Making my own pots, input needed

[ArronOB]

Hi. I was wondering recently just what the ideal shape for an orchid pot is, and whether I should just make some on a pottery wheel.

I know that it depends on what you grow and your growing conditions, but this is what I came up with as my fundamental requirements.

1. They must be heavy for their size and with a wide, thick base. Falling over is a big problem in my shadehouse so I don’t want the whole pot tipping over. Therefore I want them wide and flat. However I don’t want them so flat that the plant can tip over within the pot by simply rotating the root ball.
2. I want them to have straight sides so I can get the root mass out easily when repotting.
3. Lots of holes to get air to the roots. Also, lots of holes in the bottom partly to drain quickly but also to dry the thick base out to prevent cracking during firing.
4. Rough texture for roots to grip on to. I wipe them with slip (clay/water mix) when finished to rough them up. Unglazed too.
5. It’s fairly humid here, and I grow outdoors or in a shadehouse, so I water automatically and can do so as often as I want - so really there is no requirement for the pot to retain water.

So I made these ones in the image for a bunch of little Sarcochilus that need repotting. A bit of experimentation here, but the one with the height to diameter ratio that i like the most is the one in the front.

I’m interested in other people’s opinions. How would you design terracotta pots if you could have any shape that could be created by a very mediocre potter.

Cheers