You could just remove the basket and the plug and you would have a regular pot.

That’s occurred to me, but being in Georgia I was thinking some help with watering in July and August might be nice.

I would do as Nil said. That looks quite tall - are you planning on filling all of it with soil? What potting mix are you using for hostas? I think hosta in any container will need bit more frequent watering during hot months, or in very windy locations.

Regardless, the basket is supposed to point down so that your potting medium can act as a wick sitting in a pool of water.

Thanks all, I finally found a review of the product from a landscaper and he stated basket points down as y’all stated. If the self watering part doesn’t pan out, no harm no foul I guess. I’ve had hostas in pots in that spot for years. The old pots finally gave out after ten years so I’m just replacing what was there. Being in Georgia, I do water all my container plants daily in summer so I’m used to that. Here are the old pots at the end of the season last year.

There is a drain plug in the bottom which I removed before filling and planting.

That is fine. I thought you wanted to make it self-watering. With the plug removed there will be no reservoir of water in the bottom, and no wicking of water up through the potting mix.

I saved the plugs in case I want to give it a try.