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Preventing Soil Loss from Pot Drainage Holes: Simple Solutions

A grower transplanting Sarracenia into standard 6–8" black production pots (side drainage holes) had soil/perlite wash out when placed in water trays.

Easy Fixes

Dried long-fiber sphagnum moss (Home Depot houseplant section) – best, adds no nutrients.
Coconut chips, gravel, pine needles – create a permeable barrier.
Aluminum screen – works fine.

Principle

Use a porous, inert material that blocks media but allows water/air exchange.

Carnivorous Plants: White Worms and Mystery Pellets in Potting Soil: Harmless Inhabitants; Phalaenopsis Aerial Roots: Repotting & Tucking In; Fruitless Mulberry Sprouting "Oak" Leaves: Rootstock Suckers; Transplanting Japanese Maple from Pot to Ground in Southern California; Sarracenia Seedling Roots Exiting Pot Bottom: Time to Up-Pot; Topping Off Nepenthes Pot Soil Level; Transplanting Cephalotus into an African Violet Pot; Moss in Cephalotus Pot: Harmless but Manage It; When and How to Repot a ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia); Repotting Ponytail Palm & Meyer Lemon: Timing, Soil, Pot Size

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