Hi. Background: I have been working on my perennials/shrubs/trees for the past couple of years, and now that everything is pretty well established, I am turning my attention to containers on the patio. I am in the Chicago suburbs, zone 5, and my patio has southern exposure.

I have purchased a number of pots--some are 16" high and some are 20" high. After much research on this forum, and the knowledge that I was not physically capable of mixing my own, I purchased some soil-less potting mix from a local nursery that is a proprietary blend of Fafard's midweight potting mix. It's like a 4. I would have preferred the 3-B, but... Anyway, according to the nursery owner, the 4 is coarser and thus more forgiving with overwatering, which could be good for me because I have two little eager beaver helpers (ages 5 and 2.5) who looove to water.

I also bought some Osmocote (which I am planning to use at full strength according to the directions) and some Soil Moist. I am on the fence about using the Soil Moist. I need to track down a source for micronutrients, but I know of at least one gardening center in the area that has a big water gardening section, so hopefully I will be able to find something there. I only vaguely understand the whole organic versus chemical fertilizer thing, but I'm going to look for one of those fish and seaweed emulsion fertilizers.

Meanwhile, I am thinking that I won't need to use a wick because hopefully my soil will drain well enough without it. I had initially been planning to fill the bottom of the pots with styrefoam noodles or water bottles, but after reading up I think I will skip that and just put some sort of screen on the bottom over the drain holes and fill all the way with the potting mix.

So here is my question (sorry about the long-winded preface): Do pots need to be elevated on bricks in order to drain properly, or can you just leave them directly on your patio or maybe in a plastic dish? We put in a patio last fall--it is tumbled travertine "vintage pavers" from Lurveys, and gorgeous (if I do say so myself), and I do worry about it getting stained (although in retrospect it was probably stupid to use a patio material that would cause me such worry). If I balance each pot on two bricks, then I suppose I could hose off the patio after watering to try to rinse away the fertilizers that wash through. Or I could look at those little wheeled dishes that you put pots on.

Thanks in advance for any input on my plan or on my elevation question!

Rachel