Looking for advice on pots...

[Floridian]

Hi all, I am looking for an alternative to the plastic pots usually recommended for s/h. Since I live in South Florida my orchids grow outside year around and the sun makes the plastic pots brittle in less than a year. So I would pick up a pot and it literally disintegrates in my hands. I haven't come up with a good alternative yet and have actually moved my cattleyas and dendrobiums back to baskets and bark mix to hang in my mango tree. The Vanda type orchids I just tied to an S-hook to hang.

Altogether I did have good results with s/h for cattleya and dendrobium type orchids, so not ready to give up on it completely. Any ideas what I could use instead of plastic containers? Any advice would be most welcome.

Thanks a million in advance! Cheers,

[Ross]

I would suggest either moving to black pots (a bit more resistant to UV or ceramic.) These might need to be specially made for you, though.

[kavanaru]

however, black pot receiving full sun can get also quite warm (for not saying hot), and that could have a negative effect on your plants... (I mean, for your comment I assume your potted plants are receiving full sun)

go for ceramic, or just provide some shade to the classical S/H pots

[Snowden]

...or you could use standard nursery pots along with deep saucers. I like to use basket liners that you can get at big box hardware stores. They come in assorted sizes. I have one phrag potted up this way.

[Ray]

clay with a tray

[Floridian]

Thank you all for your advice! Ray, I really like yours... short and it rhymes

Cheers