Best Pots for Every Plant: A UK Grower's Guide

Quick answer: Match the pot to the plant's watering habits. Terracotta suits cacti, succulents and herbs that like drying out. Glazed ceramic holds moisture for ferns and calatheas. Orchids need clear pots with plenty of holes, and vegetables need deep containers, 30cm plus for tomatoes and most other crops.

Ask me the best pots for every plant and you get the same maddening answer every time: it depends on the plant. It has to. A pot that keeps an orchid blissfully happy would drown a succulent inside a fortnight. I am Priya, I spent years on a garden centre nursery in Reading before writing about plant care full-time, and I keep over a hundred houseplants as ongoing experiments. This guide runs through the plants people actually ask me about, and the pot each one is quietly begging for. No one-size-fits-all, because there is no such beast.

Before we start, one principle holds the whole thing up: match the pot's drainage and moisture-holding to how the plant likes its roots. Thirsty plants want a pot that clings to water. Plants that hate wet feet want one that drains and breathes. Keep that in your head and the rest is just detail.

Orchids

Orchids are the classic rule-breaker, the plant that ignores everything you thought you knew. Their roots need air and light, and they rot sulking in ordinary damp compost. That is exactly why they want a clear, well-vented pot.

• Best pot: a transparent mesh or slotted orchid pot that lets air to the roots and light through for photosynthesis. Our breathe-easy orchid pots are made for precisely this.
• Avoid: solid pots with poor drainage. Trapped moisture is the number one orchid killer, bar none.
• Browse the orchid pots range for the right vented designs.
• Full detail: the best pots for orchids.

Herbs

Herbs split neatly into two camps. Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary, thyme and sage want it dry and airy, so unglazed terracotta suits them down to the ground by wicking moisture away. Leafy, thirsty herbs like basil and mint would rather stay a touch moister.

• Best pot: terracotta for the woody Mediterranean types, a moisture-holding pot for basil and mint.
• Tip: a windowsill trio of small pots keeps fresh herbs within arm's reach of the chopping board all year. See the small pots range for kitchen sizes.
• Full detail: the best pots for herbs.

Cacti and Succulents

These plants store their own water like little camels, so their one enemy is soggy roots. They want a pot that dries out fast and does not look back.

• Best pot: unglazed terracotta with a generous drainage hole, in a modest size so the compost does not stay wet.
• Avoid: oversized or non-draining pots. When in doubt, go smaller. Always.
• Our terracotta and clay pots are the natural home for a succulent collection.
• Full detail: the best pots for succulents and cacti.

Bonsai

Bonsai are grown in shallow, wide trays to keep the root system compact and in proportion with the tree above it. Drainage is critical, and a matching saucer catches the run-off before it reaches your table.

• Best pot: a shallow bonsai pot, ideally with a saucer, such as the bonsai training pot for trees still in development.
• Tip: a scrap of wire mesh over the drainage holes stops the free-draining bonsai mix washing straight out.
• Full detail: the best pots for bonsai.

Fruit and Veg in Containers

Growing food in pots is one of the most satisfying things you can do on a small plot, and the Royal Horticultural Society is a firm advocate of container-grown crops for pocket-sized UK gardens and balconies (RHS, growing veg in containers).

• Strawberries thrive in tall pots or dedicated strawberry planters with several openings, which keeps the fruit clear of the soil and the slugs.
• Tomatoes are hungry and thirsty things, so give them a big pot of at least 30cm and never once let them dry out.
• Potatoes want depth above all, and a grow bag or deep bucket does the job handsomely.
• Full detail: the best pots for tomatoes and vegetables.

The common thread is volume. Food crops drink and feed heavily, so bigger pots keep them steadier and sweeter.

Statement Plants and Small Trees

A fiddle-leaf fig, an olive or a bay in a pot stops being a plant and becomes a piece of furniture. It needs a large, stable pot that will not topple in a draught, and enough compost to stay evenly moist.

• Best pot: a heavy, wide-based pot from the large plant pots range, sized so the tree can grow into it over a couple of seasons.
• Get the sizing steps right using my plant pot sizing and repotting guide before you commit to a big one, because a big pot is a big mistake to undo.
• Full detail: fiddle leaf figs and monsteras.

