How to choose the best plant pots for your cactus & succulent collection

Selecting the best, most appropriate type of plant pots for your cactus and succulent plants is very important! Cacti and other succulents can be grown in a wide variety of different pots and vessels, including plastic pots, clay terracotta pots, glazed ceramic pots, hanging baskets & pots, trays and plant beds. This video describes these different types of plant pots, growing vessels and growing styles, and highlights the pro's and con's for each type.
0:00 Video objectives & introduction
0:53 What are the plant pot options?
1:28 The only real "no go!"
2:21 Plastic pots
6:23 Clay terracotta pots
8:01 When you have both plastic & terracotta pots
8:59 Glazed ceramic pots
10:40 Hanging baskets & pots
12:38 Pots for larger & taller plants
13:34 The perfect pot?
14:01 Planting in trays & beds
15:57 Ideal pot size for a cactus: how large & deep?
18:27 Placing pots in drainage trays & saucers
19:33 Re-using pots
20:35 Recap and summary
Hopefully you find this video useful and interesting!
Happy growing!
Joe
#cactusjoe #cacti #cactusbloom #cactus #succulents #succulent #greenhouse #collection #kakteen #sukkulenten #happygrowing #cactuscare #succulentcare #succulentes #succulentsforbeginners #cactaceae #succulentpot #succulentpots #succulentpotsceramic #succulentsofinstagram #succulents_only #succulentslover #succulentpotscheap

[@stevevaughn2040]

You are my favorite cactus guru. Thank you

[@cactusjoe]

Hey Steve, thanks so much, that's very kind of you to say that, I'm truly very happy if you are enjoying and finding my videos useful!! A very warm welcome to my channel and thanks for watching and commenting!! Have a wonderful day and a great week ahead!!👍😊🌵🌵🌺🌼💚😎

[@evergreen8965]

Terracotta here. I think better for the environment, and definitely more attractive. I feel keeping pots in a collection uniform in texture and color does not detract from the plants.

[@cactusjoe]

Thanks for watching and commenting, appreciated! Have a great day!

[@kerriefearby9542]

Totally with you

[@dkstott29]

I use a combination of Terra Cotta and glazed bonsai style pots. Always very gritty mix. 👍🌱🌴

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Dave! Thanks so much for watching and commenting, and great to hear about the type of pots you use! I too like using bonsai style pots, makes the plants also look great and cacti like these shallow vessels anyway! I grow the majority of my cacti in terracotta pots too - just the very large plants, I grow them in a super well-draining substrate in plastic pots, simply for weight reasons, haha! Enjoy your Sunday, best wishes and happy growing!

[@evergreen8965]

Putting a plastic yogurt lid, or the like, with many holes poked into it in a deep pot to shorten the growing space works beautifully! No substrate under the area where the lid is placed in the pot.

[@cactusjoe]

Indeed, however a variety of pests also love that cosy cave space too, haha . Simply using half pots will do the trick too! Thanks for commenting.

[@marleneprescod8494]

Thanks Joe very informative I usually do both types of pots but here in my area I find some plants don't always do well in terracotta

[@cactusjoe]

Thanks Marlene, very glad that you found the video informative and also thanks for watching and and commenting, appreciated! Yeah, that is interesting to read from you, that some plants struggle in terracota pots in your growing conditions! That is so true, which is why I never rule out any type of pot to start off with. It is really important that everyone tries out what works best for them in their climates, locations, conditions and selection of plants! Horses for course, as the saying goes - definitely also true when it comes to selection of "best" pots. Most important is that we understand the "specs", and pro's and con's of each type of pot - to then chose the most suitable ones. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences! Wishing you a great day and happy growing of course!

[@grainnemcgee2432]

Brilliant video Joe, all we need to know about cacti and pots!

