Meaning of Nursery Pots
Many horticultural crops require a good medium of planting and management for optimum germination, easy transplanting, fast growth rate, and reaching market size within a short time. If these crops are planted on the seedbed, transplanting, and survival of plants in permanent fields will be very difficult.
Therefore for ease of management, transplanting, indoor and outdoor uses, prevent root entanglement, and help organize farms efficiently, nursery mediums such as nursery pots become necessary options. Nursery pots refer to pots made from clay, ceramics, plastic, and glass for the growing of both indoor and outdoor crops.
This farm tool is used in pre-nursery and nursery, but mostly in nursery because sprouted seeds are placed in the pots individually for ease of management and transplanting. Nurse-able crops are a nurse in these pots until they are matured enough to be transplanted to the permanent field.
Propagation pots are suitable for the nursing of tree crops such as oil palm, cocoa, mangoes, rubber tree, cashew, citrus, and other ornamental plants like silver palm, neem plant, Silver Nerve Plant, Hibiscus Pride of Barbados, Ixora, Alamanda, Snake Plant, string of pearls, and more.
The shape of the nursery containers is similar to that of the bucket and bow. The upper part of the nursery pots could be circular, and rectangular while the base is smaller than the upper with a conical, silicone, or square shape. The base is designed in such a way that it does not accumulate water (i.e. can water drain out of the pots).
The plant pots come in different sizes such as 2 inches, 2.5inches, 3.5 inches, 4 inches, 5 inches, 5.5iches, 6.0 inches, 7inches, and 1 gallon, tall tree pots, as well as colors such as transparent, white, black, red, purple, green, gray, brown, and more. These of varieties colors make the best option for indoor and outdoor uses.
Nursery Pots Sizes
There are different types of nursery containers, and they exist in various sizes and colors such as 2 inches, 2.5 inches, 3.5 inches, 4 inches, 5 inches, 5.5 inches, 6.0 inches, 7 inches, 1-gallon, and tall tree pots. Some notable sizes of the nursery pots are;
- 2-inch Nursery Pots: these containers could be transparent or opaque, plastic or clay small plant pots for nursing fruit crops, plantation, hydroponic uses, and other ornamental plants. They are very durable and it is reusable.
- 2.5-inches Nursery Pots: these pots are designed for growing succulent plant seedlings in the nursery and can also be used indoors.
- 3 inches Pots: these could be net pots, or normal pots used in hydroponic, fruit production, and other horticultural crops.
- 3.5-inches Nursery Pots: these could be plastic, ceramic, and peat pots. It exists as a pot or a rectangular tray nursery with multiple seed holes, the pots can be used for growing indoor plants while the tray cannot used indoors.
- 4-inches nursery pots: these pots can be transparent or opaque (not transparent) for the growing of horticultural crops.
- 5-inches Pots: These pots could be transparent or opaque and are used for cultivating flowers, fruit, and other horticultural crops.
- 5.5inches Pots: these pots are designed to be used for both indoor and outdoor purposes. They are excellent for growing different types of flowers and fruiting crops.
- 6-inches Containers: it can also be a clear or unclear container used only for growing indoors flowers
- 7-inch Pots: The 7-inch pots are designed for growing indoor ornamental plants.
- 8-inches containers: this is an indoor pot used for growing flowers and other garden plants.
- 1 gallon: these types of pots are usually plastic containers used indoors for growing flowers such as Alamanda, cactus, Snake Plant, a string of pearls,
- Tall Tree Pots: these are deep nursery containers used in the nursery for nursing plantation crops such as rubber plants, cocoa, cashews, citrus, and other ornamental plants that can be used both indoors and out plants.
Forms of Nursery Pot
Some forms of plant pots used in growing horticultural crops are:
1-Gallon Nursery Containers
These containers are measured about 6.5″Deep, 6.5″Wide, and 6.25″ in height. The 1-gallon container could be transparent or (opaque) untransparent containers with 5 drain holes at the base to remove excess irrigated water.
It is an excellent garden pot for both indoor and outdoor plants. These pots can be reused after a thorough wash and cleaning. They are the most commonly used nursery pots for the growing of ornamental crops.
2-Gallon Nursery Containers
These pots measured about 9 Deep, 9 “Wide, and 8.5 in height. These containers are bigger than the 1-gallon container but also contain five drainage holes at the base for draining excess irrigated water.
The pot is suitable in the garden for both indoor and outdoor plants. The pots can be easily cleaning reused. They are the most commonly used nursery pots for the growing of ornamental crops
3-Gallon Nursery Container
The three-gallon pots are measured at about 10 Deep, 10 “Wide, and 9 in height. These containers are bigger than the 2-gallon containers but also contain several drainage holes at the base for draining excess irrigated water.
The pot can be round or square and is suitable for both indoor and outdoor uses. These pots can be reused after a thorough wash and cleaning. They are the most commonly used nursery pots for the growing of ornamental crops and horticultural crops.
