So it doesn't have a little spout on the drip tray for tilting the water out?

No, they have no holes at all.

I've seen people refer to them as having an "internal saucer" or "self watering disk" but I think they were just trying to think of a way to describe them.

Attached are two photos.

Well, I guess one photo in this post, and the second photo in the next post since it appears I'm only able to attach a single photo to a post for some reason.

Second photo.

That's not a planter, that's a death sentence. Not that it couldn't be done, but it would be tricky. No tap water. Repotting would be a nightmare, the roots would be entangled in that mesh at the bottom, probably impossible to remove any plant with woody roots. I would advise strongly against this for anyone who's ever killed a plant with water before. For those at the opposite end, it might work for a while.

"it's been hard to find information on how others are using them successfully." I believe that completely!

The one thing it does have going for it is its' light color that shouldn't absorb excess heat in direct sun. Trying to think of anything else not negative, this 'bright side' person is at a loss.

Heat a nail or other metal object and use it to poke a drain hole in the bottom - then you at least have a chance at getting it to work.

Al

Since this type of planter isn't talked about much, but is becoming extremely common, I was hoping to get some discussion going about them. Anyone who has something to add, it would be appreciated.

People have been using planters without drainage holes for eons, and I often see plants in them that are doing just fine.

These planters we're talking about here only seem to differ in that they have the false bottom, which allows excess water to pool below, rather than remain in the soil.
I saw a claim that this air space also allowed for more oxygen circulation, but who knows.

The roots could indeed become entangled in that meshy false bottom, I hadn't thought of that!
They are removeable, but with some force as they clip into the pot. It is possible to install them without clipping for easy removal later, so that might solve that problem.

Personally, I prefer the true self watering planters, the ones with the hole in the side so you can add/remove water. I own many of them, but I almost always water from the top.
I don't know if the self watering function actually works or not, but I see no reason why it shouldn't.

The self watering ones are handy because if you do have a plant that wants to be watered from the bottom, you can do it. But most importantly to me, the large reservoir at the bottom collects excess water instead of sending it overflowing out of the pot and you can easily pour it out.

I've always disliked the traditional ceramic planter with saucer setup, because if the water does happen to flow out, it makes a big mess since the saucers don't collect much. However, I've recently been buying a lot of this type and will likely use more of them from here on out.

It's nearly impossible to find an attractive looking plastic planter. Most are extremely ugly and cheap looking and are of the same design I recall seeing 10 years ago when I last was into houseplants.

The planters with the false bottom, which started this discussion, were the only attractive ones I could find and they were very inexpensive. Many times less expensive than ceramic equivalents.
I'm now considering returning some of the extra ones.

Even if someone was skilled at watering, there's still the issue of not being able to flush the soil to remove salt and other residue that can accumulate due to fertilizing, which is my biggest concern about them at the moment.

They may be of use outside at some point if drainage holes are drilled into the bottom, though maybe there are drawbacks to using plastic planters outside??

This type of pot is simply a bad idea - period. Even if you use distilled water, you're still going to have organic material in the "reservoir" - dead root pieces and tiny soil particles washed out of the soil proper. As the organic material ferments and undergoes putrefaction, and undoubtedly it will, it produces gases that are a problem in the rhizosphere. Methane, sulfurous gases, CO2, and others, are all produced. CO2 especially, being heavier than air, tends to collect in the soil, limiting the oxygen so important to root health and function. The problem would be of most concern when using soils that limit gas exchange because of compaction and small particle size, and soils that contain forms of organic matter that break down quickly.

Al

When one asks for opinions, they might be rough and unvarnished. You hopefully wanted folks' honest thoughts though. It looks like this may be your first post at Gardenweb, surprised I didn't notice that yesterday, I usually do. Welcome!

I would keep those pots, as I agree with your opinion of their appearance. My style is that usually chop/dig a triangle out of a pot with a hand pruner. I haven't the patience to wait for a small hole to drain, and pots need to be able to drain as fast as water comes out of the hose, for rare occasions when I find that necessary. The nail thing above is so civilized, but would be too small of a hole for life at my house.

"I saw a claim that this air space also allowed for more oxygen circulation, but who knows."
Like said above, air can't get in there, how would it circulate?