Olive Trees and Mediterranean Shrubs

Olives are now the most commonly bought patio tree in Britain, and the most commonly drowned. They survive our cold far better than people expect – a mature tree shrugs off about -8°C – but they will not survive their roots sitting in cold, saturated compost from November to March.

• Best pot: frost-proof terracotta or stoneware, roughly 1.5 to 2 times the width of the root ball, with several drainage holes. A 1m tree suits 35 to 45cm.
• Compost: two parts John Innes No.3 to one part horticultural grit. Multipurpose compost on its own stays sodden for weeks.
• Avoid: oversizing. Olives crop better slightly root-bound, and a huge pot is just a reservoir of wet compost no root is drinking from.
• Non-negotiable: pot feet, all year. Raising the pot is what stops the drainage holes standing in water and freezing.
• Full detail: the best pots for olive trees, or browse extra large tree planters.

Snake Plants and Other Forgiving Houseplants

Snake plants, ZZ plants and aspidistras are the ones sold as unkillable, and the pot is the one way to kill them. All three store water in their leaves or rhizomes, which means the compost has to dry out completely between waterings. Most are lost to root rot in a well-meant, oversized pot.

• Best pot: only 2 to 3cm wider than the root ball, with a real drainage hole. Snug is correct, not cruel.
• Material: unglazed terracotta if you tend to overwater – it dries the compost several days faster than plastic or glazed ceramic.
• Avoid: self-watering pots. A constantly moist reservoir is the opposite of what these plants need, however useful it is for a fern.
• Weight: once a snake plant passes 60cm it is top-heavy and rigid. Use a heavy base or a cover basket, because a snapped leaf never regrows.
• Full detail: the best pots for snake plants, or browse large indoor pots.

The Quick Reference

• Wants to dry out: cacti, succulents, Mediterranean herbs. Terracotta, generous drainage.
• Wants steady moisture: ferns, basil, most leafy houseplants. Glazed or plastic pots.
• Wants air to the roots: orchids. Clear, vented pots.
• Wants room and stability: trees, tomatoes, strawberries. Large, heavy pots.

Gardeners' World make the same point I hammer on about: matching the container to the plant's needs matters far more than the pot's looks (Gardeners' World, container gardening).

Best pot by plant, at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best pot for an orchid?

A clear pot with mesh or slots that lets air reach the roots and light pass through. Orchids rot in solid, poorly drained pots, so ventilation is the priority.

Do vegetables need bigger pots than houseplants?

Generally yes. Crops like tomatoes and potatoes feed and drink heavily, so a larger volume of compost keeps moisture and nutrients steadier and gives better harvests.

Can I use the same type of pot for every plant?

It is best not to. A pot that suits a thirsty fern will keep a cactus too wet, and a fast-draining terracotta pot will leave a moisture-lover parched. Match the pot to how each plant likes its roots.

Will an olive tree survive winter in a pot outside?

In most of the UK, yes. A mature olive tolerates roughly -8°C. What kills potted olives is winter wet around the roots rather than cold, so raise the pot on feet, use gritty compost and move it against a wall out of driving rain.

Why does my snake plant keep rotting when I barely water it?

Almost always the pot, not the watering. An oversized pot holds a large volume of compost that the roots never drink from, so it stays wet for weeks. Move it into something only 2 to 3cm wider than the root ball, with a drainage hole.

Is one pot size ever enough for a plant's whole life?

No, but you need fewer sizes than people think. Go up one size at a time, every two to three years for most houseplants. Once a plant reaches its final large pot, top-dress each spring instead of repotting: replace the top 5cm of compost with fresh mix.

About the author Priya Nair - The right pot for every root Priya worked for several years at a garden centre nursery in Reading before moving into plant-care writing, and studied horticulture part-time along the way. She is fascinated by how material, size and drainage affect a plant's health, and keeps over a hundred houseplants as ongoing experiments. Friends send her SOS photos of dying plants weekly. Writing for Potty for Plant Pots.