When you bring a new plant home, leaving it in its nursery pot for a week or two is best. Let’s be honest: plants were not made to move. In the wild, they live their whole lives in the same place. They react to any change, and even a small change in their environment is enough to make them feel stressed.
Let the plant adjust to its new home before putting it through the stress of being repotted. But move the plant to a new pot if the roots are too close together or stick out of the bottom. Put the plant on a saucer so water doesn’t drip on your furniture or floor. Clay or plastic are the best materials for making saucers.
Terra cotta plant spheres are cute but can leak water all over your furniture. In the basement, I always have a few saucers or pastry plates that haven’t been used and are ready for a new plant. Some say you don’t need a saucer if you water the plant over a sink while letting the water drip. But the ground is still damp, which could hurt the wood.
You can also put the ugly nursery pot in a cache pot. The bottom of this planter lacks a hole for water to drain out. If you’re doing this, remove the plant from the cache pot & water it in the sink, allowing the water to drain from the bottom. If you let water sit inside the bottom of the cache pot, mold will develop quickly and kill the roots.
Container Size
Plants should go in pots that are smaller than the plants themselves. A houseplant and its pot overall should take up one-third of the entire site, while the plant should take up the remaining two-thirds. The design rule of thirds says this looks best and is also nice for the plant.
If too much soil is around the roots, the soil can hold more water than the origins can use. Because of this, root rot will happen. My dracaena marginata is so tall that it wouldn’t look right with these proportions. The thin trunk and delicate leaves would look silly in a big pot.
When the plant gets too big for its pot, move it 1 1/2 to 2 inches bigger. When roots grow into the drainage hole, it’s time to transplant the plant. You aren’t required to go up a size all the time. Tell if the water moves quickly through the soil or if the soil gets tough. Only switch to a bigger size if the roots look too close together.
Before putting a plant in a new pot, you should learn more about it. Some houseplants do better when their roots are tight, such as spider plants, clive, peace lilies, orchids, etc. Some plants, such as oncidium orchids, have sensitive roots that need to be handled with care.
Even if you use the same container, wash it with water and soap. White spots are often on the outside of terracotta pots. Salts used in the process of making fertilizer have been built up here. A small scrub brush can be used to get rid of it.
Drainage
Most plants die because they get too much water. So you don’t want to give the roots too much water. Make sure your containers have holes in the bottom. So many beautiful containers don’t have any holes these days. Some people say that if you place a few stones at the bottom, you won’t need drainage holes.
If there is excess water, it will gather under the rocks and form pools. Filling the bottom of a plant pot with stones or broken pots allows water to escape and stops the pot from tipping over. Just make sure there are holes in it too. You can use different things, like a cache pot, teapot, mug, steep bowl, bean pot, sugar bowl, creamer, etc., to hold plants.
A ceramic drill bit is simple to use and doesn’t cost much money. Flip the empty bottle, spray water in the desired location, and drill through. A hammer and a screwdriver can be used to make holes in enamelware. When adding rocks and soil to a container, cover the hole with a security check or burlap if you believe it is too large.
At thrift stores, you can find bowls and saucers. When you put a hole in an old crock pot, it turns into a big, heavy container. Use your imagination. You don’t have to buy one of those ugly plastic trays if you need a big saucer. You can find something so much nicer at a big box store. You can get a ceramic platter or a round tray.
Different types of container materials
There are a bunch of plant pots to pick from because houseplants and plants in containers are so popular.
Plastic or Glass Fiber
These work well if you really need a big pot for a big plant. Clay can hold a lot of weight. Remember to put stones at the bottom of a narrow plastic pot. Because plastic and glass fiber are so light, they are easy to knock over. Some plastic pots are very pretty, especially the big ones. Be cautious not to attach too much water since fiberglass and plastic are prone to sticking to water.
Terra Cotta
Terra cotta is simple, timeless, and doesn’t cost too much. Terracotta pots are nice, but others are much more interesting. The more interesting parts will be more expensive. With the image above, I intended to add something more intriguing to the pot.
I had some crackle medium and liked how it made the whole thing look old. Terra cotta pots dry out more quickly than plastic, fiberglass, or ceramic ones, so they might require being rinsed more often. Also, it’s easier to break than other things.
Ceramic
Even if the top of a big plant is heavy, it won’t fall over if it’s in a ceramic pot. Ceramics are also long-lasting and look nice. It comes in many colors and styles, from smooth and soft for a modern look to worn and old for an older look. Ceramic pots have a wide range of prices, so look around.
Enamelware
This is nice to look at and easy to carry. Many enamelware plant pots are on the market, and not all have holes in the bottom for drainage. Make holes in the bottom with a hammer and a screwdriver. You could be capable of discovering some nice enamelware at a thrift store. Looks nice, too. It is old enamelware that has rusted.
Wood
Most things you put outside are made of wood. Since it goes bad so quickly, a cache pot might be best for it. Orchids and other plants growing on other plants are often put in wooden baskets.
