Flowerpot

This article is about the ceramic container. For the geological formation, seeStack (geology).For other uses, seeFlowerpot (disambiguation).

Meillandinerosein aterracottaflowerpot

Traditional flowerpots in unglazedterracottainCharles Darwin's laboratory atDown House

Terracottaflowerpot in Italy, decorated withfestoons

Aflowerpot,planter,planteretteorplant pot,is a container in whichflowersand otherplantsare cultivated and displayed. Historically, and still to a significant extent today, they are made from plainterracottawith noceramic glaze,with a round shape, tapering inwards. Flowerpots are now often also made fromplastic,metal,wood,stone,or sometimesbiodegradablematerial. An example of biodegradable pots are ones made of heavybrown paper,cardboard,orpeat mossin which young plants fortransplantingare grown.

Forseedlingstarting in commercialgreenhousesorpolytunnels,pots usually take the form of trays with cells, each cell acting as one small pot. These trays are often calledflats.

There are usually holes in the bottom of pots, to allow excesswaterto flow out,sometimes to asaucerthat is placed under the flowerpot. The plant can use this water with itsroots,as needed. Recently,some flowerpots have been made with an automatic watering system, using a reservoir.

Purpose

Flowerpots have a number of uses such as transporting plants to new locations, starting seeds, patio and indoor cultivation of plants, and the growing of tender plants in colder regions indoors.Through the centuries, the use of flowerpots has influenced the horticultural use of plants, and theEgyptianswere among the first to use pots to move plants from one location to another. TheRomansbrought potted plants inside during cold weather. In the 18th century, pots were used to shipbreadfruitseedlings fromTahitito theWest Indies.AlsoOrchids,African violetsandPelargoniumgeraniums were shipped in pots from other parts of the world, includingAfrica,toNorth AmericaandEurope.

In the 18th century,Josiah Wedgwood's flowerpots orcachepots,were very popular; they were often highly decorative and used as table centrepieces.

InAthens,earthenwareflowerpots were thrown into the sea during the festival of the Gardens ofAdonis.Theophrastus,c. 371 – c. 287 BC, mentions that a plant called southern-wood was raised and propagated in pots because it was difficult to grow.

The top of the flowerpot underneath the rim is commonly known as the shoulder or collar and can aid handling.

Classification

Flower pots were traditionallymade fromterracotta.They were made and sold by the cast, which is the number of pots produced from a given quantity of clay.

The traditional sizeswere as follows, although others existed:

Name	No. to cast	Top diameter (inches)	Depth (inches)
Ones	1	20	18
Twos	2	18	14
Fours	4	15	13
Sixes	6	13	12
Eights	8	12	11
Twelves	12	11.5	10
Sixteens	16	9.5	9
Twenty-fours	24	8.5	8
Thirty-twos	32	6	6
Forty-eights	48	4.5	5
Sixties	60	3	3.5
Seventy-twos or thimbles	72	2.5
Thumbs	80	2.5	2.5
Nineties or thumbs	90	1

Other sources give different values, and sometimes names, for the smaller pots, for exampleThe Gardener's Everyday Log Bookwhile agreeing on "twos" to "thirty-twos" has two different types of "sixties" and disagrees on "thumbs" and "thimbles":

Name	Top diameter (inches)	Depth (inches)
Large sixties	4	3.5
Small sixties	3	3
Thumbs	2.5	2.5
Thimbles	2	2

A taller and thinner shape of pot, suitable for deep-rooting plants, was known as along tom,a term still used. The traditional size for a long tom used forauriculaswas 3 in diameter by 3.75 to 4 in depth.

Nursery

Peat pots that are biodegradable and may be planted directly into the soil

In thenurserybusiness, plants are generally grown in round or squareplasticpots. Some organisations (such as theRoyal Horticultural Society) encourage the reuse of (plastic) plant pots and trays across their retail centres.In some garden centres (i.e. Edibleculture), this is done by not letting the plastic growing pots leave the garden centre, and simply place the plant inside acardboard(ornewspaper) sleeve for transportation. Peat pots and paper pots are also being used,and have the advantage of facilitatingtransplantingas they do not need to be pulled out of a container for planting purposes (rather, the whole of container and plant is directly planted). Also, for sale purposes, there is no need to recover the container as it is biodegradable and can not and does not need to be reused or recycled. Some types exist focusing on vegetables,whereas other paper pot systems exist that focus on larger plants (i.e. trees, sugar cane, etc.)

United States

The sizes of plastic pots have been assigned anANSIstandard by theAmerican Nursery and Landscape Association.Pots designated #1–#100 nominally have the volume of that manygallons,but in fact a #1 pot has a capacity of 0.625 gallons (a "trade gallon"). There is also a Small Plant series: SP1, 6.5–8.0in³;SP2, 13.0–15.0 in³;SP3, 20.0–30.0 in³;SP4, 51–63 in³;SP5, 93–136 in³.An SP4 pot is commonly called a "4-inch" or "quart" container.

Europe

Plastic pots come in a number of standard sizes, with a code indicating the approximate dimensions of the diameter at the top.

Code	Diameter	Height	Volume	Approx.Imperialequivalent
6F	6 cm	6 cm		2.25 "
8F	8 cm	7.5 cm		3 "
9F	9 cm	9 cm		3.5 "
10F	10 cm	9.5 cm	0.5 L	4 "
13F/14A	13 cm	12 cm	0.9 L	5.5 "
15F	15 cm	14 cm		6 "

Size

The effect of pot size on the growth of maize.

The size of the pot will in part determine the size of the plants. Generally, plants planted in bigger pots will end up being larger; on average plants increase 40–45% inbiomassfor a doubling in pot volume.This will in part be due to a higher availability of nutrients and water in larger pots, but also becauserootswill get less pot-bound. This does not mean that all plants will thrive better in bigger pots. Especially forsucculentsit is important that the soil does not stay wet for a long time, as this may cause their roots to rot. The smaller those plants are relative to the soil volume, the longer they take to use all pot water.Bonsaiplants are also purposely planted in small pots, not only for aesthetics but also because the low supply of nutrients keeps the leaves smaller and the growth down. Because they are often not as drought resistant as succulents, this implies they have to be watered often.

Shape

Water in the soil of high pots is more easily pulled down by gravitational forces than in low pots, and hence the soil does not remain wet for a long timeThis is relevant as plant roots of most species do not only need water, but also air (oxygen). If the potting soil is too wet plants may suffer from a lack of oxygen around the roots.

Material

The soil in black pots exposed to sunlight will warm up more quickly than soil in white pots. Clay pots are permeable for water and therefore water from inside the pot soil can evaporate through the walls out of the pot. Pots that are glazed or made from plastic lose less water through evaporation. If they have no holes at the bottom either, plants may suffer from remaining too wet.

Gallery

• 
  Giant flowerpot
• 
  Torenia flowers in a flowerpot
• 
  An ornamental planter atEaston Lodge Gardens,Little Easton, Essex, England
• 
  Victorian decorative flowerpots atKindrogan House,Enochdu,Scotland
• 
  Flowerpots with the words "Trust" and "Love" on them

See also

• Dutch flower bucket
• Disposable food packaging(i.e. yogurt pots): can be used as plant pots
• Drip irrigation
• Growbag
• Urban agriculture
• Cardboard toilet paper rolls:can be used as plant pots
• Vertical farming
• Window box

External links

• The archaeology of the flowerpot in England and Wales c. 1650-1950C.K. Currie;Garden History21.2, 227–46 (1993)