G'day all,

Like many growers, I have the bulk of my collection in pots, with only the larger specimens planted out in the garden beds. Of the plants in pots, the majority are in square plastic containers that are loaded into plastic trays for ease of movement and transportation. I like plastic pots because they are portable, cheap and easy to repot from. However, I realise a lot of members here use and prefer ceramic pots. My experience with ceramic pots has been tainted by shattered pots, excessive weight and difficulty in repotting. However, they do look nice. So, what other benefits does growing in ceramic confer?

I prefer plastics for water loving species like Cereus or Melocactus but since my growing environment can be very humid i prefer unglazed ceramics for the true desert dwellers so they stand some chance of drying out between waterings.
Plus a coupla bricks in the bottom of a big ceramic pot helps stabilize my columnars.

One of the major benefits of clay pots is they dry out considerably faster than plastic pots.

Clay pots are very useful for growing the difficult very water sensitive cacti, the ones that seem to melt if given to much dampness at any one time, and especially if they are to be grown on their own roots.

Clay pots also offer added weight, so they can be more resistant against breezes and moderate winds and offer some extra-counterweight to the top heavy cacti in collections.


dvg

I agree with both the posts above. I would add that glazed ceramic is heavy but dries like plastic, which some plants may want.