7 Best Orchid Pots for Healthy & Beautiful Plants

When taking care of an orchid plant, you must take into consideration many things, such as light, watering, temperature. Many people don’t know, but the type of pot that they are using for the orchid plants is as important as the other things which I mentioned.

If you want your plants to be healthy and beautiful, you should choose the pots wisely. It should be specially made for orchids. All of the pots have their advantages and disadvantages.

Some of the pots are only ornamental, some of them are functional. The most common and simple ones are the plastic or clay (terracotta) pots.

This article will help you to decide what kind of pot you wish to buy for your orchid plants.

Clear Plastic Pot

The most popular pot for orchids is the clear plastic pot. Especially growers love this type of pot.

You may ask the question “Why?” and you may say “there are other good-looking pots”. But don’t forget, we want the orchids to be good-looking, not really the pot.

Clear plastic pots help you to see your plants’ roots, so you can decide if they need watering or they are still wet. Also, you can easily decide if the plant needs repotting or not.

If the roots are bright green, it means they are wet. So, the plant doesn’t need watering. If the roots are silvery, they are dry; the plant needs watering.

In terms of design, the clear plastic pots are not the best. But I have good news. This pot can be placed in another pot which is more attractive.

This will make your plant more stable as well, as the orchids are top-heavy and the clear pots are quite unstable as they are lightweight.

Don’t forget that the clear plastic pot should have holes. These holes help the water to drain and the airflow between the roots. A pot without holes could kill the plant’s roots.

If you have an outer pot, this should have narrowed base, so the inner pot cannot touch its bottom. This will help the excess water to drain and will stop the roots to sit in water.

Terracotta Pot

Terracotta pot is another very popular pot. This type of pot is cheap and offers stability to the plants. It doesn’t need another pot like the plastic one, because it is heavy enough for the plant.

If your plants are sitting in a humid and wet place or you tend to overwater them, then terracotta pot should be your choice. This helps the roots and the potting material dry adequately.

However, if your house is dry and warm, also you tend to forget to water your orchids, don’t use terracotta pot. It will dry out quickly, so the plant may need to be watered frequently.

Orchid plants that are in terracotta pots should be monitored closely, as you cannot see their roots like in the clear plastic pots.

Terracotta pots may cause you some troubles in terms of repotting. Especially Phalaenopsis orchid roots usually will be attached to the pot, as these plants like to cling. It is impossible to repot these plants without destroying the terracotta pot, or hurting the roots.

Remember, terracotta pots should have holes on the bottom, as draining the water and airflow is very important for orchids.

Ceramic Pot

Ceramic pots are more expensive than plastic or terracotta pots, but these can come in every shape, color, and style.

I think that ceramic pots are the best choice if you want your house to look stylish and cozy.

These pots are usually handmade, and there are two types that are suitable for orchids. You can pick a ceramic pot which has holes on the bottom, or a ceramic pot that has holes on its side as well.

These pots can be used as secondary pots as well. As I mentioned above, plastic pots can be “hidden” by another decorative one. Ceramic pots are perfect for this.

When choosing a ceramic pot with holes on the side, make sure the holes are not too big. You don’t want the bark or other potting area to fall out.

Clear Glass Pot

Clear glass pots can be beneficial for your plants, just like clear plastic pots. You can easily see the roots, and can easily decide if the plant needs watering or not.

Usually, the glass pots don’t have drainage holes, so you must be very careful what type of orchid you plant in it, and how you water it. The potting medium is also crucial.

In glass containers as a potting medium, I would suggest clay pellets (semi-hydro), which help to keep the roots humid, but not letting them sit in water. The clay pellets will absorb the excess water.

Also, to avoid root rotting, you should plant your orchids about 1 inch (2.5 cm) off the bottom of the pot, so you can make sure the roots will not sit in the water.

So, when watering your orchid just put some water on the bottom of the glass pot. There is no standard on how much water you should put in the pot. Just watch your orchid plants and see if they are happy or not. Some orchids like deeper water than others.

If your orchid plants are smaller, you might want to put them in a taller glass container, but don’t cover it, because that would be too humid for the plants. As the Phalaenopsis Orchids don’t like tall containers, because of the high humidity, you should pot them in a shallow glass container.

Decorative Pot

Decorative pots usually are only to “look good”. Unfortunately, most of the decorative pots have week drainage system or they don’t have at all, which leads to root rotting and diseases.

Also, different chemicals which are used in glazing can be harmful to your plants.

However, if you find a decorative pot, which is suitable for your orchid, and you don’t mind the same style until repotting, that will really boost up the design. Your plant will look stunning. You won’t be able to see the roots and the potting medium only the beauty of your plant combined with the design of the pot.

A good combination of the pot and orchid plant can be a “win-win” and your house could look expensive and luxurious.

Double Potting

As I mentioned few times above, double potting is possible for the orchids. In fact, this is the most used potting style. Usually, the growing pot is a clear plastic pot, and this is placed in another decorative pot.

This type of potting is popular because it can be stylish; the outer pot can be frequently changed if you wish to redecorate your room. This is beneficial for the plant as well because you can easily see the roots, so the watering will be easier as well.

I would say that the only downside of this type of potting is that you have to buy two pots every time you repot a plant.

If you’re changing the plastic pot because your plant is too big for it, automatically you will change the decoration pot as well, as the new plastic one will be too big for it.

Hanging Basket

As orchids mostly grow on trees, they often hang down into a wonderful waterfall of flowers.

So, why shouldn’t we do the same with our orchids? You can hang your orchid plants in a hanging basket. It is a space saver method; also, it can be very unique and original.

Many people think that orchids in hanging baskets are difficult to care for, but honestly, there is not much difference. You should only consider few things to follow.

First, you should choose the right type of orchid. If taking into consideration the humidity, light, air circulation, and watering, you realize that all these factors will change. Also, you might want to decide where you want to hang this basket: indoors or outdoors.

When potting your orchids in a basket, you should pot it with its growing pot. This will help the plant to adapt quickly to its new environment. Also, if there are more orchid plants in the same basket, and one of them is sick, it is easier to remove it.

After placing the plant in the basket with its own pot, you can hide it with some bark or moss, so it will look much nicer.

Then, you can just enjoy your lovely plants as decoration.

Wrapping Up

Choosing the right pot for your orchids can be overwhelming, as there are so many of them on the market. Some of the pots are not even good for the orchids but are sold as orchid pots.

As I mentioned earlier, double potting is the most popular style. I also prefer this, as it helps a lot in terms of watering and caring for the roots, also it looks great with the design pot.

Choosing the right pot for your orchids is essential to keep them healthy and beautiful and will make a huge difference.