Crocks in Pots

It is a practice as old as the hills, lining pots with crocks supposedly to aid drainage.  But in reality it has been demonstrated to make no difference to the health of plants.

In fact soil scientist have demonstrated conclusively that water does not flow from a fine material like compost into a coarser one like broken pots.  Indeed, in wet summers crocks can do more harm than goods.

However, a light bulky material, such as polystyrene can still be useful if you have a large pot with small plants that do not need the depth of the pot for their roots.  This will reduce the volume of compost necessary and diminish the weight of the pot.