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gryffin_gw

Container dilemma

gryffin
9 years ago

Hi all-

I'm running into a problem that I didn't foresee- I can't find appropriate pots for my bulbs! I was hoping to use terra cota pots and matching saucers. I had been planning to plant some singly in 7 inch pots and others in groups of 3 in 10 inch pots (so my husband doesn't notice how separate plants there really are).

The nursery (the only one within an hour from home) has some 10 inch pots, but no saucers of an appropriate size. They have no 11 inch pots, but they do have some 12 inch pots- the price is nearly double for the 12's compared to the 10's. and they seem pretty large.

They probably have 4 or 5 more pots/saucers at the garden center in the 7 inch size, but that is not enough for me to plant all my bulbs.

The nursery won't be restocking pots until February.

I can mail order some cheap plastic pots, but I know this isn't as healthy for the plants. I couldn't find any sources of clay pots online (and I am usually good at searching).

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Comments (11)

  • kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
    9 years ago

    What about clear plastic pot saucers from HD or L?
    K

  • gryffin
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks. I should have thought of that. They are inexpensive, and if I want, I can always replace them with the clay ones when they are back in stock.

  • Edie
    9 years ago

    I use stuff like foil pie pans and foam trays from meat as free emergency saucers when I'm caught short. I recycle them when they're no longer needed. If you plan on keeping several pots close together on a semi-permanent basis, another option is to get a waterproof tray large enough for two or more pots, and use that as a shared saucer.

  • haweha
    9 years ago

    I have always experienced inferior growth from Clay Pots - in respect to Hippeastrums, nota bene. I use Balcony Boxes from Plastic, and terracotta-colored and black Plastic Pots and -Containers respectively. During the last 3 years, I even resorted to the unquestionably! cheapest Containers, which are those black Mortar-Buckets from the Bau-Markt= "DIY"="Do-It-Yourself"-Big-Box-Stores.
    These Containers typically have a "rubber smell" on them. Their ACTUAL disadvantage in respect to "cultivation" is the absence of holes, which I drill into the bottom. The more holes, the better. BTW, you can put up to 5 pots into another, turn the whole pack upside down, and drill the holes in one sweep.
    The other disadvantage, also IMPORTANTLY, is that these containers will seriously heat up if and when sunlight gains access from the sides (a consideration which applies indoors too, if behind glass or indoors on a windowsill facing WEST particularly on a high floor). I avoid possible "baking of the roots" by sheets of Aluminium foil sticking all over the critical side of the pot.
    It is true, that the according "saucers" cost me a multiple of a cheap container.
    My biggest containers are 20 Liters, two of them are in use, one of them on my balcony, harboring my Cluster of "PapDonAmb2" with 6 bulbs of bloomable size in it. The other, on the windowsill, with the seedlings "PapDonAmb2" x "PapDon1" as a cluster, since I had been to lazy, to EVER separate them.

    What I like to repeat is, that it makes a difference to an Amaryllis bulb, whether one Big bulb has 3 liters of "dirt" "available" OR six bulbs "sharing" 6 x 3 Liters = 18 Liters in a big Container. However, this only applies to groups of bulbs which are already growing together. If you plant 6 bulbs from the Store, which are bare rooted, the remainders largely dried, up then you are better off when you plant these individually in 3 Liter Pots, and control METICULOUSLY against overwatering before the formation of leaves which indicates higher water consumption. I administer water exclusively from the bottom...

  • dondeldux z6b South Shore Massachusetts
    9 years ago

    As to the use of plastic pots verses clay pots, a few years ago I would have argued against the plastic but now I'm not so sure. Aside from the fact that they drain easily and don't cook the roots in the sun, recently ,out of desperation for more space I have taken to planting seedlings and medium sized bulbs in Dunkin' Donuts plastic coffee cups!! I use the large size when I have them but I also use the smaller ones for seedlings.

    I have found that these plastic cups are just as good if not better than the clay and of course they will fit neatly on my not so wide windowsills! I use Rubber Maid cutlery trays for them to sit in on my windowsills!
    Also, viewing the roots is a treat in these cups and doesn't seem to adversely effect them at all! The choice is yours....

    This is Secret Alleys, a Komoriya bulb yet to bloom in one of my cups.


    Donnaâºâº

    Just more food for thought. And Edie does what I do for liners, anything you can get your hands on. My favorite is Chinese takeout black plastic containers, as well as everything else mentioned above. I drive my poor husband crazy saving all these things, stacks of plastic coffee cups and plastic trays. For several years I couldn't force myself to throw away things that I "might" find a use for in the future, and I finally have!! In fact, just recently my husband did some grafting of rhododendrons and he used some of my small plastic coffee cups!!

  • kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
    9 years ago

    Hi! The clay saucers aren't really waterproof...so if water sits in them, it will soak through to whatever surface the pot is sitting on.

    I use plastic pots as the plants don't dry out as fast in the heat of a Texas summer.
    Kristi

  • jodik_gw
    9 years ago

    I use much larger clay pots, planting them in 3's so it's not so noticeable how many there are, and I use those cheap plastic saucers, which keeps window ledges and shelves from being ruined by moisture. If I can, I use a clay saucer inside the plastic ones for added stability.

  • jstropic (10a)
    9 years ago

    Adn don't forget thrift stores where you can get all sorts of glass & pyrex "trays" and other decorative glass items that look good on the windowsill as well as hold water well -J

  • jodik_gw
    9 years ago

    Yes, I save all sorts of glass or other saucer type receptacles, too... very helpful. Sometimes, you can get glazed clay saucers, which work well.

  • gryffin
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for all your suggestions! I will keep them in mind for the future.

    I actually lucked out today. I went to KMart and they were having a clearance sale on ceramic pots. :) It was the one store that I didn't check yesterday. They are glazed on the outside and the upper part of the inside, but unglazed in the rest of the inside. I bought two 7in pots, one 8in pot, three 9in pots and two 12in pots. I had found one similar pot at Home Depot yesterday, it wasn't on sale, but I kept it because I like the color, it is 12.75in. I figure that gives me room for at least 15 bulbs. :) I showed them to my husband and he didn't even comment on how many there were! I got some cash back coupons as well that I can't use until next week. I may go back and get a couple more 9in pots if there are any left. :)

    Now, I just need to get potting soil and the rest of my bulbs! More on that later- I am still finalizing my orders. :)

  • AuntJemima
    9 years ago

    I'd also avoid clay saucers indoors as they are porous and will ruin furniture. I used plastic saucers, a big rectangular trade or a window box to house them (saves clumsy people knocking them over).

    Pots i usually use clay but clear plastic ones are good, especially when trying to root komoriya bulbs. One actually took 1 year to root - coriense and it was fortunate i used a clear pot or i would never have known to water it more. Trust it to wake up as winter is coming.

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