So what are the best pots for succulents in your indoor garden? Let’s explore…
Succulents are excellent indoor plants for beginners. They store water in their leaves, making them extremely drought resistant and low maintenance indoor plants. Frequently travellers, or anyone who likes indoor plants but does not want the hassle of repotting, frequent watering and fertilizing will also love these hardy plants.
Succulents come in a wide range of shapes, sizes and colors allowing you to add color, movement and style to your indoor space.
Similarly, there are boundless ways to present succulents ranging from being feature plants, hanging, in pots of different sizes, draped on driftwood, grouped in a large shallow pot or as individual specimens.
Given such a wide range of options, we want to help. So what are the best pots for succulents in your home?
What is a succulent?
Succulents are plants that have thick, fleshy stems and leaves which they use to store water. They originate from desert-type environments where water is scarce.
Succulents, don’t drink from their roots all of the time and have enough water stored in their leaves to get them through a dry period.
They are beautiful plants suitable to both indoor and outdoor environments.
Generally slow growing, succulents come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, colors and textures.
Selecting the best pot for your succulent
Selecting the best pot for your succulent is essential to its ongoing health. While succulents are low maintenance indoor plants, they still require the right pot and potting mix to make sure they enjoy conditions that mimic their natural conditions.
The best pots for succulents are those that allow enough space for them to grow while ensuring proper drainage. Many succulents will remain in the same pot for an extended period of time due to their slow growth – in excess of the time other indoor plants will remain in the same pot.
However, function is not the only aspect of your pot that you should consider.
Design aesthetics or the look of your pot and how it complements, contrasts or brightens your indoor environment should also be considered.
Think about where you will eventually be positioning your indoor succulent. Would a large or a small pot suit this space? Would a tall, narrow, shallow or tiny pot suit this space? What about a group of pots? What pot color would work best? What pot texture might look best?
What are the best pots for succulents? Want to head straight to our recommendations.
How to select the best pots for succulents
So how do you choose the best pot for your succulent? Let’s have a look at some of the things you will need to consider when selecting the best pot for succulents.
Drainage
Succulents grow best in a porous, sandy potting mix. Remember, they don’t like a lot of water and don’t like to be watered frequently. They can thrive on a little neglect.
Whether your pot is tall, small, shallow or large, there is one feature you should never forget – drainage holes.
If a pot does not have drainage holes, excess water may pool at the bottom of the pot with no way to escape and put your succulent at risk of root rot.
Size
Select a pot large enough to allow a little room for your succulent to grow. A pot that is 5 – 10 percent larger than the current size of your succulent is perfect.
If the pot is too large, your succulent will spread its roots out and spend a lot of energy growing roots while neglecting the foliage.
Similarly, if the pot is too small, your succulent will be restricted leaving no room for growth and may not receive enough nutrients from the soil to support a healthy plant.
Material
Pots can be made from a range of materials – natural and synthetic – including terracotta, ceramic, plastic, metal, glass, resin and even wood.
Succulents enjoy sandy, porous potting mixes. That is, soil types that breathe and that drain very well. For this reason, the best pots for succulents are also made using materials that breathe.
Think unglazed terracotta or ceramic, even concrete. However, pots made with these materials have one drawback – they can be somewhat heavy in the larger styles.
Plastic, resin and other materials are generally lighter and can offer a wider range of designs, colors and textures. Although they do not breathe as well, with attention to your watering schedule, they are still perfect succulent pots.
Design
There are an endless range of pot shapes, colors and textures! This is where you can express your individual personality and creativity.
Think about where your indoor succulent will eventually be positioned.
What would suit this space? Do you want the color of the pot to complement, contrast or match your indoor environment? Tall, short, shallow, wide, groups of succulents in pots, a shallow pot with different varieties of succulents crowded together?
There are a few fundamental design guidelines that might help you out:
- Succulent species with upright growing styles, tend to look good in tall pots.
- Low-growing succulent species, tend to look good in short pots.
- Succulents with trailing growth, tend to look good in hanging planters or shallow pots.
If you are really stumped when it comes to the colors, heights, shapes and textures when selecting the best pots for succulents, then this YouTube video from Succulents and Sunshine might give you some ideas.
Plus you can learn a little about different types of succulents such as thrillers, fillers and spillers….
What are the best pots for succulents? Our top recommendations
The following are our 13 best pots for succulents to inspire your creative juices
Best Pots for Succulents – Terracotta
I have two favorites in this category. One is terracotta and the other is actually concrete but has the same ability to breathe as the terracotta choice.
These stylish and modern terracotta pots are excellent for succulents. The unglazed terracotta is permeable, allowing for air and water to flow through the sides of the pot. Each pot features drainage holes. These are excellent pots for beginners because the unglazed material means that it is extremely difficult to overwater your succulents.
Best Pots for Succulents – Hanging
Hanging pots are excellent choices for trailing foliage. Our favorites include a sleek modern option through to a more modern but earthy option. All are suitable for the indoor environment.
Best Pots for Succulents – Shallow Bowls
Shallow bowls make fantastic feature arrangements in any room. Generally used to display a collection of different species of succulents, our recommendations will look beautiful in your home.
If you are interested in making an indoor succulent garden as a project, check out our post.
Best Pots for Succulents – Group of Pots
From geometric to earthy, these groups of pots are a funky way to display smaller succulents. Either cluster them together, line them up on a window or scatter them around a room.
Best Pots for Succulents – Floor Standing
Do you have a tall succulent plant such as Aloe Vera or Mother in Law’s Tongue? Then a floor standing pot is just the pot to display your succulent at its best.
Final thoughts
Succulents are an excellent choice of indoor plant for beginners. There is a wide range of succulents suited to the indoor environment. This means the indoor gardener is never starved of choice when it comes to colors, textures and heights.
So what are the best pots for succulents? It depends!
Picking the best pot for succulents is another way of expressing your individual personality and creativity. Seize the opportunity to play around with shapes, colors, textures and sizes of both plants and pots. You will not be disappointed.
Once completed, you will love the indoor succulent specimens that you have created and watching your creations grow.
Make sure you check out our other indoor gardening blog posts.
Remember, life is better with indoor plants!
Credits: Main photo by Yousef Espanioly on Unsplash