[@cactusjoe]

Thanks very much, Grainne, really super that you found the video useful! Many thanks for watching and for your awesome feedback, much appreciated! Best wishes and happy growing of course!! 🙌🙏👍😊🌵🪴🌿🌵🌼🌺💚😎☀️

[@Cactimania]

Excellent video, Joe. I was planning on a similar video but you beat me to it haha. You covered pretty much everything when it comes to the homes we choose to plant our cacti and succulents in. I mainly use square plastic pots, as you say they’re easily available, affordable and the square ones are good space savers. I do love the ceramic fancy pots though, like the crackle pots I got a while ago. If you’ve got a special plant it definitely deserves to go into a special pot. Thank you for sharing with us my friend. Have a wonderful evening from Edith & myself and happy growing 👍🏻🌵☀️🌺🌼🌸🏜

[@cactusjoe]

Thanks so much, Daz, for your awesome feedback, super happy that you liked the video! So sorry, hope I've not caused any inconveniences or wasted video work on your end - the topic is so broad though that I think you should easily still be able to post one on the same topic too! I agree with you that some of the fancy ceramic pots are really cool and wonderful for staging a special plant! I do the same! Indeed, I really loved the crackle pots that you posted a few months ago in that wonderful video of yours my friend! Wishing Edith and yourself a wonderful weekend ahead, take care and of course happy growing!!👍☺🌵🌱🌵🌺💚😎

[@michellechapman8738]

I love terra cotta pots. I recently saw a french terra cotta pot and its EXSPENSIVE!!!! $35for an 9in pot....geeesh!!!😮😮😮

[@cactusjoe]

Wow, Michelle, that price is indeed waaaayyy too high! I tend to get some pretty good prices buying terracota pots on Amazon, but also on eBay. Best wishes for some good value for money purchases!! And happy growing of course!! 🙏😊👍🌵🪴🌿🌵🌺🌼💚😎☀️

[@Tony.795]

The expensive Italian and French ones are usually from smaller manufacturers that do traditional pottery, hence the price. Those are more for use in the garden to create a mediterranean flair. The run of the mill mass produced pots that are also found in garden centers are usually very inexpensive and only cost slightly more than plastic pots.

[@alexandralacerda492]

Great video

[@cactusjoe]

Many thanks Alexandra, really happy that you enjoyed the video! Thank you for watching!

[@CactusCaffeine]

Very comprehensive video Joe. I am team terra-cotta pots, ha ha. 😊 But that is because, as you have said, of my climate here - super hot and dry! The roots get baked inside the plastic pots during our summer here in the desert. I like this video. I hope you can also give us a complete greenhouse tour. 👍🏼

[@cactusjoe]

Awesome feedback, Ana, thanks so much, really appreciated! And I am very happy that you liked the video, thanks so much for watching and commenting! Yes exactly, that is a real issue with plastic pots, already in my European summers, ...but for sure in your climate, I can't begin to imagine how sizzling hot the pots will get inside, during your Nevada summers, phew!!🥵 Although I use plastic pots also, I must say that I much prefer the terracotta ones too - so leaning towards team terracotta also, haha! I just wish they came in square shapes too, as that could help with optimising on space! But I assume they would be even more expensive then! I remember in the 1970's and 80's when the plastic pots started to come up and they became the big thing to have - everyone started dumping their terracotta pots - I should have picked up and kept a large batch back then, they were going pretty much for free then! Now they in turn are 'in' again haha, funny how we go through these loops! Have a great weekend ahead, take care and best wishes!👍☺🌵🌱🌵🌺💚😎

[@cactusjoe]

Thanks for asking, Ana, indeed I will put a tour of my little greenhouse together once i have finally managed to pack up everything for the upcoming Winter freezes, haha! 🙏😊👍

[@CactusCaffeine]

@@cactusjoe I saw a craft store here selling square terracotta pots but the price is way too high. Even more expensive than the cactus that I will plant in it. 😁 Looking forward to your greenhouse tour!

[@markday5797]

Good morning Joe, always enjoy your videos. Very interesting greenhouse and all of those cacti beautiful. I'm going to do a soil change on my compos, cacti in the next few days and hope not to get any barbs attacking my hands, LOL.

