Even the most strong and powerful tree begins as a fragile sprout coming out of a tiny seed. Nurturing that sprout or clone when it's young requires much more attention than when it's older and in a larger container. In general, the larger the container, the less frequently it needs irrigation; the smaller, the more often it needs watering.
For this reason, capillary mats frequently become one of the grower's most time-saving tools for starting seedlings and propagating clones. They water plants from the bottom up, preventing many problems while providing many advantages.
Although not well-known in the USA yet, capillary mat systems in Europe have a long history with extensive use. Before these water-holding fabrics became available, people used wet sand beds and even thick layers of newspaper. And even in the USA now, retail garden centers, greenhouses, and nurseries have installed over 8 million square feet of AquaMats, saving roughly 70% of their water use - 889,000 gallons per season per garden center.
