Pepperell Braiding Water Maid Wicks 5/Pkg.

These are just athletic shoe laces cut in half. Would not recomment. If I want more, I will buy shoe laces.

My original rating was a mistake. These are actually quite good.

It didn't do for me what it's described to do. It was a waste of money and time. There was no wicking action the way it's described for use. They seem to be just shoe-laces cut in half. Your old shoe-laces may actually work better if they are of natural fibers than these synthetic fiber ones.

I know that there is another review that said they didn't work, but we have used these for our 2 week vacation with no issues. Put all the plants in the tub, fill a bucket with water and set up the wicks. 2 weeks later the plants are still alive and damp and the bucket is almost empty. Don't so this with your cactus or any other plants that need to dry out in between.Also available on the web in a 50 foot roll, that works even better for me (the pre cut ones are a little short. Just do a search for "plant watering wick" and a store will have it.The trick is to get the wicks soaked before inserting (just take a second) and to water the plants very well at the start. If the dirt is dry it won't "wick" water well. If it starts off damp it will pull water through the wick as it starts to dry.

I did not find this helpful as a watering device. Maybe, if my plants were on their last legs desperately desiring a few drops of water to live a couple of days longer then this method might work. Buy the 'other', up to 40 day, watering device as it really works!

If I had realized I was paying for shoe strings, right down to aglets, I would not have ordered them.