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Watering globes or a capillary wick

Updated: 22 October 2026

A globe is a small reservoir you can see in the pot. A wick keeps drawing while a shared tub still holds water, if the tub sits close enough. For one to four pots and a long weekend, a globe you have already timed is the simpler set-up. For several pots over a hot week, lay the wick if the rise is short. Prices and review counts are from the amazon.co.uk listings in our [holiday watering comparison](/hub/garden-watering/holiday-watering), not from a lab. Peter F. updated this page on 22 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

A globe is a small reservoir you can see in the pot. A wick keeps drawing while a shared tub still holds water, if the tub sits close enough.

Our top picks

Zolirao Zolirao 4 x 185 ml terracotta globes

Best overall

Zolirao Zolirao 4 x 185 ml terracotta globes
10.0/10about £15.99
View offer
ORIMERC ORIMERC 15 m capillary wick cord

Best value

ORIMERC ORIMERC 15 m capillary wick cord
8.8/10about £6.25
View offer
RAINPOINT RAINPOINT Wi-Fi indoor drip kit, 15 plants

Rank 3

RAINPOINT RAINPOINT Wi-Fi indoor drip kit, 15 plants
8.4/10about £49.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What each one actually does
  2. 2.When a globe is the one to set
  3. 3.When a wick is the one to set
  4. 4.The condition

What each one actually does

A watering globe holds its own water and lets it out through a neck or a porous spike. Zolirao's top-fill globes are 185 ml. Other packs claim about 500 ml. A capillary wick is the opposite shape. The ORIMERC cord is 15 m of 6 mm cotton at about £6.25, with 4.4 from 4,108 reviews. The tub is the reservoir, so six pots can share one bowl if you cut six lengths. One ORIMERC review says about 7 inches for the cord. That figure is not a matting lift.

When a globe is the one to set

Choose a globe when you have a few pots, a short tested spell, and no tub on the floor. Coopers of Stortford's glass-globe sheet treats two to three days as the handy range, and a week only in some soils. Thompsons Plants says globes are a poor match for succulents, and that they dump if the compost is dry. Some bulbs emptied into a basket in under an hour. One 500 ml set, sold with an up to two weeks line, emptied within hours. Zolirao's three reviews, all 5.0, describe a weekend on small to medium pots, and the seller asks for a 24-hour test.
Zolirao Zolirao 4 x 185 ml terracotta globes

Testsieger

Zolirao Zolirao 4 x 185 ml terracotta globes
10.0/10about £15.99
View offer

When a wick is the one to set

Set a wick when several pots can share a container you can place near them. ORIMERC reviewers kept outdoor pots going for about nine hot days and seedlings for 10 days from a basin. That is a shared tub doing work a 185 ml globe cannot do six times over. Soak the cord, bind the ends, and watch the level fall. About 7 inches, from one review, means a high basket and a bucket on the floor often will not draw. The listing does not state a height. The RHS still wants a neighbour past a couple of weeks. A wick is not a timer.

The condition

If you have one to four small or medium pots and a long weekend, use a globe you have filled and watched for a day, on compost that is already moist. The 185 ml top-fill globes are the neat version of that job. If you have about six pots for a hot week, and you can sit a tub within the cord's lift, use the wick and cut a length per pot. A 500 ml two-week claim does not replace the tub when the head-count climbs. A pump is the third option only when you want one schedule across many emitters and you will pair 2.4 GHz. Who should skip it is on best holiday plant watering. The evening-before steps are on how to water plants while away.

Common questions

Which lasts longer, a globe or a wick?
Whichever still has water, and you can see that only by testing. A globe stops when its own fill is gone. Reviews here run from under an hour to about 7 to 10 days, against seller lines of up to two weeks. A wick lasts while the tub lasts and the cord still draws. ORIMERC reviews include about nine hot days and 10 days for seedlings. Coopers still treats two to three days as the handy globe range.
Can one tub feed several pots?
Yes, if you cut a length of cord for each pot and the tub sits close enough. That is the point of 15 m of wick. One globe feeds one pot, at 185 ml or at a 500 ml claim. Matting can cover a group of small pots in a tray, which is the RHS approach, and it is not the same product as this cord.
Why did my globe empty in an hour?
Dry, fine compost and a wide neck are the pattern in the KAYSENSUK and Ynwilarz reviews. Water the pot first, make a pilot hole, and watch for an hour. If it dumps, do not leave. Stuffing the outlet is a seller suggestion on the small bulbs, not a measured fix. A clogged neck is the opposite fault: the globe stays full and the plant dries.
How high can the wick reach?
The ORIMERC listing does not say. One UK review puts the lift at about 7 inches. Two Wests' figure of about 10 cm is for their capillary matting, not for this cord. Keep the tub near the pot height. A floor bucket will not reliably feed a high basket.
Are globes bad for succulents?
Thompsons Plants and Homes & Gardens both treat succulents as a poor fit, because a globe is trying to keep compost moist. That is a planting caution from those guides, not a laboratory ban. If the plant wants to dry between drinks, a globe that trickles for days works against that habit.
Is matting the same as a cord?
No. A cord is one strand from a tub into a pot. Matting is a wet sheet under several pots, with the reservoir beside the tray. The RHS uses both ideas. Two Wests' 10 cm lift belongs to matting guidance. The 7-inch review belongs to the cotton cord. Set them up differently, and do not expect one number to govern the other.
When is the pump the real third choice?
When you have many pots, you want a clock, and you will supply a container and pair 2.4 GHz before you leave. It is not a better globe. The top pick and the skips are on the best-holiday page. For six pots and a wick you can place, you do not need the app.

Related pages

Holiday plant waterer buying guide

Holiday watering

Best holiday plant watering: RAINPOINT kit or wick

Watering plants during a UK hosepipe ban: the rules

How to water plants while away: trial the day before

Sources

Public sources named in the research digest, plus the saved amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts for these eleven listings. This page was assembled on 22 October 2026. There is no laboratory test.

  1. Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. Ofwat, hosepipe bans and what they mean for you (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. Water UK, hosepipe ban FAQs (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. South East Water, temporary use ban Kent FAQs (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Thames Water, temporary hosepipe ban FAQs (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. RHS, holiday care for houseplants (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. RHS, how to look after your garden on holiday (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Coopers of Stortford, glass globe sheet G346 (retrieved 22 October 2026)