A Re-potting Tip that Rocks!

So I have been doing a lot of re-potting lately. One of the plants that recently got a new home was the desert rose, Rosie, who is posing in the pot she will be re-potted in:

So for the tip. Many plants, including this desert rose, require really good drainage and recommend that you let the soil dry out before re-watering. If these plants were in the ground their natural soil would drain this excess water to underground sinks. For the most part the small hole in most pots is not sufficient to provide even drainage. So here is my nearly free tip for correcting this problem: Rocks. 

If you layer the bottom of the pot with rocks this will allow excess water to drain more evenly. Luckily, our backyard did not miss the handful of rocks that I swiped for my project. After the rocks are placed on the bottom, simply cover it with potting soil:

Then I simply re-potted Rosie as you normally would. This year we are trying out moisture control soil to help compensate for our erratic watering and I will be sure to let you know if we are really disappointed or really happy with it. Speaking of happy, here is Rosie in her new home:

This is definitely a tip that I will be using as I go about replacing all of the fake flowers around the house with real ones:

Yes, those are fake tulips on the outside of the kitchen window. File that in the rather large folder of questionable decisions.