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I've recently acquired a beautiful plant container that is wider than it is deep. There is no drainage hole. What sort of plants are suited for this type of container?

The pot is 8 inches in diameter and 4.5 inches deep. The plants I have available and may acquire in the future are mostly houseplants like pothos, marantas, peace lilies.

Below is a photo of the pot in question, it seems to be made of some sort of ceramic. enter image description here

jackwise
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  • What are the dimensions (height and width)? Does it have drainage holes? – Bamboo Mar 13 '19 at 22:38
  • wider than deep is not really a problem (many non round pot are so (in one dimension). The important part: how deep is the pot. This will limit the varieties. Additionally: there are holes on the bottom of such pot? Could you update the question with such two important questions? – Giacomo Catenazzi Mar 14 '19 at 06:54
  • Unfortunately after asking this question I immediately left for a trip, I will update when I can! – jackwise Mar 14 '19 at 13:09
  • a photo of the container would be good too - at the moment, we don't know whether its a shallow bowl or an oblong with the same interior depth right the way across... – Bamboo Mar 14 '19 at 15:34

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Wider than tall is my favorite type if pot for potting plants. Plant roots in the garden are 4 to 6" deep. 95 percent of all plant roots are within this shallow zone. Pots that are wider than tall also inhibit over watering. Too much soil and not enough roots to suck up the water, and no drain hole? Root rot for sure.

For more personalized answers please send a picture, tell us what plant you are potting, where this plant lives (indoors, out of doors), what soil you are using. It is critical to use JUST sterilized potting soil for all potted plants. All.

The best plants for shallower pots are succulents and cactus. These plants can not stand too much water and their roots are very shallow. Regardless, most plants will love a wider than deep pot as long as you are using potting soil. Bagged and sterilized potting MEDIUM. Never use the garden soil. Don't even try to make your own soil. Unless you are able to COOK that soil and all of the non soil amendments that potting soil contains it is worth the life of your plants in pots.

What type of plant are you imagining? Let us know what you would like to plant in that pot, send us a picture of your pot. Be sure you use potting soil/medium to re pot whatever plant you purchase. Don't try to grow from seed in a big pot. Purchase a beautiful plant from the store and make sure you ask what and when it was last fertilized and what light source the plant acclimated to. Indoors under artificial lighting or out of door in the sun already acclimated?

All plants have different needs. Some love to always have a bit of moisture, most hate wet roots. All have to have a tiny bit of balanced fertilizer.

stormy
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  • Not all cacti have small roots, and paradoxically some of the smallest species have 10 times (or more) as much growth below ground as above. A couple of pictures here: http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/mauseth/researchoncacti/Root%20succulence.htm. – alephzero Mar 14 '19 at 13:45
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Epiphyllum oxypetalum should work ; I have put stems and leaves in aquariums ( sticking out the top) and it thrives. But it gets big and has irregular shapes. It is sort of a swamp cactus. I got one from a friend but I have not seen it in the trade. Your major problem of no drain hole will not bother it. Another option is to drill a drain hole with a glass or masonry drill bit ( but not a percussion drill - too much risk of breaking the pot). I drill side holes in my orchid pots using 3 progressive sizes of bits ( such as 3/16 ,3/8, and 1/2 ")

blacksmith37
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