Terracotta Plant Watering Spikes 4 Pack Set, Self-Irrigation Watering Stakes for Flowers, Plants, Trees, Bushes, Shrubs and More - Plant Waterer - Garden Watering Spike, Includes Bonus Plant Hanger

These work great IF you: 1) First poke a wooden spoon handle or similar deep into the soil and move it around a bit where you want to put the spike to soften up the area; 2) Push the spike in slowly and perpendicular to the soil surface using the palm of your hand so you don't put too much pressure in one spot and break the lip of the terracotta spike; 3) Push it in so there's only about an inch above the soil surface—you want to get all the under-soil wicking action you paid for! 4) Fill up a wine bottle, put your thumb over the end, flip it over and gently set it into the spike. I've had mine for over a year and I keep adding more. They're easy and effective, and stable when fully buried, but if you try to insert them according to the box they will break. They are also an excellent reason to buy pretty bottles of liquor, you know, for the plants.

Nice product, fragile, be careful. Appears to work good, no instructions with product but manufacturer emailed them without requesting them. Tested on one plant only so far and appears to be working fairly good maybe taking water a little faster than I hope for but will see.

Item arrived intact however after a couple of weeks one of the spikes completely cracked into pieces and another is cracked down the side. Tried to get it replaced but amazon wanted me to ship them the pieces of terracota and the intact spikes. I didnt keep the box so I’m stuck with the pieces. Don’t buy! If it arrives in one piece that won’t last long after minimal use.

These watering spikes brake easily. I would not recommend them.

I chose these because I didn't like the glass bulb watering spikes but direct watering was damaging my young petunias. These were a good bit larger than I had expected and way too large for the size pot I wanted them in. Also, they didn't work that well, barely keeping the soil moist. Maybe for other applications these would be fine but not for mine.EDIT: I changed my vote from a 3-star to a 5-star. Reason being that, although these were not what I wanted, they were as advertised. Also, I appear to have been using them wrong. I did not recall the bit about placing a bottle in them and was just filling the spike up directly. It wasn't until I received an email from the seller offering me a refund that I started looking around and discovered this. Understand that this offer of a refund was a year after purchase and unsolicited, that shows the commitment of the sellers towards customer satisfaction. I made a mistake in my initial review.

I ordered two different brands of the same item. This one is thin compared to the other and breaks very easily. For both brands - you have to consider the size of the pot and the temperature. I find a pot that is only slightly deeper then the stake worked best. I also needed to put it very close to the roots for them to stay watered.

I've been using these spikes for a week and a half. I haven't used them with bottles yet, I've just been adding water to the spikes. I have 8 indoor plants (bought 2 boxes) and my plants have never looked better (an actual noticeable change)! I tend to either over or under water plants, so they don't last long. The spikes seem to be regulating this. I can't wait to try them with the bottles in preparation for when we go on vacation! Well worth the purchase!

I have tried other watering spikes that you have to poke pin holes in to get the water to flow...just no luck. They either get stuck with mud and well-water crud or the water runs out like crazy. These terracotta spikes are fantastic! They literally become one with the soil and simply infuse the water for the plant. So far, I am only refilling about every 10 days. I am using for both small plants and one large one and they are no mess, no fuss. I will definitely re-order!