General question
General question
In general terms, what is better: a shallow pot or a deep one? I suppose a species with a large taproot would be better off in a deeper pot, but could a wider, shallower, pot be used successfully in other cases?
I like to use pots based on the plants root system for most things this means shallow or rather 2.5" x 2.5" x 2.5" pots and I let the plants go until they seem to be crowded in there. I figure that if they grow in nooks and crannies a small pot might simulate that tight niche in the wild. When they get bigger I generally use the round Azalea pots which are shallow. But there are the exceptions. I have a Cinta kinzei potted in a big plastic tumbler cup cos it was the only thing I had onhand that was narrow and tall enough for the enormous carrot like root with the tiny 2" plant at the top!
I've been thinking I may buy some large rectangular bonsai pots for my Stapeliads as they seem to rapidly outgrow a standard diameter pot and grow more out than up.
I've been thinking I may buy some large rectangular bonsai pots for my Stapeliads as they seem to rapidly outgrow a standard diameter pot and grow more out than up.
Fit the pot to the roots. If its got a six inch taproot then you need a pot six inches deep, possibly more, but maybe only two or three inches wide to avoid drowning the plant which probably has hardly any other roots. At the other extreme a big clump of something like Mammillaria plumosa might be a foot across and have roots that only go down a couple of inches. Don't dump it into a tub a foot deep or it will rot because it will stay wet too long. Most plants are in between and have flexible roots that will go deep or wide as needed to fill most normal pots. When you move to really big plants, don't go too deep because the roots on something like a large barrel would prefer to spread wide through the top four to six inches. Big columnars will probably have a stubby taproot for support but the main root system will again prefer to spread far and wide, but it isn't always practical.
Some succulents are a real pain. I have a Yucca endlichiana which has pretty small leaves just a few inches long but roots that are trying to get to Australia and just escape from any pot I put it in.
Some succulents are a real pain. I have a Yucca endlichiana which has pretty small leaves just a few inches long but roots that are trying to get to Australia and just escape from any pot I put it in.
--ian