What kind of pots do you use and why?

[Orchidnut]

I am doing a talk on kinds of pots to use on orchids, I would love peoples opinions and why you use then and the cons to other pots. I use plastic green pots usually azelea pots, they are easy to re-clean they stand up to Colorado sun I have used wite pots but they get brittle and break. I also use clay pots for my Dens it helps them to stand up and not fall over. What about the clear pots? Or the ceramic orchid pots? or all clay pots i would love to hear from all of you!

[tucker85]

I like the red clay orchid pots for my cattleyas, laelias, and encyclias. They're heavy and keep tall orchids from falling over. They are porous so the media dries quickly (important with catts). They're relatively cheap.
I use slotted, clear plastic pots for phals.. The slots allow air to the roots. The media dries more slowly in plastic, which is good for moisture loving phals. And the clear sides allow me to see the condition of the roots and the moisture content in the pot.
I like wooden baskets for vandas and some cattleyas.
Wood baskets are a more natural way to grow orchids. They never get root rot. Some plants grow more vigorously in baskets. They do require more watering and it's almost impossible to get them out of the basket once they're established.
I love ceramic orchid pots but they're basically just for show. I never plant directly in them. When my phals, in plastic pots, are in bloom I put the ugly plastic pot inside the ceramic pot to display them.

[Cattleya17]

I love clay pots personally! I grow mostly Catts so they love them! I have tried phals in clay pots and I really don't like it so plastic is the way to go IMO.

The only thing about clay pots is that as they age they really start to grow algae out doors in my conditions. So that I dont like. Once my Catts get established in clay pots the roots literally glue themselves to the pot to the point I can lift the whole plant, pot and all without fear of it falling. So I really love clay for that aspect as well. the only thing about clay pots is they don't come in a square shape. So when it comes to storing in winter they take up a lot of space. Im really excited to be trying out S/H. So plastic pots are about to be my new best friends. I love those too! Especially for phals they really need the extra moisture! I don't like the ceramic pots very much. Like tucker I would slip another pot into it. They don't hold media very well for actually potting up a plant.

[Silje]

I like clay pots! I love how they look and the 'feel' of terracotta. But I mainly use plastic.

All my phals are in clear plastic pots, without exception. I've killed too many by over-watering and I really need to see the roots in order to determine when to water.

My oncs are in a combination of clay and plastic. It's a bit random actually. It depends on when they were repotted and if I was in my 'consequent clay pot phase' or had shifted towards plastic.

My catts, dens and maxillarias are in clay, and they seem happy there, so I'll keep them in clay for the time being.

If I cannot get hold of clear plastic pots, I make my own from empty plastic bottles. I look for plain bottles without too much pattern and make the holes myself.

I choose the size according to the root ball and the space I need. It's a very, very affordable option and I can easily get hold of lots of different sized bottles from 500ml to 5 liters. They also work well for s/h, you just got to position the holes differently.

After a lot of trial and errors I've learnt that it's important for me to be able to SEE the roots. I also like mounts for the very same reason. It's the roots that tell me when to water, or re-pot. I'm not so good at weighing the pot or with the bamboo stick.

[OhioBob]

Like everyone I have a mixture of pots. It seems that a few of my plants are in their original pot even though they have been repoted several times. When I do repot I like to go to clay although a few times I used with an old plastic pot from a long dead annual or even a new pot.
Unlike most responders I do directly plant in the nice ceramic pots with holes. When it comes time to repot i do the nasty and cut off roots as needed then repot back into the same pot. I was doing this with my oldest orchids (phals) way before I ever knew of this forum existed and the plants still haven't died on me yet. I still do it because I happen to really like the way the roots come out of the pot.
I have one plant mounted on an inverted clay pot, started this year, and really like the effect, although the extra watering makes me pause when I think about doing another.
I started S/H this year so I have discovered clear pots and I may start to go that direction.
Clearly I don't have a single strategy for getting my plants to bloom and for at least a couple of plants it shows. Maybe next year they will bloom!

[Carpe Diem]

Most of my orchids are in clear pots, three are mounted. I am a beginner and need to see the roots. I have Phal., Den., Eplc., Enc., Catt., Ang., Paph. and Maxillaria in clear pots.

[Leafmite]

I like the plastic vanda baskets and plastic basket pots. I can see my roots and they breathe. I can also hang them, they are easy to handle, they are light, and the roots aren't confined. To reuse, I boil them. I use lava rock, so no problem with them tipping. Often I put a net pot upside-down in the middle. I also mount on cork. The only clay pot I use is for a vanilla.

[NatalieS]

I have a mix, but I tend to do my repotting into pots that are a little unconventional for orchids. My favourites are bonsai pots, and before I get booted off the board, let me explain...

I like to use them because they are very shallow with a large surface area and good drainage. The wide, shallow, ones really seem to suit orchids with rambling rhizomes, and the increased surface area means increased evaporation and therefore the media doesn't stay wet for very long (I have a theory this also increases humidity directly around the plant). I also like the deep, narrow, cascade-style, bonsai pots for tall orchids that like falling over. Besides the fact that the pots themselves are weighty, you can put a few large stones or something similar in the bottom which also creates air spaces in the bottom of the pot and helps with drainage. Plus, I really like to display my plants and am partial to the aesthetics. However, I have not been experimenting with this style of potting for very long and although all my orchids potted this way are growing happily at the moment, I would want this to be the case for a couple of years before I would call the experiment successful.

I still tend to use clear plastic for phals, though this might just be out of sheer laziness as it's too easy to put them back in the pot they came out of. I have one phal in clay because it's just too big and top-heavy to go into plastic.

I've also recently taken a liking to mounting, but like others I find the increased watering requirements can get difficult to keep up with.

I am an overwaterer, so I mostly use clay pots or plastic net pots to let the media dry faster.
I have some smallish parvis and two large multi paphs in plastic and am very nervous about it. But they seem to be fine so far.

[cbuchman]

Like many others, I pot mostly in clay for aesthetic and practical reasons. I like the way they look and they are less likely to tip over. Since I summer my orchids outside on benches, I find that the wind does little damage to the heavier pots. I also like that clay pots dry out faster.

That said, I also have a few teak baskets, and a few clear plastic pots for Phals. When I have a plastic pot, I fit it into a clay pot to maintain a uniform look and provide stability. I’m just getting started with S/ with a couple of clear hard plastic cups (the kind used for picnics) and punched my own holes in them.

Clay pots can be a pain to clean, but once or twice a year, I do a mass cleaning of used pots including sterilization. I’d love to run them through the dishwasher on the hot cycle, but my husband would be horrified. So I scrub and dip in a bleach solution.