Are Orchid Pots Worth It? And Why Do They Look So Weird?

Last week, I leveled up as an orchid owner. I went to a plant nursery whose stock of orchids gets bigger and more tempting every time I go, and I didn’t buy any. Instead, I bought four orchid pots. My favorite plants are overdue for a housing upgrade. 

The first time I saw an orchid pot, I didn’t know what I was looking at. My first thought was, “isn’t soil just going to fall out of the holes?” It seemed like buying jeans with rips already in them. But orchid pots are helpful in maintaining healthy plants, and one might as well use every advantage possible, right?

Orchid pots maximize drainage, which dries the orchid bark more quickly. While orchids like humidity, they don’t like sitting in water. Orchid pots have holes or slits along the sides that facilitate ventilation around the roots. Most orchids are epiphytes, which means they grow on trees, not in soil. Their roots can suffocate without enough airflow. Orchid roots also absorb nutrients and moisture from the air.

My orchids that lived in ceramic pots for a while are happy, and their aerial roots often poke out of the holes on the sides. The new pots I bought are clay, and I’m curious to see which I’ll prefer. 

My first ceramic orchid pots.

Ceramic pots are generally prettier than clay ones, but they tend to be pricier. Ceramic is heavy and not very porous, which generally isn’t the best for root ventilation, but can be mitigated by the number of holes in the pot. I’ve also read that some glazing chemicals can harm sensitive roots, but I hope businesses that specialize in making orchids pots wouldn’t use those. 

I chose clay pots last week for the same reason some people avoid them for some other houseplants—clay (or terra cotta) absorbs water quickly, especially hard water. Moisture and humidity-loving plants can dry out too quickly in clay pots. That can be a pro or a con for orchids, depending on one’s environment. The high evaporation rate of clay pots can also help prevent overwatering and can provide evaporative cooling (the principle behind swamp coolers), which can be useful in hot climates. 

Clear plastic orchid pot.

Some people swear by plastic pots, either to place inside of ceramic pots or on their own. Plastic pots hold in more moisture than clay pots, and they can keep roots warmer. For me, plastic pots are too likely to tip over (especially when you have two cats), so I prefer something heavier.

My next orchid pot will be transparent. Since most orchids grow on trees, their roots absorb not only moisture and nutrients, but sunlight too, which allows them to photosynthesize. Not all orchids do this, but many do, including phalaenopsis orchids, as well as the rarest orchid of them all (and the subject of a future post): the ghost orchid.

Cool orchid pots on Etsy.

When it comes to transparency, plastic pots have a clear (sorry, couldn’t help it!) advantage, especially when also considering ventilation. Transparent pots are also helpful windows into the health of an orchid’s roots, so one can easily check for rot and know when it’s time to repot. 

I have my eye on some translucent plastic orchid pots for the next time I want to level up as an orchid owner. Soon, I’ll run out of pots to upgrade, which is a problem with only one solution.