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Opinions on mesh pots

4 years ago

I'm growing my first dendrobium and was wondering if mesh pots are actually better for orchids. I had it in a black plastic pot with drainage holes on the bottom but it seemed to be keeping it too wet. Now I have it in a black mesh pot. I was seeing some people say that they cause the bark to dry too fast. I'm zone 7, in Long Island, NY. Anybody think I should plant it somewhere else? Or should I keep it in the net pot?

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4 years ago

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Comments (7)

James _J
4 years ago
What’s better depends mostly on what your care habits are. If you tend to water a lot, mesh pots, baskets , or mounting are good options. If you tend to forget to water or get busy and don’t have a chance to water often then clay or plastic pots would be better.

I’m in a similar area to you and use clay pots and water about once a week, a little more in summer and a little less in winter.

If the plant in question is from your other post, I wouldn’t expect to see new growth until late winter or early spring. Also if you change your mind you can always drop the mesh pot into another pot.
westoh Z6
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
My issue with net pots is that the roots become intertwined with the mesh and it makes it difficult if not impossible to remove the net pot. If a repot is needed, either just drop in a larger pot as mentioned above by James or spend some 'fun' time cutting the pot away and hope to not damage the roots too much.

If we are talking about the dend in the other post (the roots look pretty good to me), dends like tight shoes so personally I'd use a 4" plastic or clay pot with bottom holes and a bark mix.

Good luck,

Bob
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Ben... I know what you mean... these days for practical purposes I use lightweight resin pots... they are not glamour pots like the ceramic ones, but they suit my purposes.. they are all straight sided, no curves or bulbous shapes... if I had those I would have to use a shovel and get right in there and dig it out... with straight sides they should pull out easily enough... although my 'Marie Pavie' shown above is in a rounded pot but the sides are straight within.. and that rose will be going in the ground this winter.. ..another trick with these types of plastic pots is that I can cut out the base... here's an example of a climbing rose 'Ballerina' planted in one of these... I did not want to dig a hole here, so the pot was necessary.. obviously I planted it up in situ because the base was removed... so the roots if they want can get out the bottom into the ground below... but again I may not keep the rose that long, but if those roots have gone down into the ground and I want to discard the rose, I would just tilt the pot, sever any roots going into the soil, lay the pot on one side, and pull Ballerina out of it... then start again with another rose... but I reckon this rose could be kept going in this pot, this way, indefinitely... ...this is my Lichfield Angel trough just after I planted it... my Benjamin Britten was in this for 5 years and I noticed signs of deterioration.. it wasn't flushing so well or so often.. I used to get 4 or 5 flushes a season from that rose... so I used a shovel and dug it out... very easy to do.. then replanted with LA... ...some pots I have I think will only serve for 2 seasons, but by then I shall just remove the rose completely... and move on to something else... ...it's the regular watering I dislike the most... I never have enough rain water, and they hate my tap water... that's my biggest issue with pots really...
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arthurm2015
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I have a big collection of orchids and use both types of pot. Is one type better than the other? impossible to say without some sort of controlled experiment. Growth and blooming being the measure.

Pot on by putting a smaller mesh pot inside a larger Mesh pot (I've done it) and you have a jigsaw puzzle to solve in a year or two.
User
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago

I'm growing on Long Island. I have a dendrobium nobile growing in a plastic slotted pot but I've had fungus problems this year with all the rain so when it's time to repot, I am going to use a clay pot. Net pots are good if you intend to hang the orchid, but if not, your plant may become top heavy and tip over if you grow it outside. You could put the net basket into a larger clay pot or wooden vanda basket to make it more secure, which is what I have done.
User
4 years ago
Trying to upload a photo. Will try again later...
arthurm2015
4 years ago
Good solution if you are not growing your orchids in a glass or shade house. But plastic is better once the collection gets past size X.

Large soft-cane collection

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