Question on Watering While Overwintering

[Apex37]

So question for those who have brought in your plants and are in a place where water cannot drain freely after watering (i.e. in a garage where water cannot just freely sit and pool on the ground after watering plants).

What do you guys do for catching the water that drains after watering? I have a bunch of plants and seems silly to get drip trays for every pot.
Do you guys just take them outside when they need watering and let them sit out until fully drained or what?

I'm honestly having a hard time coming up with ideas on this.

 

[just.wing.it]

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I have 2 small tables set up with my few tropicals sitting on upside-down plastic pots, in those drip trays. When the water in the trays needs to be emptied, I use a wet/dry shop vac to remove the water, and dump it outside.
Not the least labor intensive method, but it works for me.
If I had a floor drain close by, I'd run pvc drain lines to the pans...but not worth it for my set up.

 

[Tums]

I have one of these https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/containers-trays/trays-flats/giant-plus-garden-tray and I just propped it up on some cheapo 5-gallon buckets and drilled a hole in one end so the water drains into the bucket.

 

[leatherback]

I am not sure what kind of garage you have that water is not allowed to get on the floor (What do you do with your car when you bring it in?). But, get a waterproof tarp and put that on the floor, put the trees on top. And water conservatively. Trees are not using a lot of water when dormant.

 

[Apex37]

I am not sure what kind of garage you have that water is not allowed to get on the floor (What do you do with your car when you bring it in?). But, get a waterproof tarp and put that on the floor, put the trees on top. And water conservatively. Trees are not using a lot of water when dormant.

Sorry I wasn't really sure the best way to describe it, but for me my indoor area is in a utility room and backed up against the wall. I didn't want water to drain out and have the potential of getting into wall and all. Not sure if that makes sense.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I only have about a dozen tropicals that I overwinter indoors, and fortunately live in a climate where I don't usually see days that don't rise well above freezing temps, so I just place the trees outside, water and let them drain, and bring them back in. Yes, it's a hassle, but last year I only had to do this for three months before they were back outside again. Because these are tropicals they are still 'awake' in the winter and I cannot place them in a storage room without sun.

If I had to water indoors, I would probably just use a storage tote and a garden hose attached to the laundry sink. Place tree in tote, water thoroughly, and let drain. If I wanted to avoid every single drop of water, I would let drain in storage tote for about 30 seconds, then place on a beach towel while I got the next plant. Wipe bottom of pot with a rag before placing back on shelf.

 

[Tieball]

At one time I had some trees in the garage. I didn't want the water on the floor. I bought some old used cafeteria trays on eBay. The trays were cheap back then, no one wanted them. The trays were about 14” x 19”. Sturdy, thick, and non-cracked. Exactly what I wanted. The lip of the tray was one inch. There are other solutions I’m sure, I just chose the cafeteria tray solution. And today…..I don’t have trees in the garage….but I have a stack of cafeteria trays.

You coukd also use very inexpensive dollar store turkey roasting aluminum pans. I’m sure there’s a size to fit your needs. And it’s the right season for those pans to be on sale in bulk. I’ve used these pans…and wished I thought of them before the cafeteria trays. The roasting pans were a much better solution.

 

[JesusFreak]

You can order large trays from greenhousemegastore.com. They’re about 4 feet long.

 

[Carol 83]

I have a lot of tropicals inside. The first few years I carried each one to the sink to water. It was a hassle and trees weren't watered as often as they should of been. My husband also had an issue with dirt possibly going down the drain. I bought some 10"x20" Bootstrap Farmer trays that fit perfectly on my plant stands. When Dallas Bonsai was going out of business, I also bought a bunch of humidity trays. I turn the trays upside down and set the trees on top, so they are never sitting in water.

 

[luvinthemountains]

What I do with tropicals over winter is put them on a boot tray filled with lava rock (any other sturdy tray would work), and I water them with a 2-gallon pump sprayer so there is minimal drainage. If the trays get too full, I draw the water out with a wet vac with mesh taped over the hose inlet. My only problem is that, in a grow tent, I tend to get a lot of algae growth over time. Still working on that one.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

I have about 5-6 that I winter in the garage and just let the water run out on the floor. However I basically only apply enough to keep the roots moist so very little runs through. For my BRT, it stays on a heated side porch on a plastic cafeteria tray and the excess water collects in the tray and evaporates.

 

[River's Edge]

Pick up a small roll of plastic sheet used for splatter protection when painting or vapour barrier material. Place on floor under plants with edge rolled up near base board and keep in place with masking tope. Water carefully and keep a towel handy to catch excess if needed. Should protect the interior and up the sides just fine.

 

[Maiden69]

I use automotive drip pans, but if you want a bigger/deeper size you could make a small frame out of 2x4 and line it with pond liner material. Would me a little expensive, but you can repurpose the wood once done, or build it in a way that you can take it apart, roll the liner and use it again next year.

Plastic

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Metal

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[Apex37]

I want to thank everyone who has suggestions! Seriously, I never even thought of automotive drip trays or boot tray. I'll have to look around and see what I can find, probably will do a tarp on the bottom row and one of the two on the second shelf.