Using netted pots

[Shyulace]

Morning everyone,

I just received a small shipment of orchid seedlings, and the only thing I could find nearby to repot them in are netted pots. They are the black plastic pots with numerous small slits on the side.

Has anyone had any experience in using netted pots? I'm using sphag in the netted pots but I'm not sure if the medium would dry out too fast. Should I pack sphag more tightly in them? Or should I find a pot that i can fit the netted pot loosely in?

Thanks, I could not find much input on the forums.

[Paul Mc]

I have a few of these pots myself and was attempting to use one yesterday, but opted to not do so due to lack of information. Great question!

[tucker85]

I use net pots for some of my orchids. Sphagnum works well in them. The smallest net pots will dry very quickly. A couple days. I set them in a clay saucer that comes with the clay flower pots. When I water, I leave some water in the saucer. The sphagnum will draw the water up into the pot to keep it moist a little longer. With a pot that small you don't want to leave big holes in the medium so I think you're right about packing it perhaps a little tighter than normal. I don't judge how dry it is by the surface. I feel the bottom of the pot which will have some condensation if the sphagnum is still moist. I also judge by the weight of the pot. It's hard to over water because the medium dries so quickly. One disadvantage of net pots is that they're very light so tall orchids tend to fall over. I wouldn't recommend them for tall orchids although I do have a couple cattleyas in net pots. As long as you don't mind watering often, most orchids do well in net pots with sphagnum. One other thing, I feel anything grown in sphagnum should be repotted with fresh sphagnum once a year. Here's a phal in a 5" net pot.

[Shyulace]

Oh wow, your plant looks really happy in there. I have a few clay plates that I try similar with and see how that goes. I'm assuming that with the net pot that when its time to repot you'd cut open the pot instead of trying to remove the phal right?

I'll keep a close eye on the 2" net pot to see the rate that the sphag dries. I don't want my plant to get too dry

[tucker85]

Yes, when I repot I just take some needle nose pruning shears and cut the plastic to remove the plant. It's very easy although it does mean that you'll lose the pot.

[stefpix]

I like net pots. My apt is too dry for mounting. Net pots seem a good compromise.

I am relatively novice so I still have to see long term results.

Anyway so far it is the best option for me. You can see if the roots are healthy and helps keep moist without overwatering.

You can insert the net pot in a regular pot, so you get good drainage but keep some moisture around the netpot.
or put it in a clay pot and let the clay pot sit in a saucer of water. it will wick up humidity without having the net pot sit on the water.

A mount dries really fast, I think a net pot keeps moisture around teh rooths and let them "breathe" air, so it is closer to growing on a branch in a very humid place.