Tips And Tricks On Choosing a Perfect Pot For Your Succulent

Pots are the second best thing when it comes to growing succulents. There is such a huge variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and materials out there. Beautiful pot can inspire you to make breathtaking succulent masterpieces. With the right pot, you can make your succulent really stand out. Whether you choose to pair your pot with your succulent or to choose your succulent to fit the pot you really want to use, there are some facts you should consider. Beginners in succulent growing often tend to oversee the difference between materials and sizes. However, these differences can be crucial when it comes to growing a healthy succulent. Newbie or experienced succulent lover, it can’t hurt to refresh our knowledge about pots.

Drainage Is The Key

This is the first thing you should look into when searching for the pot. Drainage holes make watering your succulents easier, they providing airflow and preventing the roots of your plant from rotting. However, if the pot you fall in love with doesn’t have any drainage holes, you can make them using a diamond tip drill bit. Also, draining holes shouldn’t be too big or soil will keep falling out of the pot as you`re watering your succulent. In that case, just use some mash tape to cover the holes and the soil will stay in the pot.

Pay Attention To The Material of The Pot

Surely, you know that pots can come in a variety of materials. However, you probably aren’t sure which of them are the best for succulent growing. Some common pot materials include ceramic, plastic, wood, metal and glass and they all have some pros and cons.

Ceramic and Terracotta

First of all, both ceramic and terracotta are highly breathable materials. This means they will work well in areas that might not get a lot of airflow and they will do your succulent good both indoors and outdoors. On the other hand, both materials tend to heat up when exposed to direct sunlight, which isn’t ideal. A high temperature of the pot itself will cause the soil to dry out faster, so you have to keep an eye on those succulents and water them accordingly.

Terracotta and ceramic pots can be very heavy, even before you put soil and plants in them. This will make them more difficult to move if needed. Also, those pots are quite fragile, so you need to be very careful not to knock them or drop them. This can be particularly difficult for kids and pets.

Wood

If you’re looking for a different and unusual way of planting your succulents, wood is a good option. Even more, you can easily make a wood planter yourself. Every wood container is different, as the wood its made of can have many shapes, which makes wood and interesting thing to consider for eye-catching arrangements. Besides that, wood stays cool and retains water, therefore it’s helpful for succulents that sit in direct sun or hot environments.

On the contrary, if you’re planting your succulents in an area with less sunlight and airflow, you may want to consider switching to some other material, since wood can easily rot or keep your soil wet for too long. The wood may also break down over time, or split from being watered. Wood definitely won’t last as long as some other materials for pots, but if you choose the right spot for it, wood can still look beautiful.

Plastic

This is a very popular material for pots. Plastic pots come in all of the colors and shapes, which makes them so fun to use and combine with different succulents. Another huge advantage of using plastic pots is that there aren’t as fragile as ceramic ones and often a lot lighter. However, plastic isn’t as breathable as organic materials, which makes harder for water to evaporate properly.

If you choose to plant your succulents in plastic pots, you need to use some very well-draining soil and make sure pot has proper draining holes. this way, lack of breathability won’t be much of an issue for your succulent.

Glass

When it comes to unique pots, there’s no doubt glass ones take the show. Glass is a beautiful material to plant your succulent in. With some transparent pots you can really bring some fresh touch to your succulent garden. However, glass containers usually lack drainage holes, so plants in them will need some extra love. Also, glass isn’t very breathable material, so the soil will have a hard time drying out between watering. This can cause some serious root rotting and infections. When looking for a glass pot, make sure it has a wide opening to allow a lot of airflow.

Glass can get dirty pretty quickly, and has a tendency to collect hard water deposits. Also, glass pots are highly breakable, so you’ll need to be very careful with where you`re placing succulent arrangments in these pots.

Metal

Metal pots usually aren’t a great long term solution for planting your succulents. If you want to use some particularly cute metal pot, keep in mind that it will change temperature quickly, which can cause the soil to heat up too much or even freeze. There are some metal pots out there specifically designed for planting. They are coated in substances that prevent rusting. Otherway, metal pots will eventually rust and this can hurt your succulents. Overall, metal pots can be risky if overused, so its best to plan of moving your succulents in new pots after a while.

Carefully Consider The Size of The Pot You Need

Sometimes it can be really hard to tell what size of the pot youll need for succulents and arrangments you’re planning to grow. Its often recommended to leave about a half-inch of space between your succulents and the edge of the pot, so they’ll have a little room to spread and grow. If a pot you’re planting your succulent in is too big, this can actually prevent the plant from growing much bigger. Roots will spread out before the succulent has time to catch up with that tempo. If you want your succulents to get larger and spread, give them a little room to allow for new growth. Usually, about 1/2″ to 1″ is ideal.

This rule also works for arrangments. When planting your arrangment, leave a little space around each of them, so they’ll have some room to spread out. However, if you don’t want succulents in arrangment to grow any bigger, you can simply pack them tighter.

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