The only drawback I know to putting plastic pots outside is their light weight. The wind can blow them over a lot easier. The empty reservoir at the bottom would make them more top-heavy. I might fill that with gravel for outside use, taking some precaution to make sure nothing shifts to block the hole added to the true bottom. With the way the bottom is such a drastically smaller diameter than the top, this is already top-heavy, if filled to near capacity.

With a hole in the bottom, they would be excellent pots, with the whole bottom surface able to drain freely. Your idea about not snapping the bottom sounds great for later repotting! You could still use them inside after adding a hole. You'd just need some type of added saucer/something to protect porous furniture/windowsills. That defeats the saucerless look for which the pot was designed, but should be a way to use them inside & out and have great looking plants growing in them, just like any other pot with a hole in the bottom. The saucer doesn't have to be ugly. I'd check the thrift store for interesting plates, saucers, glass dishes. If they're not used to fill with excess water, they should stay clean and nice looking, not caked with limescale or brown dirty rings.

Since you get to decide where the hole is, might as well make it at or near the outside edge. Then you can tilt the pot toward the hole after watering and know that the reservoir is empty, further dripping should be minimal.

Though you might not invest in multiple 'nicer' pots now, or at any single time, if you start collecting them slowly, you can sit the ugly pots inside them and have the best of both worlds. Another tactic is to have dangling/ground-cover type plants cascading over the sides, to hide the pots.

"I've always disliked the traditional ceramic planter with saucer setup, because if the water does happen to flow out, it makes a big mess since the saucers don't collect much. However, I've recently been buying a lot of this type and will likely use more of them from here on out."

If you water plants at a sink, then put back on drip saucer, you...

I recently un-potted one of my plants (Plectranthus oertendahlii) from one of these pots and moved it to a pot with drainage.

The soil near the bottom wasn't even wet, despite the fact I had given this plant a fair bit of water in the previous couple of weeks.

I am also noticing that the plants which are in these pots are drying out just as quickly as plants which are in pots with drainage. I've been checking the soil at various levels with a moisture meter, and I've not seen any excess lingering wetness at the lower levels.

The soil I'm using is a standard organic potting mix.
Apparently I should have used the tropical mix from the same manufacturer, as it contains more peat moss and doesn't dry out as quickly.... but it's too late now!

These pots also seem to be fairly deep, which could account for the soil not being as wet as expected near the bottom. It could also be that I packed the soil too tightly.

Though, I don't really pack the bottom layers of soil tightly, I just tamp it down a little to make sure it's settled. I don't really start packing it in tightly until I'm actually putting it around the plant, and then I only do it so the plant has the support it needs to stay firmly in the soil.

In any event, I'm not yet noticing that these planters are causing any issues with excess wetness near or below the roots, but I will be keeping an eye on them!

dezzo,
I apologize ahead of time if this suggestion was already mentioned. I believe you could find use for these pots if you drilled holes into the bottoms of them, in order to allow excess water to drain. I've had to do that with plastic pots I've purchased whose bottoms were removable or that just didn't drain at all. Some of the nicer looking plastic pots seem to be cache pots or have removable bottoms that I get annoyed with removing every time I water, haha.

Planto

> The soil near the bottom wasn't even wet, despite the fact I had given this plant a fair bit of water in the previous couple of weeks.

Unless you hit just the right amount of water to give the plant for it to use up by the next watering (highly unlikely), you under-watered by definition. But do not feel bad - nobody can be expected to give just the right amount of water, and do it repeatedly without fail. Melting or drilling holes is the only way to make this pot work long term. You do not even need to repot - just take a hot nail to it with the plant inside. Although the plant may be easy to tip out and then put back in anyway. The hole will be smallish, so make multiple holes then. You can also drill a hole, although it's more difficult and messy with the plant still inside.

When I made a hole in a pot like that with the plant inside, a lot of water rushed out, and it STANK like something died in there - which of course is exactly what happened. The plant had been there for only several months, and I was surprised it survived as long as it did.

If you think about the way plants grow in nature, their soil is never a closed system like this pot - the earth provides plenty of wicking. So, drain holes create a more natural environment.

Fertilizing in a pot with no holes is also killing the plant, even faster than watering with plain water. Fertilizer salts build up inside because there is no escape and no ability to flush them, and the roots just choke and cease being able to take any water and nutrients in.