no soil to leak out.

I've also used solid plastic planters for them. They do well in either one as long as water comes over the top of the pot.

Thanks! I don't have river rock so I'll use the kitty litter and top it with gravel. I'm glad I don't have to drill the pots!

 

[magillilnb]

Mine have just been stuck in the pea gravel of the bog, no pot.

Thanks! I'm not familiar with using that method so I'm going to keep mine in pots, but thanks for the input!

 

[netvine]

I planted taro directly in pea gravel as well, starting to see new shoots. If you do use aquatic type pots I found these:

Cobalt Aquatics Square Planter Basket https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008AGHHA2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_QY86V9DDRAPMWGXYGYN8

Work without having to sift out the kitty litter as the other aquatic pots holes were much bigger. They are a little on the thin side, ive had one crack, and they are not the extra large size, but they work great so far.

 

[magillilnb]

I planted taro directly in pea gravel as well, starting to see new shoots. If you do use aquatic type pots I found these:

Cobalt Aquatics Square Planter Basket https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008AGHHA2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_QY86V9DDRAPMWGXYGYN8

Work without having to sift out the kitty litter as the other aquatic pots holes were much bigger. They are a little on the thin side, ive had one crack, and they are not the extra large size, but they work great so far.

Thanks. I'm not sure what I'll do now. I want to use the pots I have, because I've already bought things I don't need, and I do have pots that they've been in before. I'm not sure what will weigh more: pea gravel or wet kitty litter. If it's too heavy it's going to be hard getting them out of the pond next fall. It would probably be easier transferring the pea gravel to another container than wet kitty litter.

 

[netvine]

Thanks. I'm not sure what I'll do now. I want to use the pots I have, because I've already bought things I don't need, and I do have pots that they've been in before. I'm not sure what will weigh more: pea gravel or wet kitty litter. If it's too heavy it's going to be hard getting them out of the pond next fall. It would probably be easier transferring the pea gravel to another container than wet kitty litter.

Your plants look incredible, whatever youve been doing is working! I love the clay kitty litter, im a new convert to it. The taro i planted in pea gravel because that is in the top of my bog style filter.



I think anything like canvas, fiberglass window screen type mesh etc would work to keep the kitty litter from escaping.

 

[WaterGardener]

To keep my pots from getting too heavy, I use kitchen scrubbies in the bottom half. Since I use river rock, it helps a lot with the weight. Don't see why you can't use those with either the kitty litter or the gravel.

 

[magillilnb]

To keep my pots from getting too heavy, I use kitchen scrubbies in the bottom half. Since I use river rock, it helps a lot with the weight. Don't see why you can't use those with either the kitty litter or the gravel.

Great idea! What kind of scrubbies do you use? I see various kinds online.

 

[WaterGardener]

Just the plastic ones that come in different colors. I think you can pick them up at a Dollar Store if you have one nearby. I had lots of plants to repot, so I bought a case of them online.

 

[magillilnb]

Just the plastic ones that come in different colors. I think you can pick them up at a Dollar Store if you have one nearby. I had lots of plants to repot, so I bought a case of them online.

Thanks, I figured out what they were when I googled the name. I forgot about the Dollar Store. There's one nearby, but I just ordered 48 on Amazon, which should be plenty, I think. I only plan to repot two taro plants.

 

[WaterGardener]

You should have more than enough! Good luck with repotting.