Soil drainage issues

Hi all!

I'm having a problem with my soil that i'm using. Its Loam based soil and i have added extra perlite to help moisture control but the problem is that the soil is not drying out very quickly. I watered them about 2 weeks ago but the soil is still really wet near the bottom of the pot.
Should i invest in some new soil or just leave them in the current soil and see if it dries out?
I am worried that the roots may be suffocating at the bottom?
If anyone can advise please do.
Cheers

how big are the pots?how much water did you give um?how much perlite did you mix with your soil?

Pots are 1 gallon, i watered them about 2 weeks ago thoroughly so the soil was very wet. I mixed about 1/3 perlite to soil.
I keep probing the soil with moisture tester and it keeps saying the soil is very wet towards the bottom of the pots but it never seems to dry out?

2 weeks is a long time. You'll probably end up with root rot. How long does it take for the upper parts of the soil to dry out? Depending on the size of your plants, it might be a good idea to repot into bigger containers and use an inch to inch and a half of pebbles or hydroton in the bottom to aid in drainage.

Yes root rot is what i'm worried about! The plants are about 2 feet tall maybe bigger and they are 1 week into flowering.
I heard that drilling loads of holes into bottom of the pots could help too. I will transplant them into 2 gallon tubs soon and focus on better drainage. I heard that putting pebbles at the bottom can sometimes have the opposite effect?

pebbles worked for me...until my roots grew into them. I had my plants in like a 1 gallon clay pot that only had one hole in the bottom. When i watered, it only took a couple of seconds before i saw water dribble out of the bottom. My plants are at about 9.5 inches and i just found out they were completely rootbound. If you're at 2ft tall, you're probably past due for a transplant. I put my plants in 5 gallon pots hoping i won't have to transplant anymore.

As for having "opposite effect"...i think it helps some, but if your roots do end up growing into them, they can definitely dry out. I have a couple potted japanese maples and no matter how many holes i drilled in the bottom of their pots, the bottom soil was always water logged. If you don't feel comfortable using pebbles, you can always make a wick to pull water out of the wet soil.

Found this bit of info for you: Container Gardening: Container Soils: Water Movement and Retention II

For my maples, i cut strips out of those super absorbent foam towels you use to dry cars with and stuck them a few inches into the soil through the drainage hole. Takes a few hours but it sucks the water right out. Hope that helps.