Unpopular Opinion: Orchid Pots with Holes Suck

[Clawhammer]

Originally Posted by Ray

I’ll add that not only do I not use pots with extra sidewall perforations, I don’t want a medium that dries faster - stays airier, absolutely, but I don’t want rapid drying.

A medium that is more airy will dry faster yes? More air = less water retention = faster drying.

Excluding constantly wet culture like semi-hydro and plants that never want to dry out, in which the disadvantages of side holes are obvious.

[Mountaineer370]

I pot exclusively in clear plastic pots. I've used both styles, holes/slits on the sides versus solid sides. My personal preference, based on my own experience, is that I like holes and/or slits on the sides. Yes, roots will often grow through the holes/slits, so when I repot, I sacrifice some of the pots because I carefully cut them to preserve as many of those roots as I can. But, overall, I have found my orchids do better in pots with holes/slits on the sides.

I understand that we each have our own experiences and personal preferences based on our growing conditions. In my case, I only have a small number of orchids compared to many of you, so I don't mind watering more often.

[DirtyCoconuts]

inside and in trays, this is a fair observation.

i think that people are too drawn to ONE thing to work for all orchids. most products are about convenience and or helping to create an environment you do not have in your environment.
so if your conditions done suit net pots, or dont need net pots, then you certainly should not use them.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Clawhammer

A medium that is more airy will dry faster yes? More air = less water retention = faster drying.

I wasn't disagreeing, but stressing my preference for not drying out. Although there are other things that affect that.

Don't forget the size, relative absorption, and wicking rates of the medium itself.

A container full of glass marble spheres and a container full of identically-sized florist foam spheres will have the same amount of air, but obviously the marbles will dry faster.

Then there's how the size affects that - again using spherical particles of any material as an example, a pot full of BB-sized particles will dry out more slowly than will that same material in marble-sized particles, yet they, too, have the same amount of open air.

[Jmoney]

I have a love/hate relationship with the clay orchid pots with the side slits. I grow most of my nonslipper orchids in moss, and use clay because I used to grow in the house, and wanted them to dry out faster. Also I don't like my plants in bloom tipping over.

I don't like the roots coming out, but that usually means good root growth within as well. I do like the slits to help me stuff more moss into the open areas. I end up "collaring" plants sometimes when potting and a little extra moss below sometimes is good.

[Leafmite]

I do not believe that any specific growing method is perfect for all the orchids in a collection that has a variety of species. I have a bunch of orchids that are mounted because they prefer to grow that way, some in basket pots, and some in the plastic pots with tiny holes.

I use lava rock because it does not need decompose and need replaced but I use two different sizes...the one inch replaces bark and the one quarter inch replaces moss.

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

inside and in trays, this is a fair observation.

i think that people are too drawn to ONE thing to work for all orchids. most products are about convenience and or helping to create an environment you do not have in your environment. So if your conditions done suit net pots, or dont need net pots, then you certainly should not use them.

Indeed. ONE way of doing things isn't helpful to creating a more tolerable environment for the orchid, based on one's own environment. I try almost everything in semi-hydro first, because in my environment and MY CULTURE it works best and gives me consistency when watering. Every now and then I attempt growing something outside my "normal" parameters that SH doesn't suit. First, I have to really want it, and I usually mount and put under auto misters.

What the plant needs, an individual’s environment and cultural preferences are most important to growing a plant well. I'm not one to jump through hoops to suit the requirements of a particular plant regardless of how much I like it. The plant must be able to adapt to my environment and cultural wants. I want lots of air and to not water very often. But to each their own… some folks really like to dink around with their plants. I’m just not one of them.

[katsucats]

I would posit that if you live in a humid environment, if you use smaller size media, or larger pot sizes, those side slits may help to give more aeration. If you use water culture, something like that PET method with organic media layered on top, having a few holes might help (I understand that PET normally doesn't have hole to mimic the decaying log environment). For example, you might want a reservoir to decrease watering frequency and maintain moisture, and you might use side slits to avoid it being overly wet. Ideally you might increase e.g. bark size without the side slits to achieve that function, but we don't always have access to arbitrary sized media that we might want. The difference between small and medium bark size might be too much.

I tend to over-pot so I don't mind the super thin side slits that are harder to grow through. What I don't like are the pots with a ton of round holes that encourage roots to grow out and grow back in, making it then impossible to remove. As an over-potter, when an abundance of roots peek out from the slits, I know it's time to repot, so it's not a huge deal. I never wait for it to be unmanageable. However, if I'm growing in coarser media or outdoors where I'm not monitoring it every day, then I go with those regular green nursery pots. Expense is one reason: Larger dedicated orchid pots are rare and expensive. But the other reason is what Ray said, I want to extend the time it takes to dry out.