To assist you in selecting the proper size pot for your plants, consider the following general guidelines: Look for containers that are at least 12 inches wide if you want a variety of plants. Annuals typically require at least 8 inches of soil depth, whereas grasses and shrubs can require twice as much or more. For easy access, the ideal container has straight sides or ones that flair out at the top.
Decide on the Aesthetics
It’s advisable to choose the pot before deciding what will go inside it, unless you have your heart set on particular plants. Find several that fit the design of your house. Classical urns look fantastic on stone patios or flanking the entrance to a formal home, while geometrical designs with clear lines go well with contemporary decor.
While colorful hues give more emphasis to the containers themselves, muted neutral hues highlight the plants. An odd number of pots looks better in a grouping than an even number of pots, in general.
Consider the Placement and Material of Your Pot
Look for lightweight materials, such aluminum or composite, if you plan to put pots on a deck or rooftop. These and other glazed ceramic pots have the benefit of being nonporous, which helps to keep the soil more wet. Terra-cotta that is porous and unglazed develops a lovely patina over time, but it also permits soil to dry out more quickly.
Any pot must have drainage holes to prevent waterlogging of the roots; these holes should be covered with broken pottery, stones, or a small piece of screening to prevent soil evaporation.
Consider using pot feet or a plant stand to elevate pots that are on a hardwood deck so that the decking doesn’t remain damp, which could cause rot.
What should be placed beneath outdoor potted plants?
Patios and decks are frequently constructed from either wood or concrete. Most people believe they can handle practically any situation. They may, however, be vulnerable to harm from plant drainage. As a result, you must place plant saucers beneath all of your outdoor plants. Potted plants without saucers may need costly deck or patio repairs in a few different ways.
Plant saucers can help shield the wood deck’s planks from excess moisture that could otherwise cause rot, water damage, and warping. Even though the wood is protected, the sealants do eventually wear off, especially if they are constantly exposed to water. Therefore, it’s crucial to have a device there to collect any additional water your plants may need. Additionally, when you water your plants, you’re not only giving them a drink; you’re also assisting in the soil’s removal of excess salts and irons. Although beneficial for your plants, this may leave stains on your outdoor sanctuary. For this reason, we also advise using hanging basket drip pans for outdoor hanging plants. In order to prevent deck stains from plants, they also function to collect surplus water, salt, and iron.
However, plant saucers are still necessary for protection even if your patio is made of concrete. Concrete is robust and resilient to many different forces. Salts and irons flushed from soils during irrigation, however, can still cause stains. Additionally, letting water linger on your concrete patio for an extended period of time can encourage the formation of mold and mildew, which no one likes to deal with. Instead, using our plant saucers, which have ample drainage and circulation, not only helps maintain the health of your plants, but also helps safeguard patios and decks.
Which container is ideal for plants outside?
That’s a challenging topic, and the answer relies on how much time and money you want to devote to your plants as well as if the pot will be used simply for agriculture or for decoration. Your outdoor planter can serve both purposes with the appropriate preparation!
For cultivating plants
I advise picking a pot made of organic materials like stone or terra cotta. These materials provide for good drainage through evaporation since they are water-permeable. A plant that has good drainage has a lower risk of developing root rot and is more likely to flourish to its fullest potential after being moved outside.
Select a square pot for container gardening for tidiness so it will fit neatly in your planting area.
For aesthetic purposes
Your container garden can be spiced up and your outside space can be improved with decorative planters. Finding the ideal fiberglass planter for your yard is simple because to fiberglass’s wonderful variety of colors, sizes, and designs.
Because fiberglass isn’t porous, choose a bottom with drainage holes to ensure optimal plant health.
Place the growing pot within a bigger, more attractive “cachepot” to have the best of both worlds if you’re looking for a solution that’s both attractive and healthy for your plant!
What is a cachepot?
It is merely an ornamental planter with a more practical planter inside that is used to grow the plant. The “cachepot” is utilized to display the plant neatly and expertly while concealing the growing pot.
For planting in hardscapes
Fiberglass and plastic planters are a great choice for planting containers on your patio, balcony, or rooftop terrace because they are incredibly strong and weather resistant in both cold and hot regions. This means that even in places with considerable activity, your fiberglass planter will continue to look wonderful all year long.
Repotting of outdoor plants is necessary?
Most healthy outside plants eventually outgrow their containers. They need to be repotted after that or else their health will suffer.
