How to use watering spikes
Updated: October 2026
The spike snaps when the clay is dry and you push with a full bottle already on the neck. This is how to use watering spikes you already have: soak, water the pot, make a hole, seat the bottle at the sink, then watch. The Products Compared editorial team used seller steps on the [watering spikes](/hub/garden-watering/watering-spikes) listings from 15 October 2026 and did not run a garden trial. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The spike snaps when the clay is dry and you push with a full bottle already on the neck. This is how to use watering spikes you already have: soak, water the pot, make a hole, seat the bottle at the sink, then watch.
The spike snaps when the clay is dry and you push with a full bottle already on the neck. This is how to use watering spikes you already have: soak, water the pot, make a hole, seat the bottle at the sink, then watch. The Products Compared editorial team used seller steps on the watering spikes listings from 15 October 2026 and did not run a garden trial. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Soak | Fit method | Bottle | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Bamworld Bamworld terracotta 6-pack | Not stated | Insert, then attach a bottle | Beer, wine, squash | 8.5 | about £12.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Artiwell Artiwell terracotta 8-pack | 1 to 2 hours | Pilot hole, do not force | Wine, long neck | 7.0 | about £15.99 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Apexrich Apexrich plastic 20-pack | None | Pierce bottle, open valve | About 2.8 cm, not mineral water | 2.4 | about £5.99 | View offer |
Before the spike goes in
Dry terracotta is brittle. WUJUN and the Artiwell eight-pack say soak for 1 to 2 hours. celtty says 5 minutes. shellonearth, a UK shop, uses 1 to 2 hours, and a review there shattered a spike by pressing on the bottle.
Water the compost if it has baked hard. Soak the cone in a bowl, water the pot, then let it drain. Which pack you bought is on the best terracotta watering spikes page.
The hole and the bottle
Make the hole with a dibber or a blunt stick, slightly narrower than the cone, deep enough that the opening sits flush with the compost. WUJUN and the Artiwell eight-pack both say that, then invert the bottle, and do not push hard. Twist the damp cone in. If it stalls, widen the hole. The bottle is not a ram. An Artiwell six-pack buyer broke three cones before fitting a bottle.
Seat an empty bottle at the sink before you fill it. Wine, beer, tonic and soda are the necks reviews name. Water down the outside means that neck does not fit. Fill, invert, and bed the neck so you can see the water line.
Outdoors, keep glass out of direct sun. The London Fire Brigade says glass in direct sun can start fires. Use plastic on a hot patio, or move the pot into shade.
Plastic valves
A plastic valve is not a shorter clay cone. Apexrich says place the spike, pierce or cut the bottle so air can enter, then open the valve. The claimed rate is one drip every 60 to 90 seconds, and mineral-water bottles are excluded. Both UK reviews failed. Watch that first hour. If the compost is wet and the drip continues, close it. Clay is supposed to slow as the soil wets. A valve does not. The Apexrich power field says solar, and there is no panel to charge.
The first few days
Write down the water line morning and evening for three days, with the pot where it will stay. A cone alone is often a day or two. A 750 ml wine bottle in ordinary summer weather is often a few days to about a week. That is a rule of thumb from UK reviews. If your line drops faster than the trip, do not leave. How long you can be away is on the watering spikes for a holiday page.
Check for a stream down the pot, a saucer that fills overnight, and a cone that has worked loose. Overnight empties show up in the WUJUN sample. Return goods that are not of satisfactory quality under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. You are ready to go only when three days on your plant match the days you will be away.
Common questions
Do I soak the spike, and for how long?
Use the time on your listing. celtty says 5 minutes. WUJUN and the Artiwell eight-pack say 1 to 2 hours. If the cone is bone dry, the longer of those printed times is the safer one. A dry push is when the snap happens, and a cracked cone does not seep in a controlled way.
Do I water the pot first?
Yes, if the compost is dry or has shrunk from the wall. Water it, let it drain, then make the hole. A spike does not rewet a hydrophobic rootball in one go. Containers in a dry spell may already need a proper drink, which is the RHS point, before you add a reservoir.
How do I make the hole?
Use a dibber, a little narrower than the cone, so the opening ends flush with the compost. Twist the soaked cone in and widen the hole if it binds. Some JQTOP buyers mention a small tool for this. Keep the bottle off the spike until the cone is seated. Pressing on the bottle is how the clay shatters.
Which neck shape seats?
Long necks: 750 ml wine, beer, tonic and soda. Test a 2-litre bottle at the sink. Apexrich’s valve wants about 2.8 cm including the thread and excludes mineral-water bottles. If water runs down the outside, change bottle. Glass outdoors belongs in shade, or you switch the reservoir to plastic.
What do I watch in the first few days?
The water line, twice a day, for three days, plus the saucer. A 750 ml bottle empty in two hot days is your number, even if a seller printed a week. A bottle that never drops may be a cone that is not porous. Either result means you change the plan before you travel.
What is different for a plastic valve?
Pierce or cut the bottle for air, then open the valve, which is Apexrich’s sequence. The two UK reviews did not get a regulated drip. Stay for the first hour and close it if it runs into wet compost. There is no solar panel to set up, whatever the power field says.
Bottle first or spike first?
Spike first, bottle second. Soak, water the pot, make the hole, seat the cone, test an empty bottle at the sink, then fill it. Using the glass as a handle is the snap. Once the neck is seated, keep that glass out of direct sun.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources for this comparison, plus the 12 amazon.co.uk listings captured on 15 October 2026.
- RHS, how to look after your garden on holiday (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- RHS, how to water containers (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- Ofwat, hosepipe bans and non-essential use bans (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- SPICe Spotlight, why there are no hosepipe bans in Scotland (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- Citizens Advice, return faulty goods (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- London Fire Brigade, grass and wildfires (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- Homes & Gardens, garden ollas (retrieved 15 October 2026)