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Need a perforated tube

I've found that the soil in my Darlingtonia pot has settled a bit and moss has grown over the surface, and the water no longer drains as quickly as it used to. After a while it starts to spill over the edge of the pot into the catch pot below, which means it isn't flowing over the roots. When I sort of punch a hole deep into the soil with my finger it starts draining well again, but the hole collapses and fills back up after a day or two. So I figure if I put some sort of rigid perforated tube in there to act as a permanent drain (in order to keep water constantly moving over the roots like in its native habitat), that'll mean no more overflowing.

The problem is, I can't think of a purpose for a perforated tube other than what I'm using it for, so I have no idea what to search for when I want to buy one. Here's a quick Paint drawing of approximately what I'm looking for (a little longer would be better I guess):

29xyr7d.gif


Does anyone know of something like this that has a name? Preferably plastic, but I guess a non-corrosive metal would work too. If I got a regular plastic tube and made holes in it with a soldering iron, would that make toxic compounds from the smoking plastic that would harm the plant?
 
Most people take PVC pipe and drill holes in it, or just use it as it(just a normal piece of PVC)...
 
I've never done this so I'm just throwing out ideas. What about a hair curler? They come in different sizes with holes and are plastic. Some are long and skinny that might work. A beauty store might have some.
Or you could get a skinny PVC pipe and drill the size holes you like. They are made to have water flow through them. I think a drill would be better than heating up plastic.

EDIT: Sorry to be redundant. I must have been typing whle Brie posted that.
 
If you don't find one, why not cut a piece off a soaker hose? It doesn't have big holes or anything, but it'll seep through at least.
 
I think a PVC pipe would be best...althoughn it may need cleaning once a month...
Also, make sure you dont get in the way of the roots.
 
Hmm, a very good idea :)
Still like the PVC pipe one tho'
 
Probably much too large of diameter, but you can get perforated pvc pipe for septic laterial line use. 4" diam is probably going to be the smallest stocked size at more home improvement stores. Some even has a membrane covering to prevent the holes from stopping up.

I think there is also another variant used to vent radon gas from under basement flooring...

head to Lowe's or Home Depot and have a look see ;)
 
Just google "perforated pipe pvc". Homedepot carries some.
 
  • #11
Thanks for the replies all. I found some hair rollers that might work, though it looks like they might have a metal spring in them. :\ If I don't get those I'll just buy some plastic pipe and make my own holes, since all the ready-made perforated PVC pipe I found has a diameter of at least 3". I'm looking for something more like 1/2".

My Darlingtonia setup has some similarities to that Sarracenia rig in the link... The main difference is that instead of a layer of styrofoam at the bottom, mine is just all soil but drains into a separate pot where the tubing is (I did it that way because it's easier to check the water level). Here's a simplified drawing of how mine works:

dviskm.gif
 
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