When you notice roots matted close to the soil’s surface or sticking out of the pot’s drainage holes, it’s time to repot your container plants. Additionally, you can see poor flowering, growth that is stifled, or soil that dries out too rapidly after irrigation. Your plants may occasionally appear to be top-heavy or about to spill out of their containers.
Repotting your outdoor container plants is fortunately a quick and easy gardening operation, especially with our detailed step-by-step instructions.
What do you put in a plant pot’s bottom?
You must first be aware of the precise needs of the tree or shrub you desire to pot. The quantity of room needed in the pot or planter will probably vary depending on the kind of tree or plant. Once you know how much room you need to fill, you can start.
High-quality potting soil, rather than standard garden soil, should be chosen if you only need to fill a small area. Weeds and other impurities in the soil from your garden or other places are probably preventing the growth of your plant or tree.
The purpose of potting soil is to enable proper drainage in a planter. Planters containing soil from the earth may have drainage problems, weight problems, and possible freeze-thaw problems.
Choose the best filling for your planter’s base from the list below if you have a lot of space at the bottom that has to be filled.
Can a plant be placed within a pot without any holes?
In those pots lacking drainage holes, some professionals advise placing a layer of stones as a form of drainage layer. Using this method, extra water can drain into the area between the pebbles rather than onto the soil and into the plant’s roots. Others advise against this approach, even going so far as to label it a “myth,” contending that water has difficulty moving between the two different media and will instead remain within the soil even if pebbles are present beneath it.
However, there is still a method to make use of those lovely pots without drainage holes! Place your plant in a pot that is porous and has a decent drainage hole, such as the traditional terracotta pot, and then set that pot within the bigger decorative pot with no drainage hole.
If the plant is small enough, you can remove it from the decorative pot when it’s time to water and use the drainage hole. Alternately, you may put gravel or stones in the ornamental pot’s bottom and then put the useful pot with drainage on top of that. Gravel could be used in this situation to keep the roots of the plant away from standing water. Additionally, this configuration allows for ambient humidity, which is beneficial for many plants.
Note: Since you have no control over how much water your plant receives, pots without drainage holes should never be used outdoors where it will rain on your plant.
Therefore, feel free to utilize and appreciate those lovely pots devoid of drainage holes, but do so with caution and never at the expense of your priceless plants.
What can I use as drainage in the bottom of my outdoor planter?
Use a layer of plastic bottles at the bottom of large planting containers to help fill them up with soil. The tops should still be on the bottles, which should be empty but not crushed. Both water bottles and half-gallon jugs are acceptable.
Fill the container’s bottom with as many bottles as you can, but avoid packing them too firmly. Add the potting mix once the bottles have been stacked. The container is lighter and easy to transfer to various locations in your yard when plastic bottles are used.
Should I fill the planter’s bottom with anything?
Physical Properties of Container Media, North Willamette Research and Extension Center, Oregon State University
“Regardless of plant height for a particular media, the perched water table is constant. Therefore, it is not a good idea to use the same medium in large and small containers.
Master Gardeners of Monterey Bay, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California:
from the Urban Programs Resource Network at the University of Illinois Extension
Drainage Is Essential to Plant Health: How to Create Successful Container GardensChoosing a Container for Planting
“Leave the pebbles out of the bottom of the pot or individual liners.”
It is a fallacy that adding a layer of gravel to the soil-filled bottom of a pot can increase drainage.
Extra water “perches or accumulates” in the soil just above the gravel rather than quickly draining into the gravel. Water builds up till there is no more room for air.
Excess water sinks into the gravel below once all the soil’s air spaces are full. Gravel at the bottom therefore does little to prevent soil above it from becoming saturated due to overwatering.
According to Growing Media for Greenhouse Production, Agricultural Extension ServicePB1618 from the University of Tennessee, Institute of Agriculture, reducing the depth of the pot actually increases water retention and reduces drainage, so adding gravel to the bottom of a pot actually has the opposite effect:
Height of the Media Column/Containers
The size of the growth container is another element that influences air/water relations in the root zone in connection to media. The amount of air and water that a given media can hold in a container depends on the height of the media column. The proportion of water to air spaces decreases with increasing column height.
This is particularly crucial in the development of plugs because poor root zone aeration results from small cells that drain very poorly or not at all.
