Garden Plant Pots: Why Clay And Terracotta Is Still The Best Choice
We will take it for granted that you are on the lookout for garden plant pots that are supposed to stay outdoors. Although there are a lot of containers that can be used indoors, the pots you need for your exterior spaces have to be resilient enough to withstand sudden drops in temperature, extreme downpours and being baked under the sun for long periods of time.
You can strike off from your list of potentials such garden plant pots as metal, aluminum, brass or stainless steel containers which fare poorly with sudden climate changes; wood containers or wooden baskets which are too moisture absorbent and easily succumbs to rot or decay; and plastic, rubber, fiberglass or polyurethane pots, whose inherent property is to retain too much heat and moisture which is detrimental to the plants’ health.
Many people favor clay and terracotta garden pots and for good reasons too. These vessels have been used by man since time immemorial and have never really lost their appeal. The smaller models could be bought rather inexpensively and by bulk, which is perfect especially if you are nursing seedlings. The larger, wider and taller ones are of course more expensive. Nonetheless, these are relatively more affordable than having custom-made cement or marble pots of the same size.
Clay and terracotta pots can absorb large volumes of water which is good if you have the tendency to over water plants, or that your locale experiences more inches of rainfall than you really care for. But during warm or hot days, you may want to water your plants a bit more since the pots drain away a lot of the moisture from the planting media.
When buying, you should make sure that the clay or terracotta pots are solidly made with very thick walls and base. These should be crack and chip free with one or more drainage holes either at the center of the base or off to the side. Any design will do if you plan on keeping the potted plants sitting directly on the soil. If you want to put your potted plants on top of a table or whatever raised surface you might have, a saucer made from the same material will keep the area clean by confining the excess water within that limited space.
If you want a few potted plants sitting on your porch or deck, you might want to choose the ones with legs or those with accompanying stands. Elevating the pots from the floor will help the air circulate more freely to the roots of the plants and will lessen mold growth around the base of the pots.
The same is true for very large pots. The one concern you should be looking out for with oversized pots on stands or legs is its balance. Make sure that you place the pots on a level area, and that there is little risk from being accidentally walked or banged into. Unfortunately, unlike plastic or resin plant pots, clay and terracotta can easily break or chip when the right amount of stress or pressure is applied.
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