How to fix drip line in large pots?

[Cricket]

I have very large flower pots, 10 are 33 cm square and 6 are 50 cm diameter.  I have put in a sprinkler system and attached spaghetti to take the water to top of the pots.  For emitters I have some that just drip and some sprayers.  Problem is the square pots have standard ice berg roses in them and there's no other vegetation in the pot to spread the water  around. The ones that drip have worn a tunnel in the dirt and most of the water comes straight out onto the patio.  With the sprayers it's a little bit better, but a lot of the water sprays over the edge of the pots onto the patios.  In summer I put a few seedlings  around the trunk of the roses.  This helps spread the water around to some extent, but they often die because they don't get enough water.  Increasing the volume of water just makes more water come out of the pot onto  the patio.  Any suggestions as to what I can do?  I've put stones in the bottom of the pots and old rags to try and stop the dirt being washed out but this doesn't stop it. Has anyone got some ideas what I can do to improve things?

[MitchellMc · Accepted solution]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Cricket. It's tremendous to have you join us and many thanks for your question.

For the evenest distribution of water over the surface of the pot I would recommend creating micro weeping rings. Your 4mm pipe will run to the pot, you then attach a Pope 4mm Barbed Tee to it. You'll take a length of Pope 15m Micro Water Weeper Soaker Hose, enough to wrap around the stem of the plant, attaching it to either side of the tee fitting. This creates a ring which you can position in the middle of the pot that water will weep out of thousands of tiny holes. It will create an even distribution of water and hopefully stop some of the run through issues you are having. I've added a basic top-down image of what I am describing.

You might like to consider installing some filter matting in the base of the pots to the stop potting mix escaping. A mix which retains more moisture such as Scotts Osmocote 25L Premium Plus Superior Potting Mix would also be of benefit.

You might also be interested in the article How to pot a plant by community member @Noelle.

Please let me know if you need further assistance or had any questions. 

Mitchell