The perfect pot for your plant
Plants absorb most of their nutrients through their roots. The right pot can help you promote the growth of the root system. Let's outline all the different kinds of pots.
Pot size
It is important not to put your pant in too large of a pot at the start of the cultivation. Moving your plant to a large pot a couple of times helps create a healthy root system. Start with a relatively small pot. The risk of overwatering is lower in small pots. Afterwards, a rule of thumb is that for every 20 centimeters your plant is tall it needs a pot size of 3 liters. There are multiple different kinds of pots, however. Which pot is best for which situation?
Plastic
Plastic pots are available in different sizes and types. They vary from about 1 to 20 liters.
Cheap.
Available everywhere.
Easy to clean.
Rootbound. This means the roots can't grow through the plastic. The roots will thus keep growing at the bottom of the pot. As a result, your plant is not triggered to grow new roots from its main root.
In hot spaces, the pot will retain heat for too long.
Fabric
These pots are made out of a fabric comparable to felt. It is porous and allows roots to grow through. They can be bought as square, round and rectangular pots from 1 to 500 liters.
Reduced heat stress at the root system.
More oxygen at the roots.
Substrate dries more evenly.
Rootbound is not an issue.
Better drainage.
Air pruning. This means that the edges of roots die off because they grow out of the fabric pot. They essentially dry out. This causes the plant to create new roots, making the root system bigger.
More expensive than plastic pots.
Problems with repotting. Roots may become entwined with the fabric.
May increase the humidity. After all, there is a larger surface for evaporation.
Difficult to clean because roots may become entwined with the fabric.
Airpot
The airpot is a good combination of plastic and fabric pots. These pots are made of plastic, but have the properties of fabric pots.
Reduced heat stress at the root system.
More oxygen at the roots.
Substrate dries more evenly.
Rootbound is not an issue.
Better drainage.
Air pruning.
Easy to clean.
Expensive.
At the bottom of the airpot there is a grid. A lot of earth may fall through.
