why to bottom water lophophora?

[qualia]

hello,

i've heard it said to bottom water lophophora from a dish, but generally theres no reaason why,

so, why?

if i just water the soil and it's free draining and dries in a day or two what would be the problem with watering from the top?

[shortly]

I water plants with bloom on their leaves or stems like Stenocereus pruinosus from below to prevent the bloom being washed off & avoid and water marks or damage.

Probably a bit excessive but i like my plants to look their best

[PD.]

I water mine from the top, well the bigger ones anyways. Some plants i have in shallow tubs for bottom watering but i do this as its easier for me as im a lazee git. I guess some ppl with different water quality may get what you would call a stain on the skin of the cactus, i sometimes do as it takes a little bit for the water to drain thru on some plants but it bothers me none and doesnt seem to stay there for long. Some ppl might just like their plants to look pristine i guess. Another reason would be a more even watering. The soil soaks up the moisture it needs and gets wet all the way thru whereas watering from the top can often leave patches of dry soil.

Once or thrice a season i sit my bigger lophs in a tub of water for bottom watering just so i know they are soaked thru and i generally give them a feed at the same time.

[Teotzlcoatl]

I water from the top like a normal person and it works just fine.

[qualia]

haha yes i'm normal too

thanks chaps

[applesnail]

presumably one waters from the bottom to stimulate root development, which could be handy for seedling development.. its also alot more convenient(if growing on a commercial scale) for a large amount of plants in a flood and drain apparatus,just flood the tray & there all done in one hit..

[Auxin]

what fun is normal?

I think I'll install injection ports for watering on the sides of a pot

[nothinghead]

Also, bottom watering can decrease chance of collar rot since the bottom of the pot tends to get more saturated than the surface level. And there is less chance of soil compacting down as it can with top watering. On the downside I read somewhere that bottom watering for long periods of time can cause minerals to eventually rise to the surface of the soil and sit on top leading to complications.

[qualia]

normal is great, just like everybody..

 

[poisonshroom]

As i understand people use bottom watering mostly for seeds and seedlings, so it doesnt move them around too much and upset the fine roots cacti seedlings initially send out. Also for other reasons stated above.

I have observed a crust (presumably minerals) on the surface of seedling trays that i bottom water, so that is a potential downside, but on the other hand apart from slight discolouration around the bottom of the seedling this doesnt seem to cause much harm, and a heavy spraying from above is usually enough to redissolve this crust and it soaks back into the soil (provided the soil is not hydrophobic)

[watertrade]

I water mine with a hose from the top. I find its often useful to clean up the wool with a bit of pressure from the hose. I have never had a problem until this year when I suspect I left a pool of water sitting on some L diffusa which developed a bit of rot on the surface. I sometimes blow the pool of water off the plants if I have time.

[pinegapcontrol]

Im no expert, and ive never bottom watered anything, but i always assumed it was firstly, as poisonshroom said, for minimal disturbance of seeds and seedlings. secondly for ease with large scale plantings, and thirdly, for larger plants to avoid splashback (of wet soil) which could lead to rot in certain plants and environments. For seedlings i use that method where you just keep the container sealed for up to 3 months, works fine for me. Different methods for different tastes and situations I guess, some people want their greenhouse to look like a museum, others want a more natural situation...

Edited February 23, 2011 by micoz

[qualia]

thanks for responses,

i'm not that precious i just water from the kitchen tap on the lowest stream i can muster, avoiding contact with the plant,

figure as long as the soil dries out quick enough everything will be ok,

[Gunter]

you can mist them with clean water and they absorb it well while the medium can stay dry

they seem to be well equipped to absorb water droplets on them formed by condensation:

dew drinkers

[weedRampage]

The reason for bottom watering is that it makes the salts move upwards or more specifically stops the

salts from excessively migrating down and out of the pot.

Many cactus environments have irregular rain and low plant cover. Most of the water in the system is

ground water. Most desert plant roots have huge negative water potentials. Which means that your

loph can drink your glass of water from across the room. If you dont believe me then try leaving a

glass of water in the room with a cactus.

The water potential is largely set up with a high osmotic water potential.

The cactus accumulates salts and other substances in their roots to help them extract water from

a salty, not quite dry soil. If you strip the salt out of the soil the water potential of the root

is amplified, the cells rupture and rot sets in.

Bottom watering is probably only a good idea if you set up a tank to sit the pots in permanently.

Shifting the pots around would probably do more damage than good.

The best alternative is to water a little bit consistently on the top of the pots and protect the sides of the pots from

excessive sunlight.

[Hellonasty]

I really don't like to water from the top with Lophs, Ariocarpus or Astrophytum. I find it causes a few different skin problems and also encourages some pests. That being said I must admit if i'm lazy my whole collection will cop a nice drenching with the hose, especially in the warmer months. However, my definition of 'top' watering is wetting the skin, if the skin stays dry this is not watering from the top in my opinion, I find the plants don't suffer at all so long as waterings are proportionate to the plant's requirements.