5-Gallon Nursery Container
These nursery containers measure about 8.8 Deep, 11.4 “Wide, and 12 in height. They are bigger than the 3-gallon container but also contain several drainage holes at the base for draining excess irrigated water.
The pot can be round or cylindrical and is good for indoor and outdoor uses. These pots can be reused after washing and cleaning. They are the most commonly used nursery pots for the growing of ornamental crops and horticultural crops.
10-Gallon Nursery Pots
These plant pots are measured about 17.5″ Deep, 17.5″Wide, and 12″ in height. These pots are wider and deeper than the 3-gallon container, but the same height as the 5-gallon container. Also, containers have several drainage holes at the base for draining excess irrigated water.
The pot is round and useful for outdoor uses. They are suitable for growing crops such as tree crops, shrubs, and many other ornamental and horticultural crops.
15-Gallon Nursery Pot
These nursery pots measure 18.1 deep, 18.1 inches wide, and 15.7in height. These pots are wider and deeper than the 10-gallon container and containers have about 5-6 drainage holes at the base for draining excess irrigated water. The pot is round in shape and not good for indoor use in the garden.
It contains a good lid grip for convenient lifting. These pots are used for growing succulent plants and thick herbaceous plants.
25 Gallon Nursery Pot
These pots are made of Polypropylene material nursery pots measured 24.21 Deep, 18.11″Wide, and 16.92 in height. These pots are deeper wider and higher than the 15-gallon container and containers about 5-6 drainage holes at the base for draining excess irrigated water.
The pot is round and not adequate for indoor use. It contains a good lid grip for convenient lifting. These pots can be reused after washing. They are used for cultivating climbers, grasses, shrubs, and perennial flowers.
30 Gallon Nursery Pot
These pots that measure about 7 Deep, 7″Wide, and 6.3 in height. These pots are smaller than the 25-gallon container. They contain about 8 drainage holes at the base for draining excess irrigated water. The pot is round in shape and not good for both indoor and outdoor uses in the garden.
It is usually transparent and has a capacity of 1 gallon. It contains a good lid grip for convenient lifting. These pots can be reused after a thorough wash and cleaning. They are the most commonly used nursery pots for the growing of thick flowering plants ornamental crops and horticultural shrubs.
Plastic Gallon Nursery Pots
These are plant pots made of Polypropylene materials designed specifically for nursing or decorating purposes. They are very sturdy, and durable and can be transparent or opaque (untransparent) with various dimensions, colours, and shapes.
These containers contain various drainage holes that help to remove excess irrigated water to avoid waterlogging. They are the most widely used pots in the garden for nursing, cultivation, and decorating indoors and outdoors. Some of these containers contain good grip lip that provides convenience for lifting from one place to another.
The plastic pot comes in different of pink, red, white, black, yellow, and more to suit consumer needs and preferences. They are also different with various shapes to suit different types of horticultural crops.
Advantages/ Reason for Preference the Plastic of the Plastic Pots
The advantages or the reason for preference of the plastic pot are:
- it is widely accessible
- it is budget-friendly
- it can retain water for plant growth over a certain period.
- It requires less monitoring
- It can easily be washed, cleaned, and disinfected.
- It can easily be reused.
- They have a reasonable number of holes to prevent waterlogging
- They are available in various colors to suit consumer preferences for both indoor and outdoor uses
- Some are self-watered
Disadvantages of the Plastic Pots
The disadvantages/ problems of the plastic pots
- Can easily break when not handled with care.
- High intensity of sunlight can weaken the plastic texture which eventually leads to decoloration and breakage.
Difference Between Plastic pots and Clay Pot
| S/no | Clay Pots / Peat | Plants can easily die due to prolonged absence of water |
| 1 | clay pots observe water met for plant growth | plastic pots retain water for plant growth |
| 2 | Require constant monitoring because the soil can easily dry off | Plastic pots require little monitoring because of their ability to retain water. |
| 3 | Plants can easily die due to prolonged absence to water | Plants may still survive due to prolonged absence of water |
| 4 | Plants can easily die due to prolonged absence of water | Plants may still survive due to prolonged absence of water |
| 5 | It costly than the plastic pot | It is cheaper than the clay pots |
| 6 | Can easily break (due to wetting and drying) | It is very accessible |
| 7 | It cannot be easily washed, cleaned, and resues | It can be easily washed, cleaned, and resues |
Clay /Peat Nursery Pots
These pots are designed from clay soil and are used for nursing or planting indoor and outdoor plants. The clay pots are very durable and exist in various dimensions and shapes.
The clay pots contain one or more drainage holes to help drain irrigated water from the pots. These pots are most usually in decorating indoors, and for planting horticultural crops in the agricultural industries. The clay pot is suitable for the growing of different types of crops.
Advantages Clay Pots
The advantages or preference for the clay pots are:
- It is excellent for draining excess water from the Clay pots
- Root rot is not possible when a clay pot is used.
- It is very easy to indicate inadequate water with the use of a clay pot
- It is easy to identify the presence of moisture when clay pots are used.
