Houseplants Tips – How to Choose a Houseplant Pot

Making the decision as to which pot or container will work best for you’re indoor garden plants, is one of the most important choices you will make. Even after purchasing your plant already in a container, you still need to consider if that houseplant will thrive in that particular pot. In addition, you must also take in to consideration when will be the best time to re-pot your plant.

Although choosing a houseplant pot comes with many considerations, such as color and material for interior design purposes, size is a crucial consideration as well. On average, most houseplants will require a re-potting once every couple of years. Factors that play a role in influencing this issue are species of plant, initial size and the amount of sunlight it receives.

For example, choosing a larger pot for your houseplant at the beginning allows for maximum root growth. It also provides more substantial soil nutrients to draw upon, thus creating more rapid growth. It is important to note that this rapid growth will create a need for re-potting more frequently as well as leading to the possibility of excess water retention, so a reasonable size choice is recommended.

Choosing a smaller houseplant pot at the beginning of your plants growth has some positives and negative aspects as well. While a small pot contains less soil, it allows for a more nutrient rich absorption. A small pot also restrains root growth, thus creating a slower growing process for the plant, leading to a more species predictable re-potting routine. However, it is important to note that smaller pots can have a negative affect as well. With such a small space to grow, many times the roots will become bound to the pot. This is unhealthy for the plant, so choosing a pot somewhere in the middle will work best.

As the time nears for your plant to be re-potted, choosing a pot that is one to two inches in diameter larger than the current pot will allow for continued healthy growth.

Having the proper drainage is another important issue to consider for the health of your plant. According to professional sources about 90% of all houseplants are given an unnecessary premature death due to over watering. In addition, diseases are more frequent and severe due to the mistake of over watering. There are many harmful organisms that thrive in moist soil such as mold, mildew and fungi which can cause irreversible damage as well as kill your beautiful houseplants.

Most variety of Herb plants are a prime example of damage due to over watering. These plants originated in dry, rocky soil and thrive in conditions that would be extremely harmful to most other plants. Bonsai plants do thrive in moist soil; however they do not flourish when constantly sitting in water soaked soil.

It is detrimental to the health of your plants that you choose a pot with the proper amount and size of drainage holes on the bottom. If the holes are too large, placing some wire mesh across them will allow for less soil leakage. However, it is important to note, that if the mesh is too small, clogging may occur leaving the drainage of the plant impossible. To test what size is about right, place a saucer under the pot and fill it to about 1/3 full with water. Repeat until the water is no longer taken up by capillary action into the soil above.

This little trick will allow you to keep track of how much water you used as well as giving you a better idea of the proper drainage holes for your plant. In addition, this experiment allows you to monitor the frequency of watering and the amount of drainage all in one easy step.

Many people choose their houseplant pots based on color and material for optimum flow in their interior design. While these are important factors, drainage and size must also be considered in order to produce a beautiful, healthy and thriving houseplant.

         

Indoor Houseplant Care