Clear plastic pots

[Rkatz]

Just getting back into the hobby after a hiatus.

Wondering if anyone uses clear plastic orchid pots?

Do you put the clear pot in a clay pot?

Thanks in advance

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I use it all the time without putting it in anything else unless the plants are top heavy. Grown many orchids this way for years.

[greenpassion]

Same here. I use them primarily because I can keep a good eye on how the roots are doing; whether they need water or not, or the health of the roots in general.
Often I will drill additional holes or slits into the sides and bottom for increased air circulation.
On occasion I'll slip the clear plastic pot into a ceramic orchid pot, but this is really just for aesthetics.

[Mountaineer370]

The majority of mine are in the clear plastic pots, the kind with lots of holes on the bottom, or in some cases including slits on the side. All of mine are in the house, so I put each pot on a clear plastic saucer, but I do not put them inside any cache pots or decorative pots. I like to allow for excess water to be able to flow freely out the bottom of the pot after watering and for plenty of air circulation. Plus, I like being able to see many of the roots. I would definitely use an outer pot if I had one that was in constant danger of tipping over.

[Roberta]

Only downside of the clear plastic pots that I have encountered is that they don't last as well as the green or black ones... I suspect it is because they don't have the UV inhibitors in the plastic that the opaque ones do, they tend to become brittle. Not a big deal, plastic pots are not very expensive if you need to change them more often (you're repotting anyway...)

[rbarata]

There's another downside (depending on the genus). As they let light come in, moss thend to grow on the inner walls. With time, plants like Catts in small pots, stop having the dryness they need as the moss gets bigger. Also, one stop seeing the roots.
This can be prevented by putting them inside another opaque pot.

[Bulbopedilum]

I used a plastic cup for my Nervilia.
It's been doing fine and roots are growing like crazy and out of the drainage hole.

If the plant is in full shade, the plastic will wear away slower and there will be less or no moss and algae.

And you can see tiny soil worms. Ew.

[Ray]

Unless things have changed, the clear pots from chulaorchids.com have UV inhibitors in the polymer, as do Air-Cone pots.

[dshallpost]

I used clear plastic pots (with slits) for most of my orchids. Many of them sat inside decorative glazed ceramic orchid pots (with holes). Over time I found I had a tendency to overwater. Never too much for the paphs, oncidiums and zygopetalums so those I have mostly left in plastic (with a few in net pots). The paphs are also in plastic. But as I have repotted, I have moved the cattleyas, and vandacious types, into clay , either with bark or coco fiber. The clay pots all have numerous holes drilled into them. Even some of the phals are now in clay. From what I understand, the major downside to clay is that the roots stick making it ver difficult to repot. When the time comes I may have to sacrifice the clay pot, but that will be less traumatic for me than discovering I have destroyed an (another) orchid by overwatering. (I have just ordered a "Momet" orchid water meter to help me with my over-watering habit). This clay-plastic question points to the larger issue of whether (how) one can grow various types of orchids within a home environment, giving each type what it needs. Would love to see more discussion about this.

[john lapointe]

Greetings, I prefer the clear plastic pots. I find that I can view root health and keep an eye on moisture level, I tend to over water. On arrival most new plants receive a new pot with orchita. I also cut slots on the vertical surface to provide adequate air movement. If you are concerned with appearance you can pop it into a decorative pot for display.