Flowerpot

A flower pot is a container for holding one or more plants along with their growing medium, usually a potting soil.

General

Most flower pots have a circular cross -section which decreases towards the bottom. Less common are flower pots, the cross section corresponds to a polygon or have the cylinder shape. In the bottom usually are holes to allow the drainage of excess water and to avoid waterlogging. The towards the bottom tapered shape facilitates the removal of the plant (s ) together with the root ball about when repotting. Flower pots are available with diameters of about 4 cm to about 60 cm, even larger vessels are referred to as flower pots or planter.

Flower pots are traditionally made of terracotta ( known as the Westerwald flower pot ), larger vessels also of wood. In the southern German -speaking flower pots terracotta are colloquially referred to as shards.

Since the mid-20th century flower pots are manufactured in large quantities of plastics, often initially made ​​of polyvinyl chloride, nowadays usually made ​​of polypropylene. Less common are flower pots made ​​of glass, stone, porcelain or metals such as galvanized steel sheet or stainless steel sheet. For plants with chlorophyll leading roots, such as some species of orchid flower pots are made ​​of transparent plastic which are usually referred to as " orchid pot." A special form of the pot is the flower box having an elongated rectangular cross section. It is often attached to the outside of the balcony or window sill. There are also boxes with built-in water reservoir or those with water-storing deposits or granules.

For the cultivation of young plants, so-called peat pots of peat or wood fibers are used. They can be completely set later in a larger pot or a bed, since the roots can easily penetrate the decomposing material. Small peat pots are also pressed into tablet-like form available which swell greatly after pouring.

In flower pots with holes in the bottom, the base must be protected against the loss of water and substrate. For this purpose, the optical flowerpot matching coasters are offered. Another method is to place the pot in a planter. However, care must be taken to ensure that no water collects in the pot, as most cultivated in pots plants tolerate waterlogging. Water in the saucer or pot holder must therefore be poured out in a timely manner, which can be problematic for large and heavy plants in flower pots. Plants with chlorophyll leading roots in orchid pots should not be placed in opaque pots, otherwise can get no more light on the roots.

Flower pots made ​​of metal may become hot when exposed to sunlight, which can lead to rapid dehydration of the culture substrate and injury of roots at the pot wall. Therefore, flower pots made ​​of metal are not suitable for installation in direct sunlight.

Pictures

Flower pot with saucer, made ​​of polypropylene

Orchid Pot, made ​​of polypropylene

Planter