[@cactusjoe]

Good morning to you, Mark! Thanks so much, really appreciate your wonderful comments and feedback and so happy that you are enjoying my videos! Also, glad you like the cactus greenhouse! Wishing you a succesful repotting exercise and hopefully indeed without any nasty spines, barbs or thorns exchanging ownerships, haha! Take care, thanks again and happy potting!🙌👍🙏😊🌵🪴🌵🌸🌺🌼💚😎🌞

[@stevekenilworth]

i tend to always use clay pots, seems to help dry soil faster, the thing what changes is the soil mix depending what im planting. funny thing is i cannot get those small plastic pots anywhere, but have found another option, mini clay pots, not bad value too. they come in many sizes for all stages of growth, smallest clay pots about 3 and bit cm wide and about 3 cm deep, great for seedling, new very young cacti , less than a £ each. have some other plastic pots for the ones i be selling from the seeds but they are plastic bag type pots very flimsy but good for final growth before good to sell / keep but most the keeps will go straight in to clay pot from tray seedlings

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Steven, thanks for watching and commenting! Really interesting to hear which pots you are mainly using. If you are looking for a huge selection of small to very large pastic pots, you might want to check out www.uhlig-kakteen.de (there is an English version to choose in the menu, tons of plants, seeds, pots, etc, etc.). Thanks again and have a wonderful day.

[@stevekenilworth]

@@cactusjoe hi joe, had a look at the pots, they are for sure great value so might use then at a later date. the pots are just not small enough thats all. between 2.5cm-3cm for first own pot before i move them up to 4-5cm pot depending on fast they grow. 5cm i feel just a bit to big to move from tray to own pot, but i will need bigger pots later on so i sure keep that company in mind as great value. thank you :)

[@phenixwars1]

This is a very thorough video 👍🏼👍🏼 I like how you weren't biased towards any type of container in particular. You just stated the facts. Do you have a video on how to make your own cactus soil mix? I couldn't find one on your channel.

[@cactusjoe]

Hi there! Thanks so much for watching and for your brilliant feedback, so happy you liked the video and, indeed, I tried to stay as unbiased and factual as possible, haha! Because it is all about trying out and finding out which type of pots go best with everyone's situation and plants...there is definitely no 'right' or 'wrong' here! Regarding your question about the soil mix that I use for my cacti: I don't have a single and dedicated video on this topic, however I do describe my soil mix in the video called "WHY & HOW I POT/RE-POT IN THE WINTER" ...with the "recipe" at around 16:20 Hopefully this helps? Very best regards, hope you are having a wonderful weekend, and wishing a great week ahead, happy growing!!

[@phenixwars1]

@@cactusjoe This is very helpful! Thank you! I would suggest a dedicated video for it though cause I'm sure you'll get tons of views for it since it's the first thing we try to learn when growing cactus and succulents. But of course, totally up to you. I'll watch this video in the meantime. Thanks for replying! I've subscribed too 👍🏼👍🏼

[@cactusjoe]

@@phenixwars1 thanks so much, greatly appreciated! A very warm welcome to my channel and videos! And that's a great suggestion, I will indeed put something together along those lines. Thanks again and enjoy your Sunday and the week ahead!

[@nangp5884]

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge about cactus and succulents growing in pots!! ❤

[@cactusjoe]

You are most welcome, Nang! I am very happy that you found the video useful, thank you very much for watching and commenting! Kind regards from Germany!

[@billgolightly7203]

Looking at this video again to refresh my memory. This may be your best one.

[@cactusjoe]

Hey Bill!! Haha, thanks a million my friend, appreciate it!! 🙏🙏👍😁🌵🌵🌺🌻

[@serpico2206]

Great subject and video. Thank you Joe.

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Mert, most welcome, thanks for your feedback, glad you liked the video and hope it was useful in answering some of the questions around pots for cacti. Thanks also for the very useful side conversations around this topic!! Hope you are having a wonderful day, cactus greetings to Istanbul and best wishes for a great weekend ahead, happy growing!!👍☺🌵🌱🌵🌺💚😎

[@serpico2206]

@@cactusjoe I most certainly enjoyed it. Have a great weekend.

[@vladaverkov7670]

As always, very informative video! Thank you very much!

[@cactusjoe]

Many thanks Vlad, for watching and for your feedback, much appreciated! Happy growing!! 👍😊🌵🌵🌺🌼

[@Gilberto_K]

Very important video, Joe. Choosing the adequate pot is a crucial decision. Although it's not so stetic, I used styrofoam cups with my Gymnocalycium variegated and they are growing well. I have watched videos from Thailand and they also use very tall pots, but one third of the pot is filled with drainage material, so that umidity that might remain at the bottom probably would be below the substrate. I'm thinking about testing this idea. Thanks for your dedication.

