Indoor window boxes don’t have the advantage of your lawn below them to catch dripping water. Instead , they have your flooring and furniture, which might need expensive repairs once they get wet even just once. Because many indoor window boxes are big or made into irregular shapes, they need creative solutions to capture excess water.
Drip Containers and Pans
Most planting containers may be fitted using drip containers. The containers are usually made from clear plastic and have clips that attach to the top of your planter. They essentially wrap your plant at a watertight covering and they are easy to remove when you need to drain excess water away. You may also purchase a drip tray made to fit beneath your planter. If you’re putting this pan around the floor, a few feet beneath a window box, use a big tray to avoid splashes.
Other Plants
If you have room for a seat or shelf under your window box, it is possible to recycle runoff and use it to water additional plants. Because you wo not be able to readily control the management of your runoff water, it could be better to use plants that you water in the bottom. Put the plants on a long container or tray with sides high enough to capture the dripping window box water. Allow your plants to absorb the fluid, then use a sponge or chamois to drain off the excess so that your plants don’t sit in water.
Puppy Pads and Rugs
While not always the most attractive alternative, puppy pads are meant to absorb large amounts of water. They have plastic backings that will protect your flooring from water damage. You might need to work with more than 1 pup pad in case your plant drips more water compared to the mat can consume. You may also set puppy pads beneath decorative rugs for a more appealing solution. You will need more than 1 rug, as you are going to want to wash and dry them regularly. Bath mats made to soak up drips in the shower might also meet your needs.
Moss
Moss carpets are a new trend in sustainable design. The idea behind moss carpets is that when they are employed in kitchens and bathrooms, the water that drips on them provides water to get the moss. The exact same would be true for putting moss carpets under indoor window boxes. If moss carpets aren’t yet available in your town, you may make one. Purchase a flexible silicon, plastic or rubber tray and fill it with a inch of acidic soil. Put sheets of moss in the garden center in addition to or press patches of moss in your own yard. Maintain the moss and soil moist until the moss gets established.