Terra Cotta Pots the solution to Moisture in Soil?
Hello Everyone!
I have been very absent from this community for a long time now, how crazy! It has been since before the transition to Houzz and I am still trying to get used to it. Since my time here, I have purchased 6 topiary Gardenias at Home Depot for $25 dollar each, it was a steal in my opinion! Well, they are growing fine in the soil they came potted in but I know they will have problems moving into the fall and winter months ahead. I got so many because I decided to once and for all do a comparison between soils and the effects it has on gardenia. For my little experiment, I will be placing two gardenias in gritty mix, two gardenias in 5-1-1 and leaving two in the loam based soil I purchased them in. I am at the point, however where I am needing to purchase pots and I had the epiphany that perhaps the reason they have failed for me in gritty mix before is due to the fact that they were in plastic pots. So I am debating whether or not to purchase terra cotta pots for them all. I read that they allow greater rates of gas exchange due to the porous nature of the pot and also that moisture will move through them as well. Do you guys have experience with this? What are your opinions? Suggestions? I am starting a blog on my little project ( and all of my other plants as well) and will include that later once I have the materials I need for the soil! In the time being, enjoy the blossoms I have gotten so far!! I have pictures of Gardenia ( starting to show some signs of chlorosis) my assortment of tropical plants including canna, musa basjoo, ensete, and Osmanthus fragrans. Also I thought you may enjoy the japanese maple we have growing, it is great to see them growing in Minnesota!
Comments (6)
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Soaking terra cotta pots?
Comments (4)As is. I've never pre-soaked an unglazed container. Reason says it couldn't be any more than a miniscule aid to water retention. How much water is contained in the clay as opposed to the total volume of water in the soil at container capacity? - a tiny fraction. Al...See Moredo your terra cotta pots crack if kept dry during winter?
Comments (12)Mara, But you're a perfect 8B, surely! I often listen to 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered', usually by Ella, when repotting Gasterias. It also puts me in a betwixt and between space, which helps a lot when you're dealing with northern top dressing. aseedi, That's a good way to describe it - rather than crack in cold-but-not-as-cold-as-us weather, it spalls (full disclosure - gears, as in wind turbine generator gearboxes, also spall, but only when they're bad). Calling it flaking is too imprecise. From Wikipedia - Spall are flakes of a material that are broken off a larger solid body and can be produced by a variety of mechanisms, including as a result of projectile impact, corrosion, weathering, cavitation, or excessive rolling pressure (as in a ball bearing). Spalling and spallation both describe the process of surface failure in which spall is shed. ---------------end quoted text---------------------- And I love the observation 'Each place has its charm, though very different.' - ain't that the facts! I was in SanD for 20 years until I came to the Southern Interior of BC almost 6 years ago - even in August, you can feel Ol' Man Winter get near....See Moreplastic or terra cotta pots?
Comments (22)Hello! First time poster here. Found this thread while doing a Google search on the topic. My girlfriend and I live in Los Angeles county and recently attended a gardening class where the expert advised everyone to avoid terracotta pots. My guess (as mentioned in previous posts here) is that our region is too dry for them. She suggested glazing the pots first if we were to use them. The interesting thing is, we have a combination of pot types (glazed, unglazed, plastic, etc.) and my girlfriend has been watering all of our succulents on the same schedule (once a week). You can actually see the difference in their success (the soil in all of them is exactly the same, from the same mix). The ones in glazed pots are doing fine, but the ones in terracotta aren't doing so well. Here in LA, our climate is generally dry (although this year has been uncharacteristically humid) and we've been experiencing a terrible drought for a while. So, I have to weigh in and agree that region and watering schedule should be considered against the type of pot used. We're considering a trial run of watering our succulents that are in terracotta pots more often than once a week...or perhaps glazing them all, but that would be quite the project!...See MoreGrowing indoors: clay terra cotta vs. plastic pot?
Comments (1)It depends upon the plant. I'd never use terra cotta for something that liked more moist conditions - the terra cotta wicks away too much moisture. For Mediterranean herbs like sage and thyme that prefer more drained conditions, I would. But it all depends upon what I have on hand in the long run. ;) FataMorgana...See More
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