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Gilberto, many thanks for your really awesome feedback, very much appreciated!! Also many thanks for the info about the styrofoam cups as cactus pots, and indeed great idea to fill them half with grit or other drainage material, I believe that will work!! I do the same in my deep plastic pots! Have a great day and best wishes!!😊🌵🌵👍🌺🌼😎

[@jasreallySUCCS]

This video succs so much!! Full of good info. I like terracotta 💚💚💚

[@cactusjoe]

Thanks for watching and for your feedback, very happy you found the info useful !! Yep, there is a lot going on in favor of terracotta!!👍😊🌵🌵💚😎

[@nangp5884]

Just subscribed ❤

[@cactusjoe]

Many thanks, Nang, welcome to my channel, great to have you join the community! Lot's of cactus & succulent greetings to you and have a terrific Thursday ahead!

[@CienciayDeporte]

A great video. Especially for those of us who are starting to collect cacti and other succulents. I greatly appreciate your videos and I hope you keep uploading more. Greetings from Spain.

[@cactusjoe]

Hey there! Many thanks for your awesome feedback, really happy to read that you enjoyed the video and also found it useful! Wonderful to have your support, thanks so much and I will do my best to keep making useful and enjoyable videos. Please let me know if there are specific topics that you would find useful! Very best wishes and warm cactus greetings to you in Spain! Happy growing!

[@newmanmansell760]

Great video about pots Joe! This is a very helpful and comprehensive video🤲🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟I enjoyed watching

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Newman, I'm very happy that you enjoyed the video and also found it very helpful and comprehensive! Thanks so much for watching and also as always for your awesome feedback! What type of pots work best for you in the relatively humid climate you are growing in? Have a great weekend and cactus greetings to Japan! 👍☺🌵🌱🌵🌺💚😎

[@DavidRodriguez-jt1ns]

This was a good topic as I constantly look for pots and containers to use as pots, I'm leaning more towards using terracotta and shallow pots because here in Florida it's humid and rains A LOT. This was a very good video on the subject, now, what are your thoughts on making your own cement pots? I'd love to hear your thoughts, Happy growing my friend!

[@cactusjoe]

Hey David, cool, thanks a lot for your awesome feedback! I am intrigued by your question and idea, haha, WOW cement pots, I have not heard or thought of that myself yet! But i think that is a really interesting and very good idea, definitely worth trying out! Although I do use pretty much all the available 'standard materials', my personal favourites are terracotta, HOWEVER I have always wished that they were available as square pots too (to optimize on space)...so perhaps cement pots are the solution?! I don't know enough about cement types, but one would definitely have to use a non-toxic type, and one that is also quite strong without having to make the walls too thick, haha! I am guessing that cement might be slightly heavier than glazed ceramic? I do definitely think this is a brilliant and very interesting idea of yours, please let me know how you are progressing with it should you try!! Have a great day and a wonderful weekend ahead, and happy growing to you too my friend!! 👍☺🌵🌱🌵🌺💚😎

[@irismoles9369]

Very informative my first time finding you will subscribe

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Iris, thank you so much! Really happy that you found the video useful and informative! A warm welcome to the channel, thanks so much for subscribing and i hope you enjoy all the content! Have a great day!☺️👍🙏🌵🌵🌿🪴🪴🌺🌼🌸💚😎☀️🙋‍♂️

[@billgolightly7203]

Excellent video, Joe. Being fairly new, it would have been most helpful to have this source of information in one place instead of roaming on the net seeing what and why is available. A question. If potting very young or small plants in terracotta (thanks Ana). even the smallest pot is too deep. Is there an advantage to adding a layer on inorganic material in the bottom to help with controlling the moisture? I am about 60 to 75% inorganic mix.