- It is environmentally friendly
Disadvantages of the Clay Pots
The disadvantages of plastic pots
- Can easily break when not handled with care
- It requires a lot of time to cook, and season and hence not readily accessible
- It is not budget-friendly (i.e. quite expensive)
- High intensity of sunlight can weaken the texture which eventually to breakage.
- It is very difficult to wash and clean if it were to be reused
- Plants can easily die due to prolonged absence of watering
- it is not lightweight (i.e difficult to carry from one place to another)
Ceramics Nursery Pots
The ceramic pot consists of mixtures of clay, powders, water, and other earthen materials molded to form different shapes and are subjected to high temperatures. The pots are designed in different dimensions and forms.
The molded clays made of powder and other materials are subject to heating at high temperatures in the oven to form what is called ceramic. These heated clays in the kiln are decorated, or coated with waterproof, and glazed with different paints. Some of these ceramic nursery pots could be crystalline, glassy, and with or without a saucer.
Uses of Ceramics Containers.
The uses of the ceramics nursery containers are:
- Uses for use raising crops at home.
- Use in displaying flowers in worship centers, malls, offices, garden nursery
- It is used indoors in growing flowers.
Advantages of Ceramics Containers
The advantages of the Ceramics containers are
- They are glassy or crystalline in appearance which makes them excellent for indoor uses.
- They are glazed with beautiful objects which makes them suitable for decorating worship centers, malls, and offices.
- They are highly durable if handled with care.
- They have excellent handles which aid lifting from one place to another.
Disadvantages of Ceramics Containers
The advantages of the Ceramics containers are
- They can easily break if not handled with care
- They are more expensive than the clay nursery pot
- They are not suitable for raising food crops
Clear or Transparent Nursery Pots
The transparent or clear plastic containers as the name may sound are clear containers made of polypropylene and are used for growing and nursing indoor and outdoor plants. The pots exist in different Size and shapes used for growing various horticultural crops.
The pots contain different drainage holes like any other plastic pots at the base which are used to drain access water, improve the rate of root breathing, and improve the survival rate of young plants.
The transparent containers are appropriate for growing various horticultural crops in residential homes, worship centers, malls, recreational centers, and offices. The transparent pots are excellent for growing ornamental crops such as orchids, snake plants, mints, cactus, and aloe.
Advantages/ Reason for Preference the Clear Nursery Pots.
Some of the advantages of Clear or transparent propagation Pots as highlighted by amazon.com are:
- They are highly durable and unbreakable
- They are highly weather tolerant (i.e. can resist harsh climatic conditions).
- They can easily be washed, cleaned, disinfected, and reused
- It provides excellent beauty for indoor and outdoor decoration.
- The rate of growth can easily be monitored
- It highly affordable
- Suitable for growing horticultural crops such as flowers, succulents, cuttings and seedlings,
Uses of Nursery Pots
The benefits of using plant pots are stated below.
- Growing of Ornamental Crops: the nursery pots are suitable for the cultivation of various ornamental crops such as snake grass, orchid, mint, cactus, tractor seed plants, Ice plants, aloe, Lawn grasses, Cosmos, and more. These ornamental crops thrive optimally in nursery pots for many years if adequate maintenance measure is practiced frequently.
- Nursing and Planting Food Crops: horticultural crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and other species can be nursery or cultivated using nursery pots. The pots provide an avenue for these crops to effectively manage for optimal productivity.
- Indoors Decorating: nursery containers of various colors, dimensions, and shapes provide suitable opportunities for decorating residential homes, worship centers, malls, hospitals, recreational centers, and offices. The different colors of these pots coupled with the beautiful of the flowers add extreme beaut to the interior
- Outdoor Decoration: pots are excellent for beautifying lanes, walkways, and landscape decoration. The nursery pots are designed in such a way that when used outdoors can withstand harsh climatic conditions. Different types of horticultural crops can be cultivated on the pots for outdoor uses.
- Sales of Horticultural Crops: nursery plant pots create opportunities for horticulturists to grow different species of fruits, flowers, food crops, spices, plantation crops, and herbs for sale. These pots help to monitor the health and well-being of plants. Under pots, horticulturists can carry out effective care and management of plants for optimal growth and Development.
- Ease of Budding and Grafting: Nursery containers are used for growing and nursing budded and grafted crops. Plantation crops such as citrus, rubber plant, mango, cashew, and more can be effectively budded and grafted when nurse on nursery pots.
- Protect the Plant from Harsh Climatic Conditions: The uses of nursery containers in raising horticultural crops help crops withstand poor soil and harsh weather conditions. The cultivation of crops in pots or containers shield plants from poor weather conditions by providing material that will help to provide a good and conducive environment for plants. Crops planted on pots can easily be carried from one place to another whenever the weather is not favorable.
- Effective management of Pests and disease: Pests and diseases can be controlled effectively when nursery pots are used for the cultivation of horticultural crops.