Wick watering wonderfulness.

No guesswork. No water worries! And beautiful to boot. This gorgeous little game-changer is called the Cup O Flora and this is the Small size in the range. Okay, yes, the name Cup O Flora is a bit kitsch I know (it's growing on me - pun totally intended), but this little babe is as pretty as she is practical, so don't judge her by her name.

Award-winning design.

Meet Cup O Flora. The award-winning, simple, self-watering system - with a design that allows you to monitor your little planty's root health and moisture level with ease. I love these for African Violets, baby houseplants, fussy babes who hate drying out, and my wishlist plants I can't risk losing to a watering stuff-up.

Plus no more constant water-level checks like you have to with typical non see-through self-watering pots. No more panic-stations when you realise you entirely forgot to water a plant and it's suddenly on death's door. No over-watering either.

Cup O Flora make the most gorgeous, unique gifts too, especially if you give them already planted. Even better if it's with a baby you grew yourself. Serious wow factor.

Made of Borosilicate glass.

Borosilicate glass is as fancy as it sounds. Normally saved for special vessels - like those 'bubble' Bodum glasses or fancy-pants wine glasses - this type of glass has very high thermal shock fracture resistance. Most glass in the world is soda-lime glass. That's the cheaper stuff that everything from fizzy-drink bottles to windows are made of.

Borosilicate glass handles more extreme temperatures, and sudden temperature changes, better than soda-lime glass does. It's so resistant to chemicals - stopping them leaching into the glass - it's used for contamination prevention in everything from high-end wine glasses to lab equipment.

That means your new Cup O Flora can handle going from sitting in hot, direct sunlight, to having fresh cold water poured in, and fertiliser and minerals from your tap water won't leach in to the glass over time. Better for your plants. Longer lifetime for you. No cheap throw-away here.

What comes with your pot?

Each Cup O Flora is actually two pots. The outer pot holds the water, and the removable inner pot holds your plant and substrate. The inner pot has a small hole in the bottom, which the wick goes through. The wick (included) is a simple piece of silk ribbon, which can (and should) be replaced over time easily.

Yes, you can use other wick materials instead, just make sure it has high enough absorbency to keep your plant happy. I'd just buy a little pack of ribbon from Spotlight or the supermarket and keep using what Cup O Flora recommends.

How big is the Cup O Flora Mini?

The Cup O Flora Small has an outie pot, and an innie. The outie measures a smidge over 11cm tall x 8.6cms wide, and her innie measures 6.2cms tall x 5.6cms wide. The Cup O Flora Mini is shorter, but the Mini's innie is taller (7.5cms tall).

The Small outie holds 550mLs of water, and her innie holds 150mL (the Mini innie holds 180mL).

What substrate can you use?

You can use them with soil, bark. leca, vermiculite... any plant substrate that fits and matches your plant's needs. Best with a free-draining mix that provides a balance of water absorption for moisture, and drainage for oxygen (such as a combo of potting mix, vermiculite and perlite). If you need to make your mix more light and airy, grab yourself some of the Egmont Hydromix (that's a 50/50 blend of vermiculite and perlite). So easy.

How do you use it?

Just thread the wick (supplied), through the hole in the bottom of the inner pot so about half the wick is in the pot, and half out. Pop your substrate and plant inside. Add about 2cms of water to the bottom of the outer pot. Then pop your inner pot inside your outer pot (double-checking the silk wick is in the water of course). Job done!

I recommend using fertiliser as well, even more important if your substrate is inorganic (like vermiculite) that doesn't supply any nutrients. My go-to is Dyna Gro Foliage Pro which is suitable for hydro and leca. Simply top up with fresh water when the water level gets low.

How high should the water level be?

Each time you fill it back up, you want the water level in the outer pot to be slightly below the bottom of the inner pot, so the substrate and roots don't get 'wet feet' (the inner pot should not be sitting 'in' water). That should work out to be about 2cms or so of water.

How does wick watering work?

Roots absorb water from the substrate. As the substrate dries, it replenishes water through the wick, from the water reservoir in the outer pot. Where typical soil watering drenches your plant like a sudden downpour, think of wick watering more like a straw, giving your plant sips of water on-demand just when they're thirsty.

Wick watering keeps plants moist at the level they want to be, and saves that horrible panic when you realise your precious plant is on death's door because you forgot to water it. It also means less frequent watering.

For a plant that might normally dry out in less than a week, Cup O Flora tends to more than double that time, requiring topping up every 2 to 3 weeks instead. There's no exact amount of time though, as the plant, substrate, conditions and time of year all factor in to how fast a plant uses up the water in the reservoir. Being see-through, there are no surprises finding your self-watering pot is actually dry.

That's also why wick watering is so good for inconsistent schedules, frequent travelers, those of us with busy lives (um, so everyone?), scary situations where you have to leave your plants in someone else's care, or when you don't want well-meaning flatties to kill your plants with love by over-watering.

Wick watering also helps prevent root rot from overwatering or oxygen deficiency, as the roots only take in what they need, when they need it, a little at a time.

Cup O Flora Reviews

"I started my collection of African Violets a year ago when lockdown began. As the collection grew the watering process became tedious. I’ve repotted few of my plants and they look absolutely divine. What a joy! Thank you very much for the functional yet elegant design." Marina Preman

"It is so easy to keep my houseplants well watered now. And they are very pretty pots. Love them!" Julie Johnson Bradbury

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SELF WATERING POTS

Cup O Flora Glass Self Watering Pot - Mini

Cup O Flora Glass Self Watering Pot - Small

Crew Self Watering Pot Kit - Medium