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Bill, glad you enjoyed the video, many thanks as always for your awesome feedback and brilliant question! If the plants are still very small (say 1 cm in diameter) they might be better off still growing in shallow trays, so as a group rather than individually potted, I use styrofoam trays. Once a bit larger than that, but still small (say 2 cm or so) I personally find that these smaller cacti do better in shallow plastic pots than in terracotta. So I only plant in terracotta once plants are large and robust enough to withstand a bit of a dry spell. Having said that, I think what you are suggesting might achieve the same outcome, so to avoid deeper parts of the pot becoming water-logged, so it sounds like a great idea worth trying, Bill! Have a wonderful weekend ahead, take care and best wishes!👍☺🌵🌱🌵🌺💚😎

[@dholliegarciavlogs]

Thank you for sharing this informative video, God bless your channel, watching from Philippines

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Dhollie, I am really very happy that you have enjoyed the video and found it informative, thanks so much for watching and for your wonderful feedback and wishes, thank you so much and may God bless your channel too!! Best wishes and greetings from my little greenhouse in Germany to you in the Philippines!!

[@cherieholmquist7259]

hi, Joe!! I realize you made this video several months ago, but as a newbie to the plant collection community, I found this video on pots very helpful! Since dome cacti and succulents like to be cozy in their home pots, I sometimes place the pot with plant inside a larger decorative pot. If the cover pot has no holes, I remove plant in it's original pot to water it, let it drain well and place back in cover pot. If the cover pot is deeper I sometimes put gravel in the bottom and place the potted plant on top of the gravel. What is your opinion of these practices? I've had regular houseplants for years off and on, and just recently added to my collection with lots of small cacti and succulents!! Thanks for any advice! P.s., I live in south central Colorado.

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Cherie! Thanks so much for watching and commenting, and a warm welcome! The way you use the decorative pots to put the cactus + pot itself inside is perfect! That is a very nice way of using those decorative pots without holes! It is a great point you make and I will mention it in one of the future videos on cactus pots and potting! Hope you are having a wonderful day, sending you lot's of cactus greetings from Bavaria, Germany to Colorado, USA! 🙏👍😊🌵🌺🏵🌼💚😎

[@justinmorrison321]

Great informative tutorial! I have enough pots to build a fort. I seem to collect more pots than actual cacti. Your collection is looking fantastic as always.

[@cactusjoe]

Hey Justin, many thanks indeed for your awesome feedback, as always very much appreciated!! Super happy that you found the video useful and informative!! Haha, I know the feeling, have a little fort of pots myself, lol, like a hamster I can never throw them away, ...after all you never know when you might need them all, right?, haha!! Have a great day and a wonderful weekend ahead!!👍☺🌵🌱🌵🌺💚😎

[@libbytorres4028]

this is my first time watching

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Libby, welcome to my channel! Thanks for watching and I hope you found the video useful! Very best wishes and happy growing!! 🙏👍🙌😊🪴🌵🌼🌺💚😎☀️

[@ZiggySearchfieldCactus]

Very useful Joe. I had some trouble during the heatwave with plastic pots, seems the roots on the Rebutias and Peanut cacti didn't like heat. Ones in ceramic pots did much better. Love the video 😎😎🌵🌵🙂🙂

[@cactusjoe]

Hello Ziggy, thanks so much for your wonderful feedback, as always hugely appreciated, and very happy indeed that you liked the video - yep, I had very similar experiences to yours, quite a few of my more "sensitive" plants, Rebutias indeed, also some Mamillarias and several of my other succulents also did not do well in plastic pots last summer. From your own, many wonderful videos I know that you are also very succesfully growing quite a few of your plants in beds rather than in pots, and they are all looking great!! So I assume these plants also all did quite well during the heat waves last summer? Wishing you a wonderful and relaxing weekend ahead, take care, best wishes!👍☺🌵🌱🌵🌺💚😎

[@ZiggySearchfieldCactus]

@@cactusjoe The plants in the beds did much better apart from a tiny Turbinicarpus which cooked 😮You too, cheers 😊😊🌵🌵 Cancel Reply

[@desertplantsofavalon]

AWESOME and very informative video on choosing the best plant pots Joe :-D and this is such a FANTASTIC topic of video, we agree its so important to have pots that have drainage holes, we see a lot of cacti especially cactus bowl arrangements for sale in the garden stores that are planted up in glazed ceramic pots and bowls with no drainage holes, and these poor plants won't last long and most likely will rot in pots without any holes for the excess water to escape, you have all your plants beautifully potted, where did you get your small plastic hanging basket pots from ? we have been searching everywhere haha and can't find any small plastic hanging basket pots even on Amazon, thanks so much for this wonderful and informative video Joe, and Hans and I are sending you lots of love and happiness and PLANT POWER to Bavaria for a fantastic evening XXXX

