Expert warns an indoor plant hack for better drainage is doing more harm than good

One of the keys to indoor plants not only thriving, but surviving is good drainage in the pot.

This has led many to search for ways to improve the soil's ability to move water through and allow the excess to flow out.

A common hack for this is putting pebbles in the bottom of a pot, however, an expert warns it's actually doing the opposite.

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Horticulturalist and owner of indoor plant store Wattle & Bee Felicity Moody says it's a myth that this works, which has been passed down from previous generations.

"Most of the time the plant will be OK, but what it does do is water is attracted to other water and [called cohesion], therefore, the pebbles actually create this kind of false water table at the bottom of your pot," she tells 9honey Living.

"It sounds counterintuitive, but the water will actually like to stay there and hang out at the bottom of your pot instead of draining away."

When you have water sitting at the bottom of a pot for a long time, there is the potential for the plant to develop root rot.

"Root rot is a fungus and what do fungus like? They like moist, dark conditions. So if you're able to let your soil dry out in between watering, then you're going to kill off that fungus and your plant will be much happier for it. There's all sorts of nasty things that can grow in constantly damp soil so it's a good habit to get into," Moody explains.

Instead of putting pebbles at the bottom of your pot, the horticulturalist instead recommends having a chunky potting mix that contains perlite or orchid bark to improve drainage.

Another drainage-related myth Moody hears a lot is that all plant pots need holes.

While it's true the pot the plant itself is directly in needs holes, you don't have to worry about finding decorative pots with holes in them.

"There are loads of pots on the market now that I actually love, most horticulturalists really like them, they're called cover pots and they don't have holes in the bottom," Moody says.

"We really like cover pots because the idea is you keep the plant in the nursery pot or the plastic pot – and they have plenty of holes at the bottom – and you just pop it inside that cover pot."

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Keeping plants in their plastic nursery pots and popping that inside a decorative cover pot has many benefits. They include making it easy to remove water if you pour too much in because you just tip it out of the cover pot.

Moody adds that it'll also make your plant much happier by changing the cover pot only when you want a different look.

"It's just a good way to not disrupt the roots – every time you repot a plant you're potentially traumatising the roots a bit. So by using a cover pot you don't have to do any of that," she explains.

"And also, if you get bored of the pot you can easily swap it for a different one." 

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