There will always be some saturated material at the bottom of the container after drainage in all containers. This is caused by a water table that is said to be perched. The saturation zone makes up a bigger portion of the growing media’s total volume in a very small container, like a plug cell.
The sponge has a total porosity of 80% and can contain 950 ml of liquid when completely saturated.
A volume air space of 4.2 percent results from holding the sponge such that it is 2 inches high. This causes roughly 50 ml of water to drain out.
A further 125 ml drains out when it is kept at a height of 4.25 inches, leaving 14.8 percent volume air space.
A further 375 ml drains out when the sponge is raised to a height of 8.5 inches, leaving 46.5 percent of its contents as air.
The impact of container height (or sponge height) on media air space is significant when starting with the same volume of media (or sponge). We can draw the conclusion that the selection of containers, particularly for plugs, is crucial for controlling the flow of air and water through the root zone.
I hope that was persuasive. Otherwise, have a look for yourself. All you need are some empty soft drink bottles, and I’ll teach you how to test this. Please refrain from making arbitrary changes to the experiment design parameters as this is a proper controlled experiment.
Drainage Is Critical to Plant Health
It is crucial that the container have a hole in the bottom. It enables the soil’s water to drain easily so that the roots have access to enough air. While different plant species have different drainage requirements, few can stand being submerged in still water. Plants with strong roots grow healthier. So make sure the drainage holes are present. If the pot does not drain, you could choose to use shoreline plants because they thrive in moist soil. For more details, go to the section on water gardening.
Can outside plants be grown in plastic pots?
Regarding the decision of whether to use clay or plastic pots for their plants, many gardeners have their own preferences. This post will outline the benefits and drawbacks of both types if you do not yet have a strong view.
The production of terra-cotta (unglazed clay) pots involves using a certain soil and firing them in kilns. Every flower and leaf color blends well with clay’s rusty brown hue.
For most plants, clay pots offer a healthy environment. Because clay is porous, air and moisture can enter the pot’s sides. The little roots towards the border of the soil ball make use of this moisture and air. Clay containers also function as a wick to draw moisture from the potting soil. Depending on how you water, this can be viewed as both a benefit and a drawback.
Overwatering is a common problem for gardeners, and clay will likely help their plants. Other gardeners are better off using plastic and waiting for the withering indication from their plants. Cacti, which require a dry, well-drained soil, favor clay containers as well.
Clay can be used outside and has benefits. The thick walls of clay pots shield plant roots from damagingly quick temperature changes. Additionally, they are rather heavy and do not topple over as readily as some plastic pots. Clay has the drawback of drying up rapidly. For plants that require a lot of moisture, like ferns, or when trying to sprout seeds, this can be an issue.
Clay also has a propensity to leave a white, crusty film on the pot’s exterior. This results from the movement of mineral salts dissolved in water out of the potting media and through the pot wall. While most gardeners find this layer unattractive, some find it appealing. If the salt deposits’ look is offensive, they can be washed off. Clay is easily shattered, which is a last drawback.
Pots made of plastic are robust, lightweight, and flexible. They match both interior and outside decor because they come in every color of the rainbow. Plastic is a great option for plants that love wetness or for gardeners who water seldom because it lacks the wicking effect of clay.
Plastic pots are considered safe for growing plants because they are constructed of inert materials. When the pot is no longer used, disposal is environmentally benign because many are constructed of recyclable plastic (unglazed clay pots are fully recyclable as well). Roots receive little to no protection from temperature changes from the thinner walls of plastic pots compared to their clay equivalents. In fact, black plastic can serve as a sun collector, heating the potting soil to levels that are harmful to plants.
If plants in dark-colored plastic containers wilt rapidly, make sure they are well-watered before relocating them to a cooler area where heat buildup shouldn’t be an issue. Plastic can become brittle and fade after exposure to sunlight. Many plastic pots made for outdoor use have ultraviolet light inhibitors applied to them to prevent fading and keep flexibility, lengthening the pot’s lifespan.
Make sure the pot you choose includes drainage holes in the bottom to avoid overwatering, whether it be made of clay or plastic.
This article was modified in March 2008 and published in the Sunday edition of the Lincoln Journal Star. Read the Terms of Use statement for details on reproducing this content and using any images or visuals.
Your online source for gardening and yard-related information in Lancaster County is University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension. Residents of southeast Nebraska can use the information on this website. In your location, it might or might not apply. Visit your neighborhood Extension office if you reside elsewhere than in southeast Nebraska.