How To Choose The Right Pot For Your Plants

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Gardening becomes challenging when you live in an apartment or have minimal yard space. For this reason, container gardening is the way to go. Yet, you can still add color to your living space or create a tropical oasis on the balcony, patio, or backyard.

Still, it is about choosing the suitable potting soil and the right pot. It is not only about aesthetics, as the pot size, drainage holes, and other factors all result in how much water your house plants need.

The Importance of Pot Size, Drainage Holes, and Potting Soil For Each Plant

potted plants

Choosing the right pot size for the drainage holes is essential to accommodate your indoor plants. So, if you are serious about starting with container gardening, whether indoors or outside, it helps to grasp plant science for soil and water in different conditions.

Once you know the pot size for different shapes, you can choose the suitable flower pots to display your leafy vegetables to a citrus tree. The same rules apply when selecting hanging baskets for your vining plants.

Still, when the pot size is too-large and filled with potting mix, the soil dries slowly, and the plant’s roots become susceptible to root rot. On the other hand, when you have large house plants in a small pot, it starts tipping over, and the soil dries faster.

On the other hand, your plant becomes root bound, leading to stunted growth. So, the best tip when repotting a plant is to choose a pot size two to four inches larger in diameter. You can choose the right pot that is bigger with drainage holes for plants that grow fast.

While for slow-growing plants, choose a size one to two inches larger for your potted plants.

Standard Pot Sizes Used by Growers

You can find different shapes of flower pots for plants at your local garden center or here at Plantly. Still, each pot diameter works for different plant species.

Some will have drainage holes allowing for excess water to drain into a catch saucer. While others will not have a drainage hole. Here are some pot sizes and what grows best in them.

10-inch Pots

The container volume can hold up to three gallons of potting mix. It works perfectly for succulent plants or larger herbs, vegetables like strawberries, and leaf lettuce, and flowers like marigolds.

14-inch Pots

For growing larger veg varieties and spinach, the 14-inch diameter pot is ideal. You can use these plant pots for hearty leafy greens like collard greens, kale, and chard.

18-inch Pots F

The large pot accommodates large veg like cauliflower and broccoli and is ideal for growing cacti, citrus trees, to shrubs.

24-inch Pots For Plants

These plant pots hold 24 gallons of potting soil to handle large houseplants with a vast root system. You can use it to grow a fiddle fig tree as they are tall pots to accommodate the tree’s height.

30-inch Pots For Plants

The larger pot is massive and works for trees that go into the ground, from apples to plums, to pears trees can live in this container for a long time when fertilized well.

3 Types Of Pots And How to Use Them

The pot size is essential as the water and light, but you can find different type of pot for your plant that falls into three categories. You get ceramic/glazes, terra cotta pots/clay pots, and standard plastic pots.

Plastic Pots

plastic plant pots

The cheapest plant pot available is your plastic pot and is easy to obtain. So, it helps to keep the containers you buy your plants in to use at a later stage. You can wash and reuse them, making them suitable for the propagation of a new plant or planting seeds.

Furthermore, a plastic pot holds water longer than terra cotta pots. Thus, choosing one with drainage holes at the bottom is essential to prevent root rot. You can find them in different colors, from black plastic pots to brown, or in different shapes to sizes.

The only concern with this pot for your plant is that it can become brittle and fade in the sun.

Terracotta Pots

terracotta pots

We love the terra cotta pot; they are easy to find and have a standard shape and size. You can find them in a shallow container, a smaller pot, wide pot size to suit many plants. Like the clay pot, terra cotta dries out fast and is perfect for your succulent and most other plants that do not enjoy wet feet.

The pots are cheaper compared to your glazed ceramic pots. You find them in various colors and sizes to display your plants. You can also see the moisture level depending on the pot color. As the potting mix soaks up the water, the pot turns to a dark shade.

The main downside is that it can break easily when dropped and dry out very fast, standing in direct sunlight with a high temperature and humidity. Furthermore, it cracks easily in extreme cold.

Glazed Ceramic Pots

plant in a blue glazed ceramic pots

You can find ceramic pots glazed or unglazed and available in various shapes. They are on the heavy side and work well with smaller plants. Furthermore, tropical plants love the moist soil, keeping top-heavy plants upright. When choosing the right pot for your bonsai tree, the planter shape available in ceramic is ideal.

Using Your Pots Without Holes

We only recommend using containers without drainage holes in some instances:

  • If you know your plant’s lighting and watering need, you grow, and it did grow successfully in a standard plastic pot.

  • If you can drill holes in the bottom, we recommend doing it to remove excess water.

  • You can place your current pot inside the hole-less pot.

Drainage is essential when plants grow as it helps keep your plants healthy. With a hole-less pot, the water accumulates at the bottom, causing root rot. Most pots like clay and ceramic do not have holes, but you can drill some in them with a masonry drill bit, and the same applies to plastic containers if they do not have holes.

Final Thought

Whether you have small herbs, big plants, or trees, you can find a perfect pot for your beautiful plants.

The important thing when choosing the right pot, whether it is fiberglass planters, hanging baskets, or any of the above your planter needs drainage holes. Another crucial thing is to get the right size pot for your plant.

Then provide them with the correct water ratio, potting mix, and light, and watch your plants grow. Happy planting!

Frequently Asked Questions

The best material for pots is debatable between terra cotta and unglazed ceramic. Both are porous materials as it dries out water faster. But you might need to water plants more often. Still, plastic pots are more affordable and lightweight, and you can find them in various colors.

The most popular planters found in different shapes and sizes for indoor plants are ceramic. The planter adds some attractiveness to your plants when displayed.

A plant grows best in glazed ceramic containers than in plastic or other materials. This is because the ceramic container retains a reasonable amount of moisture and does not dry out fast. Still, it does depend on the plants you have and depends on their watering needs.

You can find small pots to larger pots in different shapes and sizes at your local hardware or garden store. But luckily for you, Plantly has a wide selection of pot planters you can choose from.

Whether you want to buy, sell or simply reach out to other plant enthusiasts, Plantly is the right place to be!

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