FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I've always felt that growing plants in clear pots wasn't good for the plants. It just seemed to me that roots need to be "in the dark" beneath the soil level. For some reason roots growing against a clear-walled container doesn't seem, to me, healthy for the plants...maybe due to thoughts of algae, mold, or whatever growing inside the wall of the pot. Or, maybe in the back of my mind I wonder if the light, itself, hitting the roots isn't a good thing...maybe confusing the plants or something. I dunno. There's lots of small, clear containers that would be a good size for smaller plants...but them being clear, I shy away from using them. Anybody got any thoughts and/or knowledge on this? Thanks.

But, from what I've read, orchids like a dry medium and some orchid roots actually seek light. On the other hand, most carnivorous bog plants like it damp to very wet with their roots down in the darkness of the bog bottoms. Now, dewy pines, I believe, like it dryer, but I'm not so sure they would like light hitting their roots. I've been reading some and I've come to the conclusion that for my needs I'll just stick with opaque pots...why complicate things, eh? Finding square white pots just isn't an overly simple thing...and then some of them are so thin that they're not opaque. Oh well, I guess "OCD-Me" was leaking out a bit this afternoon and got me to thinking about it all. Ah, the mysteries we ponder....

Do you see the orchid roots through the side of the clear container?

Intheswamp wrote: ↑Tue Nov 21, 2023 5:14 pm Do you see the orchid roots through the side of the clear container?

In most cases, yes. And quite frankly, it’s a very desirable thing at that point. With terrestrial orchids, it’s a different story, but most of your orchids are lithophytes or epiphytes and for them the roots are actually photosynthetic. So light exposure is not harmful to them. More to the point, with orchids root rot is one of the biggest issues with growing them (people tend to overwater). By having them in clear pots, it is typically easier to check up on the roots to make sure they’re still healthy, as well as to see if the media is still moist enough.

I have used clear containers with regular house plants without any problem. Yes you’ll see the roots growing along the wall of the pot, but that’s actually very normal for most plants. If they have any sort of real root system at all, they will quickly take over the pot and especially have them running along the walls of the pot because that’s actually where the oxygen content is best.

I wouldn’t expect the growing cps in clear pots would necessarily be detrimental to the plants. There are some issues that would come up without a doubt, such as algae growth along the inside of the pot, which, in many cases may not even be harmful for the plants, but it is rather unsightly. With plants such as the terrestrial utrics and many Drosera, you will have “issues” with baby plants trying to grow along the inside of the pot because where there’s light many of these will go ahead and send up plantlet’s off of the roots.

I don't use clear pots, but I do use white ones. A fair amount of light is transmitted through the plastic. The "problem" that I've seen is divisions popping up underground. When I did the unpot/divide/repot of my Big Tomato cultivar, I found several large, strangely shaped plants against the sunny side of the pot. After I potted those divisions above ground, their growth returned to normal.

I have seen some white pots with dark gray or black interiors: These are the thin Coex pots. They work okay, but if you leave some Sarracenia (alata, flava, leucophylla, oreophila, their hybrids) in them for too long, the rhizomes can burst the sides of the pots.

Thanks everybody for the feedback. The reason I was asking if you saw the roots of the orchids in the clear containers is because @wcrosman stated that he didn't see carni plant roots through the sides. The orchids are light-seekers and happy for the light. I was curious whether the carnivorous plants' roots were trying to avoid the light. If the carni plants' roots *are* evading the light then they're not making use of the medium like they could if they ventured toward the clear sides. Just a thought that passed through my gray matter.

Mike, I have some small 2-3/4" square white pots. Like you said, they're not clear but you can see backlit items through the plastic. I haven't transplanted anything out of one yet so I don't know how the root structure will look...and not enough experience to really know how the few plants are growing. I've seen those Coex pots, they seem flimsy but once filled they become more sturdy, I take it.

Intheswamp wrote: ↑Thu Nov 23, 2023 6:52 pm Mike, I have some small 2-3/4" square white pots. Like you said, they're not clear but you can see backlit items through the plastic. I haven't transplanted anything out of one yet so I don't know how the root structure will look...and not enough experience to really know how the few plants are growing.

I haven't noticed anything strange about the roots in my white pots. They could be an issue with those sundews that commonly sprout new crowns from their roots: adelae, binata, capensis, etc. All that light coming through the pot walls would encourage more sprouts (may actually be a good thing if you want lots of plants).

Intheswamp wrote: I've seen those Coex pots, they seem flimsy but once filled they become more sturdy, I take it.

With Coex pots, you have to be a bit more careful about how you handle them. Because the walls are thinner, it's easier to accidentally crack the lip or side, especially as the pots get older and the plastic becomes more brittle.

Hmm, well if the plants are starting sprouts around the edges that isn't exactly shying away from the light, but might not be exactly what a grower might be after. I guess it all depends on what a person is wanting from the grow...a specimen plant or a propagation of plants. Makes sense.

I may stay away from the Coex just because of the brittleness issue. The little 2-3/4" square pots that I have I *think* are thicker than the Coex cups and some of them have become brittle after one summer in the sun down here in south Alabama. I'd really like to find something square in the 4" range but they seem to be few and far between. I bought some square 6" pots last year that are good, thick white plastic and they've held up really good....every place is out of them now.<sigh>

Thanks for the feedback!!!
Ed

Intheswamp wrote: ↑Fri Nov 24, 2023 4:38 pm I'd really like to find something square in the 4" range but they seem to be few and far between.

I found some:

3.85 inches square, 3.35 inches tall
100 for $33.99 (34¢ each)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSMTLXL5

4 inches square, 3.2 inches tall
60 for $21.99 (37¢ each)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0928NB626

Intheswamp wrote: I bought some square 6" pots last year that are good, thick white plastic and they've held up really good....every place is out of them now.<sigh>

What about these? (Only available in larger quantities)

Hydrofarm 5 inches square, 7 inches tall
100 for $150.48 ($1.50 each)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006O2MDR6

Hydrofarm 6 inches square, 8 inches tall
50 for $91.00 ($1.82 each)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055F5SUW

I also found this, has interesting possibilities:

Window box planters with drip trays, white
17 inches wide x 7.4 inches deep x 5.5 inches tall
7 for $18.69 ($2.67 each)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWDTHL1S?&th=1

I still can't bring myself to spend $1.50 on a plastic pot. That is why I'm still using the black ones.

Thanks for the feedback, ya'll. I've got some of the small white square ones left, just not sure what I'll do when they're gone. I definitely need to get some organization.

Coex parts look like the standard cheapo that most of the big nurseries use when they pass things on to places like Lowe’s, Home Depot, Menards, etc. What you might do if you just want to get that type of would be to go to any of the forementioned, big box, stores, and check their trash bins. See when they’re throwing those out, they often let you just take them for free.