[@cactusjoe]

Dear Lyn and Hans, as always thank you so much for your awesome feedback, I am always super happy to hear from yourselves when you both have enjoyed a video, means a lot to me! The small plastic hanging pots are sold by a number of online nurseries and gardening centers here, I have mine from Kakteen-Uhlig in Germany, he has a pretty impressive selection of pots including these types of smaller hanging pots ...I do not get any commissions from him, haha, but I do recommend his store! Yep I also agree that it is a crying shame how many cacti are sold in totally useless vessels and containers, all just purely for a fast buck and sadly these plants are indeed all on death row, from day one... Anyways, at least we all have our plants in the appropriate containers, haha, and I do hope they all appreciate that!!😂 Wishing you and Hans a wonderful evening too, and weekend ahead!! PLANT POWER from here back to Ireland too!!👍☺🌵🌱🌵🌺💚😎

[@desertplantsofavalon]

@@cactusjoe Thats brilliant Joe :-D thanks so much for letting us know where you got the small plastic hanging baskets, we have ordered from Kakteen Uhlig before and got amazing plants from them, Wishing you an amazing plant powered Sunday today XXXX

[@cactusjoe]

@@desertplantsofavalon hi Lyn, no problem, you are most welcome of course! Should you be ordering at Kakteen Uhlig, please feel free to let the owner, Matthias Uhlig, know that I recommended buying the hanging pots from him, haha! Btw, coincidently, I will soon be posting an unboxing video for an order I recently got from Uhlig Kakteen!! Best wishes to you and Hans, have a great Monday evening and week ahead!!👍😊🌵🌵🌺🌼😎

[@desertplantsofavalon]

@@cactusjoe haha Joe :-D we will do, and YIPPEEEEE, we are so looking forward to watching your unboxing video and seeing what new plants you have bought haha, sending you lots of love and PLANT POWER from Hans and me from across the Irish sea XXXX

[@pattivermeersch7348]

Great informative video…thanks…I am an underwaterer and tend to use mainly plastic but use terra cotta and fancy ceramic too….never too hot here in Ontario Canada 😁

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Patti, many thanks for your awesome feedback, glad you found the video informative!! I am like you, I use a combination of pot types and materials too, horses for course as they say!! Have a wonderful Sunday, very best wishes & cactus greetings to Ontario, Canada!!

[@cheryllemons3134]

Hello Joe! I enjoyed this video...I use a combination of pots for my cacti. All of the ones I bought recently are in plastic pots. Some of the older plants I have are in decorative containers that I had to use a diamond drill bit to add drainage holes. That really wasn't fun!! I jumped at 10:17 on the video...I thought you had a snake in your collection!!! Hope you have a great weekend!!

[@cactusjoe]

Hello Cheryl! Very cool, many thanks as always for your really awesome feedback!! Haha, I had to laugh when I read your comment about the snake in my greenhouse ...nope no snakes, just some bats, lol!! Yep, like you I have a mix of pot materials, although I am personally a bigger fan of terracotta than plastic! I had the same experience, drilling holes into some of these decorative containers is just no fun and I have also had a few breaking, so I now ONLY go for containers that already have holes in them!! You have a great weekend ahead too, Cheryl, take care and happy growing!! 👍☺🌵🌱🌵🌺💚😎

[@supercat438]

A very in-depth and useful video. Thank you Joe!

[@cactusjoe]

Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback @Vera Vera really happy you found it useful! Best wishes and have a great day!!

[@FreshLemon]

Thanks, man!

[@cactusjoe]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching and commenting, glad you found it useful!!

[@morrisparkintheozarks6831]

