I'm growing in a peat based medium and run into a small problem- After watering my ladys a few times in my final pots I noticed that the entire rootball wasn't getting completely soaked, the water just kept following the same path.Would putting clay pebbles on the surface stop this happening again?any other techniques i could use?

I water till i see run off, then leave plant to soak in run off till all run off has been absorbed by pot, then repeat.
When there is run off that isn't being absorbed after 30 or so mins i remove it.

I think this soaking time is important for the moisture to equalise throughout the pot. It can be as little as 5 minutes or as much as 30 minutes depending on how much time you have. I soaked for 10 when i used a bath but about 30 now the pots sit in trays in my drobe.

Water with a fine rose and do it steady

Owd

Thanks for the advice guys much appreciated ..TBH i have been a bit slap dash with watering using a jug thats why i wondered if pebbles on the surface would slow down the water and spread it more evenly. anyone think this would work? or am i going to need a watering can and more pot trays.

You've just let the compost dry a tiny bit too much so it started to pull away from the sides. Clay pebbles or not that will still happen if the compost shrinks a bit.

You would really be better using a watering can mate. Just put a bit of water on if they have shrunk and leave it for a min then come back and water, should do the trick. As already stated just leave in the runoff for awhile to make sure the medium is evenly saturated


edit-excessive smiliage

Trip to BnQ tommorow it is then.Thanks again ppl.

Never let the water over flow down the cracks, You should develop a hole type dent in the centre top of the pot. in which the water sits and then soaks into the compost, its a good sign if you do that, and a few moments up to 1 -2 minutes its coming out the bottom of the pot. you know that its been watering decently, whereas if you let the water over flow, alot of the top compost has channels in which the water will just keep going to the sides and down the side of the pot

I use clay balls or perlite as I find it allows the soil to fill with roots but if you let the root ball pull away from the sides of the pot then the cover can wash down the side and it becomes even harder to water the ball thoroughly. If you are having problems rehydrating an overly dry root ball then a tiny amount of pure hand soap helps rehydrate the peat but its a emergency measure. I use a few unopened rolls of kitchen roll to mop up the excess after the pots are fully watered as they suck up the excess and will dry again ready for the next watering.

Dump the rootball in a bucket of water for 10 mins then let it drain, you have let it dry out far too much and peat would have be very dry for water to flow over it without penetrating.