Pebble trays do not actually raise the relative humidity enough that it’ll have any sort of benefit for a plant.

Why not lift the plant out, take it to the sink to water and let drain there?

this is what I do. More often than not there are plants draining in our kitchen sink :-) Bit of a bother if the plant is heavy, but, hey, I can use the exercise.

My mom has a vanda orchid that thrives in similar setup to what you describe. No pebbles though. She has the vanda in an orchid pot which sits on top of an upside down ramekin. This is sitting in the bottom of a cover pot with no drainage. Like Pagan's example above, the top of the pot the vanda is in is at the same level or slightly below the top of the exterior cover pot. My mom retains about 1" of water at the bottom of the cover pot. The pot the vanda is in actually never touches the water. It works for her and her vanda.

She does periodically take the vanda out to the sink and water it through. Then she places it back on top of its little riser in the pot.

We live in a very dry climate (Colorado).

Succulents do not need any extra humidity (but pebbles in a try will not increase it anyway).

Oh sorry, I didn't know we were talking about succulents specifically. I agree, succulents don't need extra humidity and might even resent it.

Not really sure - op didn't say which plants she grows, but posted on few different forums. I post mainly here - succulents....

the initial premise was that she is overwatering and the water puddles in the bottom ... and she cant lift the inner pot out of the larger pot.. to drain said water ... the secondary issue was humidity ...

figure out how to minimize the water put int he top.. so you dont end up with excess in the bottom... while maintaining the vigor of the plant .... it would seem there is no reason to water a cactus so much that there is that much excess ...

i had a simlar problem with a xmas cactus.. so i just stopped watering it for quite a long time ... and then just gave it a sip once in a while ... learning how not to fill the outer pot ...

and forget about the humidity issue ...

ken

Thanks for the clarification, Ken! I really didn't process all that.

The recommended way to water any containerized plant - doesn't matter if a cacti/succulent or a standard houseplant - is to flush it fully so that water runs freely from the drainage holes. Drain completely before replacing in any decorative, non-draining cache pot. Dribs and drabs of water poured on the top is unlikely to properly hydrate the media and all the roots. And a thorough flushing prevents fertilizer salts build up.

Just don't water again until the dryness of media and the plant require it. But do flush thoroughly with water when you do. No gently trickling at the top :-)

btw, when I water, which I do at the kitchen sink or outside, I also spray down the foliage on most plants. This removes household dust, any stray pests that might be lurking and also bumps up the humidity, at least temporarily.

I try to convince my family that this is what a kitchen sink is for...

One might think that that rack on the right of the sink is for cooling freshly baked cookies, but nope. That's for draining plants while I fill the sink with yet more plants.

Hahah...I love your "kitchen" sink!

I really wish I had a utility sink. One of these days!