A use for new pots.

One of the things I have done over the course of the last year is to move away from using plastic pots to using different sizes of polystyrene cups.



These poly-cups are used by take-away businesses and I have to make the holes in the base but
there are a number of reasons for the move away from plastic...
a) cost... a 7cm plactic pot cost me 15p, while I can buy 25 poly-pots for £1.
b) being polystyrene the cups warm up a lot quick and hold the heat better. This helps the roots dry out quicker and reduces roots rotting, which is a problem if you have a habit of over watering.
c ) these poly-pots can be obtained in shallower half sizes which are great for clumping species like glassiii, prolifera and members of the Stylothelae who do not produce large root balls.
d ) the tall cups are 7cm diameter at the top but taper in more at the base and are about 25cm deeper and I have found plants of the Ancistracanthae have grown a lot better in these cups.
e) being white the cups are photo-reflective, throwing light back out onto the plants.

A picture of plants of Series Mammillaria growing in polystyrene cups/pots.



In case anyone asks.... the 3 plants in the front of the yellow tray are M.uncinata. This is one of the few species that, with me anyhow, suffer with scorch every year. I try and move it around the glasshouse to find a good growing position with no joy.
Might have to consider putting it under the bench next summer.

This is a great idea Tam. I can see your logic. But to my eye, white pots look rather sterile compared to black or terracotta. I'd have thought that they're rather fragile too.

Now terracotta coloured polystyrene pots! There's an idea : )

...... Si

Hi Simon,

These cups / pots are a lot tougher than they look and I would expect to get 2 - 3 years out of each of them. The roots will no doubt be able to push throught the side but the these are so cheap it's not a problem. When the plant gets to that stage they will be ready for a repot anyway.

You are quite right in that these pots do look ' sterile ' but I would counter that by saying I will use any product that improves the growth of my plants. If they look sterile then that is a small price to pay for having a better grown plant, after all I don't get many visitors so I do not need to worry about what people think.

Tam.

OK Tam. You've convinced me. I'll give it a go!

...... Si