plant pot

Terracotta flower pot

A flower pot is a container for holding one or more plants in a growing medium , usually potting soil .

General

Flower pot with a bottom opening

Flower pots are usually cone-shaped with a circular cross-section that decreases towards the bottom. Flower pots whose cross-section corresponds to a polygon or are cylindrical in shape are rarer . There are usually holes in the bottom to allow excess water to drain off and to avoid waterlogging. The shape, which tapers towards the ground, makes it easier to remove the plant (s) including the root ball, for example when repotting . There are flower pots with diameters of approx. 4 cm to approx. 60 cm, even larger vessels are called flower or plant pots .

material

Flower pots are traditionally made of terracotta (known, for example, from the Westerwald flower pot ), larger vessels are also made of wood. In the southern German language area, terracotta flower pots are colloquially referred to as broken glass .

Since the middle of the 20th century, flower pots ( plant containers ) have been made of plastic in large numbers , initially often from polyvinyl chloride , now mostly from polystyrene or polypropylene . They are lighter than ceramic pots and therefore cause lower transport costs. In addition, they can be better automatically processed and stored in potting machines, and last but not least, unlike clay pots , they are largely unbreakable. Therefore, plastic pots are preferred by plant growers, so that most of the commercially available plants are planted in plastic pots. However, the fragility can be an advantage if valuable or sensitive plants cannot be removed when repotting - a ceramic pot can then be broken if necessary.

Flower pots made of glass , stone , porcelain or metals such as galvanized sheet steel or sheet metal made of stainless steel are less common . For plants with chlorophyll-bearing roots, such as some orchid species, flower pots are made of transparent plastic, which are usually referred to as "orchid pots".

Metal flower pots can become very hot when exposed to sunlight, which can lead to rapid drying out of the growing medium and damage to the roots on the wall of the pot. Therefore, metal flower pots are not suitable for installation in direct sunlight.

Special forms

A special form of the flower pot is the balcony box, which has an elongated rectangular cross-section. It is often attached to the outside of a window sill or balcony. There are also boxes with an integrated water reservoir or those with water-storing inserts or granules.

Another special form are hanging baskets, which are used hanging in accordance with the growth form of overhanging plants (e.g. zebra ampelkraut ).

So-called peat pots made of peat or wood fibers are also used to grow young plants . They can later be placed completely in a larger pot or bed , as the roots can easily penetrate the decomposing material. Smaller peat pots are also available pressed in tablet-like form, which swell strongly after watering.

In the case of flower pots with holes in the bottom, the base must be protected from the escape of water and substrate. For this purpose, coasters that match the flower pot are offered. Another method is to put the flower pot in a planter, a mostly decorative decorative pot that has no opening in the bottom. However, it must be ensured that no water collects in the planter, as most of the plants cultivated in flower pots cannot tolerate waterlogging. Water in the saucer or in the planter must therefore be poured out promptly, which can be problematic with large and heavy plants in planters. An alternative is to use a taller planter in which an upside-down, smaller flowerpot, stone, etc. can be placed so that the water collects below the actual plant pot.