Wick One

Explain the path

Reservoir → wick → potting mix → roots

The reservoir stores water below the liner. The absorbent wick connects it to the potting mix around the roots. Touching both water and mix lets water move through the porous wick. A paper towel touching water illustrates the wick; plant water movement involves more.

The outer pot holds the reservoir; the removable liner holds roots and mix. The wick’s upper end sits in mix below the root ball; its lower end reaches the reservoir base. MAX is below the liner base; the gap is deliberate.

First setup

Setup

1. Check plant and mix suitability; wet and fit the supplied wick through the liner.
2. Lightly moisten suitable potting mix. Place upper wick end below the root ball, leave lower end free, and plant without burying the stem.
3. Set the liner on a tray. Fill the outer reservoir no higher than MAX; remove excess before reseating.
4. Reseat the liner on its supports. Check the lower wick end reaches water and the upper end reaches the mix. The mix remains above the reservoir.

If wick misses water, inspect seating and restore contact. Wetting cannot bridge a gap; never raise water over MAX.

Care and limits

Care checks and limits

Regularly check reservoir level and potting-mix moisture against the plant’s care needs. A low reservoir with wet mix is not an automatic refill cue. When refill is appropriate, lift liner to a tray, fill to MAX or below, reseat, and check the wick. Avoid promising a duration, perfect dose, or “never overwater.” Refer uncertain suitability or persistent problems to support; this aid does not diagnose.

Product scope: the Wick One demonstration is for a moisture-preferring foliage plant with compatible potting mix. It has no electronics, pump, timer, sensor, automatic dosing, or app. Ask product support about specifications not provided here.

Background credits

Background sources and their limits

• USGS: Capillary Action and Water — porous-material movement.
• University of Maryland Extension: Self-Watering Containers — designs vary.
• University of Illinois Extension: Soil — container-media context.
• University of Maryland Extension: Growing Vegetables in Containers and Salad Tables — vegetable-care context only.

See the design record for content decisions and validation needs.