Good question. As I sort through my pots, I was wondering this myself. I'm trying to decide which i will drill holes in and which will be cache pots - so I'll be watching this thread for the expert advice before deciding :)

I don't take any of those things into consideration. As long as the cache pot does its job and caches the pot, that's all that concerns me.

There shouldn't be an issue about the inner pot standing in water since there should no more be water in the bottom of a cache pot than there should in any other plant saucer. However, if the inner pot is too snug it is hard to get it out to drain.

I take pots out of their cache pot to water. Otherwise, the whole purpose of using one is defeated.

It seems to me that having standing water around isn't a good idea, what with mosquitoes and such. Even if the plant is elevated about it. (Plus, that water will get smelly eventually, I would think.)

Of course, some of us may not be able to carry our plants, if they're heavy. In that case, perhaps use a turkey baster to empty the water out of the bottom of the cache pot, into something that can be emptied into the sink? Like bailing out a boat!

Or, maybe only have smaller plants that can be lifted.

Either way, to me a tight fit just seems like trouble.

Just my two cents though! There is always a new wrinkle in someone's situation, so it's hard to make firm rules.

Cache pots??

A cachepot is a decorative container for a plant and its pot. They are used to make the plant look pretty, and to protect furniture.

I don't let water sit in the bottom of my cache pots. If it's a small amount, I don't worry about it. If a lot is drained there after watering, I will empty it. My nose spots stinky water quick.

Need2see

"It seems to me that having standing water around isn't
a good idea, what with mosquitoes and such. Even if the plant is elevated about
it. (Plus, that water will get smelly eventually, I would think.)"

You've assumed a few things here which don’t apply.

I grow indoors only (no mosquitoes); any standing water
(a negligible amount, I am not new at this), maximum 1” of water BELOW
everything. That water evaporates in 1 day, not there long enough to get smelly. I've a very strong sense of smell, would smell yucky water fast.

I’ve been at this a while & have
developed my technique over time. Never
had any problem w/ anything related to this.

Lena

Ah i never knew they were called cache pots. I just called em pot holders or pot outers.

That works just fine too, GreenLarry.

If one is not using tap water, the issue is only whether or not the excess can evaporate &/or be absorbed quickly, whether or not the roots are elevated above it - a literal 'overwatering' potential could exist. When my plants are outside and getting rain water, I don't worry about a small amount of excess that will be gone within a day either, like Lena described, but it's from dripping after watering, not from watering w/o removing the inner pot, or occasionally doing a quick-sip watering if I'm pressed for time. Avoiding a mosquito breeding opportunity is my motivation for being so diligent about that. I don't leave cached pots where they can be rained on.

I've found that I feel inconvenienced if I can't easily remove the inner pot from the outer one and things can get dicey, getting too dry while inside for winter from unintentionally underwatering to avoid overflow. (Yes, I've euphemized laziness.) Realizing what was holding me back, I've made efforts to be easily able to grab the inner pot to remove it for watering, getting the pairing right before committing to it. For some of mine, I couldn't get that part right until I put a brick in the bottom of the outer pot so the much smaller inner pot would be high enough to easily grab the edge. Some of the inner pots are much smaller than the outer one, but if the proportions are OK and foliage is hiding the gap, I like it.

The kind of soil I use won't wick moisture up or sideways, so if it's not all thoroughly drenched over the entire surface, it would only be moist right where the water was poured (& ran straight down.)

Going back to Lena's comment again, I agree that we all develop what works over time by trial & error. It's not possible for everyone to do the exact same things and get the same results because there are so many variables like temp, humidity, air movement, inside vs. outside, latitude, soil mixes, personal schedule demands, etc...

This has been interesting all. Thank you. I always water plants outside of the cache pot, and give them time to drain out the excess and put them back. The plant is always landing on gravel or wine corks or whatever, to keep it some distance above the outer pot bottom. Very little water ever sits there in the pot. The cache for me is more to protect the furniture and to look pretty. I pulled out a pot to water the other day that had kind of a perfect fit around the top of the pot, not tight but no gap. When I removed the pot it had a slight layer of sweat all around it, and yet the soil was dry enough to water. I waited tho. Out of instinct I found a larger cache pot. That sweat made me feel I was inviting a damp environment, which we never want for plants. For me I am going to assume pots with some space around the sides of their pots from the cache pot is probably a good practice. Tiffany said it best. Bunkfree, may our pots never sweat!!!

I just pulled an African Violet out of a tight cache pot and it actually had fuzzy white mold around the drain holes YOIKS! It's one that I got from my MIL that has never rooted, and now I know why.

Mostly I do what Laurie does - use cache pots to protect furniture and for aesthetics; I am NOT a fan of dirty plastic trays under pretty pots and plants.

I water, drip off, return to cache pot. I have some plants in small hanging baskets that sit in snug candle jars, but it's generally tropicals and they seem to enjoy the damp feet and humidity.

As long as the cache pot is not too big for the pot inside, or too small so you see the uglay plastic pot popping over the rim, I'm happy. I have some really pretty glazed pots I bought at the thrift store that hold an equivalent to a 4" pot of soil, but due to shape they won't hold any inner pot bigger than the 1-1/2 nursery pots. Those I think I'll drill holes in.

Thank you for the views and replies all. I have been away from growing houseplants for so long, I find I am having to relearn some things and forget others that are no longer true. It is so very nice to come on here and get input from so many so much wiser than I at growing plants indoors. I love thrift stores for containers, and most materials allow holes drilled no problem.

This is a really useful thread as I have two growpots which have tops that perfectly fit the inside of their cachepots with no space between the two and I've often wondered if this is good as there is no way for moisture to evaporate. Just to play it on the safe side now I will be moving them into slightly wider cachepots and finding something for them to sit on inside.

Gas exchange between the grow medium and surrounding air is a consideration when growing. The more you have the better off you are up until the point where the return starts diminishing rapidly because of water vapor loss. If you're growing in a nursery can or a plastic/vitrified pot as the primary container, you've pretty much vetoed gas exchange through the pot walls/bottom anyway, so no additional loss there. However, if you're growing in a clay pot, you'll have mostly eliminated the benefit derived from having gas permeable walls (if the pot to cache pot mating is that snug. .... better to go to the bigger cache pot or lift the existing primary pot so the primary pot is not nested so snugly in the cache pot (if you're using something with gas-permeable walls.

The moisture's ability to escape from the cache pot is no big deal - it's the waste gasses (sulfur dioxide, methane, CO2) that need to be exhausted.

BTW - unless you're careful about allowing your main pot to drain until it stops completely, you should set the main pot above the bottom of the cache pot to ensure there is no pathway by which the effluent that exits the drain hole can make way back into the grow medium. In short - try never to allow the main pot to soak in the effluent that can collect in the bottom of the cache pot.

Tokonami ware training pot (for bonsai) ^^^ blocked to prevent waste water from finding its way back into the grow medium.

Al

is this basically what we would call today... a pot in pot system.. a pretty foo foo outer pot that doesnt drain ... with a standard plastic pot inside???

i like the answer above that says.. take the plant and inner pot to the sink.. water it.. and when its done draining.. put it back in the pretty foo foo pot ... no problems at all ...

unless your media doesnt drain properly.. and then you have a media problem.. not a pot problem ...

ken