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Sansevieria
marylharrington

About pots...

NextObsession?
8 years ago

Having witnessed the power of the rhizome, I'm wondering about keeping the plants in plastic pots and slipping them inside cache pots when they're inside for decorative effect - or using standard terra cotta pots that won't break the bank if they get cracked. What approach has proven best for you? I suppose some cultivars & species grow slower and can safely be planted in pricier pots without risk for a longer time while others push out in all directions rapidly, right? In The Huntington Desert Garden Conservatory all the plants are in the same dark brown, unglazed pottery - it looks unified and understated, but they told me the manufacturer has gone out of business (and that people ask all the time about those pots). I found standard terra cotta made in Italy in that same shade of dark brown at my local nursery, but in the standard flower pot shape. I just don't know if it's worth the risk of breakage. What say you?

Featured Answer
  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Below, you'll find something I wrote a while back that might be worth a read, since root congestion is part of the topic. It also touches on the topic of perched water - something central to the discussion of 'Why the Earth is Not Like a Pot', which N.O. linked to above.

    "I would like to talk a little about, and hopefully dispel the
    myth that certain plants 'like' or 'prefer' to be grown tight (under
    root-bound conditions). Maybe we can also understand that no plant will
    'do well' when it's pot-bound if you are using a plant with plenty of
    room for its roots as your standard of judgment. If plants did better
    growing under root-bound conditions, it would seem that Mother Nature
    would have arranged for in situ (where they naturally occur) plants to
    grow with their roots in tight little cones or cubes, yet we never see
    that occur. While it's true that we may be able to use the STRESS of our
    plants being root-bound to bend plants to our will and achieve OUR
    goals, the fact is that this serves US well, and not the plant.

    Lets examine what 'growth' is. Growth is simply a measure of the
    increase in a plant's biomass, how much bigger/heavier it has become (the weight
    of the sum of it's parts), and is the actual measure of how 'well' a
    plant is doing. We know that tight roots restrict growth, reduce the
    amount of extension, and reduce the potential for an increase in mass,
    so even if we THINK plants are doing well because we use the stress of
    tight roots to get them to bloom or grow in a particular habit that we
    like, the truth is tight roots are stressful and plants would rather
    have plenty of room for their roots to run so they could grow as mother
    nature intended. No one is more aware of the negative influence tight
    roots has on growth than the bonsai practitioner who uses that tool
    extensively to bind down the plant's growth habits so the will of the
    grower, not the plant, prevails. Using tight roots as a tool to achieve
    an end is all about the grower's wants, and not the plant's.

    If we chase this a little further, we can see the reasons that it is
    suggested that particular plants might like root-bound conditions. Tight
    roots alters the plant's growth habits and the stress of tight roots
    can cause other physiological responses like bloom induction. Again,
    this is happening because of stress, and is the plants unhappy response.
    Bright flowers make the grower happy, but the plant's perspective may
    be entirely different.

    Where I was really heading when I started to write this is: There is a
    relationship between plant mass (size), the physical characteristics of
    the soil, and the size of the container. In many cases, when we are
    advised that 'X' plant prefers to be grown tight, we are being told that
    this plant won't tolerate wet feet for extended periods. Someone
    somewhere assumed that we would be growing this plant in an
    out-of-the-bag, water retentive soil, and "a big pot o' that soil stays
    wet for a long time, so we better tell people to grow this plant
    in a tiny pot so the plant can use the water in the soil quicker; then,
    air will return to the soil faster and roots won't rot.

    If you place a plant in a gallon of non water-retentive soil, it might
    use the water fairly quickly, at least quickly enough to prevent root
    rot; but if you put the same plant in 5 gallons of water-retentive soil,
    the plant will take 5 times as long to use the water and for air to
    return to the soil, making it much more probable that root rot issues
    will arise. So let's tell 'em to grow these plants tight to save them
    (the growers) from themselves ......... because we KNOW they're all
    going to be using a soggy soil.

    The key here, is the soil. If you choose a very porous soil that drains
    well and supports no (or very little) perched water (that water in the
    saturated layer of soil at the bottom of the pot), you can grow a very
    small plant in a very large pot and make the plant MUCH happier than if
    you were growing it tight. You still have the option of choosing those
    plants you prefer to stress intentionally (with tight roots) to get them
    to grow as YOU please, but for the others, which comprise the highest
    %, it makes much better sense to change to a soil that allows you to
    give the plant what it wants than to stress the plant in order to prevent root rot or inhibited root function.
    That's a little like keeping your dog in a sleeping bag 24-7 to ensure
    he doesn't get cold."

    Al

    • Comments (28)

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