For indoors or outside use, the Waterpot spikes are ideal for indoor plants that need a consistent water supply.
Simply insert, fill, invert.
The Waterpot Spike fits between your plant and the pot wall. Water seeps steadily through the semi-porous ceramic, slowly wicking into the soil below the surface.
At a glance, a low water level in the bottle tells you it’s time for a refill. These Spikes have been designed to accommodate smaller bottles to provide a discrete, elegant solution to watering your houseplants.
We've designed these spikes to be used primarily for indoor applications, however they can be used with equal success in pots outdoors where a bottle can be safely upended into the neck opening. (Please refer to the Word of Caution below if installing outdoors) We would recommend one spike per pot plant in the same way as you would use them indoors. Where larger pots are concerned, we recommend the use of the Waterpot ollas in the main range.
HOW PLANT WATERING SPIKES WORK
The Waterpot Spikes work on the olla principle where a low-fired terracotta vessel is buried in the ground and leaches water into the surrounding soil at the root level. More information can be found on our website The Science of Ollas Irrigation
YOU WILL NEED
1x long-necked bottle per spike 200ml - 360ml recommended. These are usually available as single-serve Tonic or Soda waters and other mixer drinks. A larger bottle, such as a wine bottle with appropriate neck may be used with care however we would recommend the smaller long-necked bottles and frequent checking for safety's sake. Large bottles we find are unstable in the necks and if moved will often crack the collar of the Spike.
PRIOR TO PLANTING
Water your plant well before preparing to install the Waterpot Spike
Soak the Spike in water for an hour prior to burying it. Spike should be fully saturated. this saturating of the porous terracotta ensures the Spike will work quickly once in the soil. If you miss this step, it won't matter too much.
STEP 1
Dig a hole in the soil before slotting the watering Spikes into the soil.
A Word On Soils- The effectiveness of Spikes may vary depending on the type of soil you are using. For example, clay soils may not allow water to permeate easily from the Spike to the surrounding soil. In such cases, you may need to amend the soil or adjust the placement of the pots to improve water distribution. Potting mix (which is different from garden soil!) will in most cases have enough organic material in it that will retain and aid the capillary motion of moisture through the mix).
Do not attempt to push the Spike into your pot soil without preparing a hole as you are likely to damage it. We recommend the use of our Narrow Trowel for this purpose.
STEP 2
Insert the damp watering Spikes into the wet soil with the open-top sitting flush with the soil level or leave the collar (where the logo is) above the soil. The more of the Spike buried, the less evaporation from the Spike surface will occur.
The deeper the Spike, the more stable it will be, the more moisture will get to the planting media as a larger surface will be in contact.Water travels through the soil on contact, so pack the soil around the Spike firmly.
STEP 3
Fill the Spike with water.
STEP 4
Half fill the long-necked bottle with water then flip it over into the Waterpot Spike opening.
TIP - cover the opening of the bottle with two fingers when you
invert it to prevent too much spillage.
STEP 5
Remember to place the bottle straight upright. Do not have it tilted or slanted as this will not be stable and the bottle may tip over.
STEP 6
Check the bottle periodically to ensure they still have water.
You don’t need to take out the stake, just lift the bottle out and refill the bottle when it is empty. If you have chosen not to uuse the inverted bottle method be sure to check the Spike often for water.
Continue to water your plant at the surface until it has settled into its new watering regime, generally after two weeks.
Depending on the climate and the water needs of your plants, you may need to adjust the frequency of refilling the olla pots to ensure that the plants receive adequate moisture.
🔥Word of Caution 🔥
If using the Waterpot Spikes with bottles outdoors please use caution. It may sound like an urban myth, but it can and does happen that fires can be started. Fishbowls, glass beads and ornaments, jam-jars and even glass door-knobs have been implicated in focusing the sun's rays sufficiently to cause smouldering, which could be followed by a full-scale blaze. Up on The Rooftop accept no responsibility for how they are used in your garden.