My friend in Denver swore by a cheap plastic pot trick for my windy balcony

So my buddy out west told me to get those basic black plastic nursery pots and just drop them inside my nicer ceramic ones. He said the air gap would keep the roots from cooking in the summer sun. I was sure it was silly, but my petunias in the ceramic alone got super sad and droopy by 2 PM every day last July. I tried his way with a new batch of herbs, and the difference is crazy. The soil in the plastic pot stays damp way longer, and the plants just look happier. It cost me maybe ten bucks for a set of pots at the garden center. Has anyone else found a simple fix like this for beating the heat on a small, sunny balcony?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver_torres42d ago

Wait, your petunias were just getting cooked out there every day? That's brutal.

julia_hayes2d ago

That's a really clever idea. Do you think the size of the air gap matters much? Like, should the plastic pot be a lot smaller than the ceramic one?