Cactus Pots And Potting ... Types Of Cactus Pots & Containers

Both the following types of pots have their own disadvantages and advantages: 

A Clay Pot... A clay pot is a porous and air and water-permeable pot. The soil will dry out faster in this pot so it will need a lot of watering more often. The nutrients are washed to the inside of the walls of the pot, so that the roots of the Cactus tend to grow towards the wall of the pot. An advantage of the clay pot is that large plants are more stable inside it.

A Plastic Pot... The plastic pots allow the soil to dry out more slowly, this means that you do not need to water your succulent as often as in the clay pots case. You have to be very careful when you water the Cacti in plastic pots. The nutrients are distributed more  evenly in the soil .This promotes a better development of the rootstock. An advantage is if you choose square plastic pots, you can accommodate far more cacti in a smaller area and you will have a more compact area of cultivation.

The new pot should be a little wider in diameter than the body of the Cactus or other Succulent, this is to allow space for water. Cactus species with turnip-like roots are far better suited in taller pots. Columnar Cacti will need a much larger pot so that they can receive sufficient stability.

The Right Type Of Soil

Cactus species grow in all sorts of different types of soil. They are very flexible in cultivation and they will become used to different kinds of soil. The soil is not really a worry for Cactus owners and lovers, the concern is caring for the Cactus correctly when you have planted the Succulent into the soil. There are 4 main types of soils in the Cactus world and they are:

  1. Humus-rich and Nutrient-rich soils.

  2. Mineral soils.

  3. Soils that are water and air-permeable.

  4. Commercial Cactus Soil.

Pumice gravel is an ideal soil for the Cactus. It keeps moist for longer than other soils and the soil is very well aerated.