I use all different types. Least of all, plastic. About 30 years ago, there was a product called clay cotta. These were excellent plastic pots!! Looked like terracotta. Heavy duty. Still use some of them!! As far as terracotta goes, I Iike the Italian made terracotta the best!! Like the first one you picked up. Like some of the ones from Germany also. The American made pots are just the same ol same ol. They work great, but look very common. My favorite are stoneware with earthy glazes. The one you showed without the hole is a nice one!!! And that's where I come to ... alot of nice pots out there, or say potential nice pots if you have a Dremel tool!!! I just take a silicon carbide grinding disc and grind a hole or holes right through!! I found a lot of really beautiful pots this way!!! Even make them out of dinner ware bowls with nice earthy glazes. Also the advantages of these are glazed on the inside. When it comes to repotting, the plant doesn't get stuck!!! Slides right out!!! Same with plastic. Plants come out easily. Just don't look as nice. Great video Joe!!! Thanks for sharing!!! From Morris Park in the Ozarks, out to Bavaria, Germany 🇩🇪 have a great day!!!peace, Love, Plants!!!✌️💖🌵🌳🥀🌿🏵🌱🌹🌲🌸🌴🌷🪴🌻🌾🌼😃👍

[@cactusjoe]

Hey Clyde, thank you for the wonderful feedback and super happy that you enjoyed the video! That is so interesting reading about your own experiences with various pot materials! I was not aware of the clay cotta product, clearly and unfortunately it never made it across the pond...or at least to my little collection then, haha. They do sound like a very good and useful material too! Yep, when it comes to the terracotta ones, my favorites are the Italian ones too, especially as half pots!! I will try using my Dremel with a small silicon carbide grinding disc to cut some holes in ceramic vessels without holes (there are indeed a lot of these available, very nice and rel inexpensive...), that is a great idea, thanks for sharing! The advantage of inside glazing also sounds great! Thanks for watching and as always for your super useful feedback and comments, Clyde! Sending you very best weekend cactus greetings from Bavaria to Morris Park in the Ozarks - Peace, Love, Plants and happy growing of course!! 👍☺🌵🌱🌵🌺💚😎

[@morrisparkintheozarks6831]

@@cactusjoe The key to grinding a hole in these pots is when you start , constantly turn the pot as grind the hole. This will make a nice round even hole once through the bottom, I take another barrel shaped silicon carbide grinding bit to work the circumference of the hole to widen it to the size I want. Most I make about 1 inch, to 1 1/2 for great drainage. There is a store called Hobby Lobby here in the states that has a great selection of these " no holes pots " so I have transformed quite a few! Also like I said, some nice dinner ware bowls that made excellent pots!!! Also never press too hard while grinding so it won't over heat and damage the pot or the grinding bits. Great pots ahead!!! From Morris Park in the Ozarks, out to Bavaria, Germany 🇩🇪, have a wonderful weekend ahead!!! Peace, Love, Plants!!!✌️💖🌵🌳🥀🌿🏵🌱🌹🌲🌸🌴🌷🪴🌻🌾🌼😃👍

[@daniellejansen8472]

Thank you - this answered so many questions for me. I just got a dragon bone succulent cutting and it doesn't have a lot of roots, is it okay to plant the stem further down in the dirt or does that increase the risk of rot? When I tried to plant just the root ball it kept falling over.

[@cactusjoe]

Hi, and thanks Danielle, excellent to read that you found the video very useful! Regarding your question: no I would not plant the stem deeper, that indeed increases the risk of rot! I would plant so that only the roots, and only very little of the stem are within the substrate. And then take a small stick, or two, place close to the plant's stem and push to the bottom of the pot. Then tie loosly the stem to stick for stabilization. Alternatively, you could also place a little rock or two to stabilize and hold the stem of the plant. It will only really start growing new roots in the Spring time, so in the mean time do not overwater! Hope this helps, good luck!

[@daniellejansen8472]

@@cactusjoe thank you so much!!! That’s very helpful

[@andersnrregren9087]

i love to water my plants so i only use teracota so i dont drown them

[@cactusjoe]

Hej Anders, yep makes sense, that is a good reason indeed to stick with terracotta! I do use pretty much all the available materials but my favourites are terracotta too! I wish though, that they were available as square pots too, in order to maximise on space, haha! Thanks for watching and for all your engagement and feedback, appreciated!

[@andersnrregren9087]

@@cactusjoe oh i see your square space point but i kinda like the air circulation the round pots gives and harder for bugs to find good hiding spots

[@cactusjoe]

@@andersnrregren9087 great point, Anders! Let's stick with the round ones!!👍🌵🌵😎

[@michellechapman8738]

Ok..i need your help. I have 2 different types of blue cacti. They're in 5in pots now, but in the spring season i want to combine them together. So should i go with a longer tray type or a 8in round pot? Once i plant them i don't want to worry about repotting for another few years. What do you suggest??

