ORCHID POTS

Selecting Your Orchid Pots

Orchid pots are the primary supplies of orchid caring. Almost all orchid growers should have these orchid pots in his or her possession. Their importance is very obvious. Orchid pots are needed to ensure quality caring of your orchids. Without them it is more likely that you will have a lot of problems with the healthy growth of your orchids. Neglecting this potting issue will make it impossible to control the health condition of the potting media.

You can have orchid pots in many sizes and shapes. You can also select between the functional and the decorative ones. Orchid pots common materials include plastic, clay and ceramic. There are some specific materials that can be used to make these orchid pots such as coir (the outer shell of coconut) and purple clay from China. While the different shapes and sizes are meant to make some adjustment when repotting your orchid which should match the requirements of a growing orchid with expanding roots.

Here are the requirements of good orchid pots:

Strength

Orchid pots should be strong and don’t easily break. They have to manage the pressure of growing and expanding roots. They should be endurable to tolerate wet potting media or exposed to liquid substances for a long period of time.

Support good quality drainage

Orchid pots should support good drainage or make it possible to schedule your orchid control and orchid watering with ease. Adjust the size and number of drainage holes accordingly, since each pot material has different water permeability.

Facilitate root expansion

Orchid pots should provide enough room to facilitate root expansion. There are orchids, the Cymbidiums for instance, which have very long roots. In this case, a tall pot will be most proper. While some orchids such as the Jewel orchid possesses spreading roots where a shallow broad pot is most suitable.

Unscented and pH neutral  

Those orchid pots should be unscented with a neutral pH. Some plastics are known to produce harmful substances when exposed to high temperature. It’s the same with acid and alkali. Please be aware of such conditions especially when you are trying to re-use an old pot.

Resistant against fungi and algae

Orchid pots should possess antifungal and anti-algae features. This will ensure good feeding of your orchids. Fungi and algae will share the nutrients incorporated in the potting media, hence will cause ineffectiveness of feeding

Benefits and shortcomings of potting materials:

Plastic orchid pots

These are frequently used pots mainly in orchid houses and gardens. These pots don’t break easily and are suitable to be stored and re-used after orchid repotting. They commonly possess multiple drainage openings due to the impermeability of plastic to water. In plastic orchid pots the potting media is more likely to dry longer than orchid pots made of clay. The well-liked pot is made of clear plastic. When using this type of pot you will be able to look at the condition of the roots. This makes it possible to detect early problems with the roots or potting media.   

Clay, terracotta and ceramic pots

These orchid pots have more weight thus it gives you more steadiness. Their water permeability are higher, therefore they commonly possess only a single drainage opening. The larger pots may have several holes at the base of the pot. The potting media in these types of orchid pots are more likely to dry out faster compared to the plastic pots, due to their higher permeability. That is why clay pots are most appropriate for orchids with succulent drought-tolerant characteristics because of the slighter possibility of water accumulation.

Basket orchid pots

These are plaited pots which can be made of plastic, wood, wire and nets, thus they have loose walls. Such construction provides advantage for orchids with heavy roots which require healthier air circulation. An example is the Dracula orchid also called by Drac, which will be most suitable to be put in a net basket to stimulate successful blooming. You can also get pleasure from several decorating orchids such as Stanhopea, Gongora and Acineta if you put them in an open basket pot.

Coir pots

These types of orchid pots are made of the outer skin of coconut (called by coir) which is composed of fibers and dust. These enduring coir pots are declared to be the most eco-friendly and biodegradable pots ever exist which give you plenty of advantages. These pots have been university-tested and claimed to be free from diseases and weeds. This in turn can deliver speedy orchid growth and the development of strong roots. As they are made from natural coconut skin it also contains essential nutrients such as ferrum/iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu). You can also place or plant these coir orchid pots straightly into the soil.

Purple clay pots

These pots are made from a very special type of clay which can only be dug out in Yixing, Cina. This special clay is called ‘zi sha’. These pots are made by master craftsmen using ancient Chinese techniques. This unique clay was actually meant to produce the famous Yixing teapot which eventually was adopted to produce delicate palace planting pots. Zi sha has been dug out since the Ming Dynasty in the 14^th century.

Zi sha has three natural colors: red, purple and yellow. The inherent porosity of zi sha is very suitable for orchids with subtle roots and will give you better air circulation needed by those subtle roots.

Talking about sizes and shapes, there are many choices of orchid pots that may fulfill your needs. You can buy them through the internet or make a purchase at your nearby gardening store. May I suggest you to get more information about this potting issue, or the gardening store keeper can probably help you out with some valuable information about a specific type of orchid pot you are interested in. Happy pot shopping …!