I find that I have problems with rot with the deeper pots. How much rain do you get? It is always humid here and the deeper pots do not dry out as quickly. Most of my pots are about 4 inches deep, tho.

If the surface that my pots are on gets hot, like the patio deck, I elevate the pots so the roots don't fry. That helps with drainage, too. And I use gritty mix for all my plants. No soil.

That's just my experience. We've been in the 90s all month and only cool down to the mid to high 70s at night.

I never thought of this until I joined this site, but it makes sense. Cactus can handle all types of sun and heat, but if they are in pots that are three inches their roots must get fried. This morning when I was watering I moved two of my cacti because I think their roots get too hot because they are in shallow pots. The cactus that are in shallow pots and in full sun on the concrete never grow well. I'm realizing that their roots are getting fried. The ones that are in pots a couple inches deeper are thriving and they don't need to be moved. I'm only talking about cactus because most of my succulents are in bright light, shade or only get about 4 hrs of sun.

Of course it depends on the size of your plant and the root ball, but generally speaking I don't consider 4 to 5 inches tall very deep pot.

I was having a similar problem with my Pachypodiums, as they sit directly next to the window and their dark plastic pots get quite hot. You can either put the hot pots into slightly larger empty pots to shield the soil from heat, or you can coat the pots in mylar to reflect the heat. I have tried both and both methods work well. IME, never pot a plant up in a container where there is more than 2 inches of empty vertical space between the roots and the bottom. This leads to anoxic zones and root rot.

My experience is similar to Pagan's. Unless it's a very large pot, everything ends up being at least ambient temperature at the hottest part of the day.

Based on my temperature readings today, there wasn't a huge difference between on my deck and above it on my benches.

The biggest difference is really direct sun vs shaded or obscured.

I have several small sized pots in my collection and yes a smaller pot dries a-lot more sooner than a bigger sized pot and is also relative to it's location.

A 1x1x1.75 deep can dry in a matter of hours from the heat alone. To compare sitting next to a 2x2x2 inch pot with apx the same moisture content on any given day The moisture would last last for as long as Apx 3 times longer than a pot half the size. Although rain and other climatic conditions like humidity would apply would certainly be something to consider if watering is needed or not needed per say.

Location of the pot also makes a difference and also remains relative to the size of pot

If to bring to an inside location & allow it to be a window sill sitting is the same 1X1X1.75 inch pot It would be safe to estimate a need watering for a longer period of time than the left outside 2X2X2 inch pot by three fold.

Nomen - That's true. If watering frequency is the issue then a larger pot will be better. Each 1" larger in diameter roughly corresponds to 2x the volume for pots.

Wow, 3 x! I have 100 pots and bowls of succulents, it makes it difficult when I water, I have so many different sizes