The Expensive Mistake You Can't Afford To Make With Your Houseplants

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One of the main reasons we grow plants inside is to add beauty to our homes. Planting them inside an exquisite pot, like the Sungmor ceramic hand painted pot, triples the effect! Before you reach for the potting soil, take a moment to consider the pot you're about to fill. While there are pros and cons to ceramic and terracotta plant pots, the shape of the pot is a detail that's often overlooked. If the neck is narrower than the pot itself, moving a plant into it may not be the best idea.

Using a bottle-necked pot can be problematic for your plant because accurate watering is so tricky. With this shape, you have no way of checking whether you've watered enough or too much. Also, these pots usually come with only one hole, which isn't for good drainage. A waterlogged root system can lead to root rot, which can damage or kill your plant.

It's also not good for the plant pot that you invested in. Plants grow, and as they do, so do their root systems. Repotting a root-bound plant from a regular-shaped pot is a simple matter of sliding the plant out, loosening the roots, and repotting it into a bigger pot. To get your plant out of a bottle-necked plant pot, you either have to damage the roots to get it out or break the pot. Neither of which is ideal.

One of the simplest ways to avoid the problems that come with planting directly into a ceramic pot is to use a regular nursery pot, then nest it in the neck of the ceramic container. If you struggle to find the right size, fill the bottom of the ceramic container with pebbles to the point that the nursery pot sits just below flush with the rim of the ceramic container. Then fill in the remaining gap with pretty pebbles, such as the NUPICK Natural River Stones, to disguise the nursery pot.

If you'd prefer to plant straight into the ceramic pot, make sure you choose the right shape to help your plant thrive. Pick a ceramic container with an opening that is the same size, or larger than, the rest of the pot. This will allow your plant to slide out with its roots intact when the time comes for repotting. Also check for multiple drainage holes, or drill more if the planter only has one.

Another option for attractive planters is to make designer-inspired plant pots with a budget-friendly DIY. You can even turn common household items into beautiful planters. Lastly, keep in mind that not every pot has to have a plant in it! Those with narrow openings will look gorgeous as they are, dotted in between other pots.