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Michelle, thanks for watching and thanks for your great question! Personally, I would go with the 8 inch round pot solution, and indeed I think that is a wonderful idea - and should also look really good - to be combining the two types of your blue cacti!! Best wishes and take care, Happy New Year!!

[@michellechapman8738]

Well.. I had to cut my cacti because ot was rotting. So i just hope it roots well and continue to grow...

[@cactusjoe]

@@michellechapman8738 yep, these types of cacti are very sensitive to overwatering. Also it is very important that after cutting, they remain completely dry until the cut/wound has healed, so for at least 2-3 weeks, before placing them on any substrate or cactus soil for rooting. If you have rooting powder and can add it to the fresh cut, even better. Good luck!

[@michellechapman6839]

Ok .I had a question about my Blu Torch Pilocereus...it's still a baby ( 6 inches) but it's been in the same 4 in pot for almost a year... I want to go larger.... It's not growing much. Not rotting... And it's Nov now.. so what do you suggest ? Wait til March/ April to repot? Is it dormant now?? Help me with this!!

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Michelle, if you are keeping it in a relatively cooler location at the moment, then very likely it is going into/has gone into dormancy already. I would always recommed repotting in the second half of winter or even better very early spring (depending on where you live/your climate), and not now at the beginning of dormancy. So I would wait until then - the soil will be completely dry and many shallow roots will have "dried up" by then (that is perfectly normal, not a problem) - and only then repot. After repotting, do not water for at least 7-10 days, keeping still in rel cooler location (and out of full sun) and then as you slowly bring the plant out of dormancy, gradually start watering. Hope this helps. Best wishes and happy growing! 👍☺🌵🌱🌵🌺💚😎

[@michellechapman6839]

@@cactusjoe ok..great advice. It's indoors..in my south window.. so I gave it some water last week... No more til March? It's warmer inside...like 65-70d.. so should I move it out the window? Well.. I'll move it to the table away from the drafts but still where it will get a little sunlight during winter. I'll keep you informed.. thanks for your help.

[@cairoshuffler5916]

Hi Joe, the point that cacti like tight/constrained volumes or pots is by no means understandable to me. I know that everybody says this, but what is the scientific reasoning/explanation? (Anyways, what does "like" mean - do they grow faster, blossom more often...?) Frankly, I would say that this is kind of a botanists myth 🙂 Eagerly waiting for an explanation that convinces me. Like your videos. Take care.

[@cactusjoe]

Hi! In cultivation it's mainly about the volume/amount of substrate in a pot that a cactus is growing in....i.e. the more (and deeper) the volume, the longer it takes to dry after watering ...and thus the higher the risk of water-logging and root rot, especially with more sensitive species. Simple as that. But, haha, if you think this is a myth, then no one stopping you from experimenting on this topic a bit yourself😉. The better water-draining your substrate is, the easier it is to also grow cacti in larger pots. Hope this helps? Happy growing!!👍😊🌵🌵🌺

[@cairoshuffler5916]

@@cactusjoe Thanks. This sounds like a good hypothesis. I will try to set up an experiment to proove or falsify this, should not be difficult. 5 Trichos in large pots, 5 in small ones🙃

[@cactusjoe]

@@cairoshuffler5916 sounds good, try some other cacti too, especially smaller globular ones like Mamms, Parodias, or so. Most Trichos usually won't mind a larger pot as they have a very extensive root network. Happy experimenting!👍😊🌵🌵😉

[@cairoshuffler5916]

@@cactusjoe They definitely need to be fast-growers. Will small parodias fit here?

[@cactusjoe]

@@cairoshuffler5916 yes, I think so👍😊🌵

[@heatherstephens9295]

Do you bottom water all of your collection?

[@cactusjoe]

Hi Heather, no actually I top water the vast majority...and, coincidentally, I will have a video on how and when I water my plants coming out very soon! Best wishes and happy growing!

[@heatherstephens9295]

@@cactusjoe thank you 👍

[@nielsduerden9849]

Hi 👌x

[@cactusjoe]

Many thanks Niels, for watching and for your feedback, glad you liked it! 👍☺🌵🌱🌵

[@nielsduerden9849]

@@cactusjoe hi 🤜🤛