Clay pots vs plastic, my balcony plants made the call for me

I switched half my pots to terracotta last spring and the clay ones dry out twice as fast in the July heat, so I had to water every day instead of every other day. The plastic ones kept moisture way better and my basil went nuts, so I've gone full plastic for anything thirsty. Anyone else find the pot material matters more than they expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabethg1820d ago

Terracotta betrayed me too. My rosemary looked like a desert casualty by Wednesday. Now it sits in a plastic nursery pot hiding inside a pretty clay one, so it looks cute but stays soggy. Solved nothing but at least my aesthetic is intact.

abby_black19d ago

Three weeks ago I did the exact same thing with my basil, put the plastic pot inside the cute ceramic one, and now I have to lift the whole thing up every time I water it just to check the bottom. It's like a plant version of wearing skinny jeans, looks good but nothing can breathe. The funny part is I've killed more plants inside pretty pots than I ever did in the ugly ones. At some point you just have to admit the plant doesn't care about your kitchen aesthetic. But hey, at least the neighbors see a cute pot and not the crispy leaves. We're basically running a plant hospice with good lighting.