Drip Emitters Probably a Better Choice for Containers Than Drip Tubing

An assortment of drip emitters

Q. I recently purchased 4 large clay pots 18" deep and 21" wide at the top for my roses.  I would like to run a soaker hose up the bottom, circle around the top edge, (I might want to under-plant with flowers) and then take the hose back through the bottom and on to the next pot.  My partner believes that we should just put two drip emitters at the top of the plant.  Do you think that it is okay to under-plant with flowers or should we just mulch the top with shredded cedar?  Also, should we fill part of the pot with gravel before we fill with soil?

A. Regarding the pot, I have never been an advocate of putting gravel or crushed clay pots at the bottom of the container for drainage. It is best to use the same soil mix throughout the container as it will drain the more readily if the soil is consistent from top to bottom. Make sure the soil drains freely out the bottom hole of the container.

            I understand you are trying to run some sort of drip irrigation up the bottom of the container so it is not so unsightly. This is the right way to do it but I happen to agree with your partner that drip emitters are probably a better choice than using a soaker hose. These soaker hoses frequently get plugged.

            I would probably run smaller distribution tubing to the top of the container and put two or three drip emitters there from a larger mainline polyethylene pipe at the bottom. This should be enough to water the understory plants if you want.

            Regarding the shredded cedar mulch, wood mulch is always a better choice than bark mulch. Wood mulch adds a lot more to the soil as it decomposes. The problem with wood mulch is that it is not very pretty up close. The problem with cedar mulch is that while pretty, is does not decompose easily.

            I would probably recommend using an inch of wood mulch and then perhaps putting something on top of it to beautify it such as cedar mulch. Be very careful with wood mulches coming in contact with young woody plants. If this wood mulch stays wet and stays in contact with the bark of young woody plants, it can cause the trunk to rot at the soil level, a problem we call collar rot. I hope this helps.