What are the best pots for growing cannabis? This will depend on the type of medium you are going to grow in. Cannabis likes to have air in the root zone. Having a pot that can easily pull air through it, will provide the roots with more air, and will help the plant grow faster, and stronger.
Most people would have seen a plant pot before, and recognise that they are made of plastic. There will be a few holes in the bottom of the pot, so run off can leave the medium. Other than that, the only way air can get to your roots is through the top of the medium.
There are different types of pots for growing cannabis, that can supply a greater amount of air to the root zone. There are good points and bad points to using each different one, depending on your medium. The pots we are going to discuss are:
- Standard Plastic Plant Pots
- Fabric Pots ( Smart Pots)
- Air Pots
Along with what are the best pots for growing cannabis, we will discuss what pot size is best for your plants, at what stage of growth. Your roots need plenty of room to grow comfortably. The more roots, the more shoots. This guide will be solely for growing photoperiod cannabis plants, as autoflowering plants will grow a little differently.
If you have any questions about what pots you should use for your grow, then feel free to ask for help in our cannabis growers forum
What are the Best Pots for Growing Autoflowering Plants
Autos, should always be planted straight into their final pots. This will reduce their stress, and let the root zone grow without disturbance. Plant auto flowering plants in pots between 10-15L. And leave them to grow their full cycle without transplanting them. You can read more about how to grow autoflowers, in the autos section of the grow guides.
Growing Cannabis in Plastic Pots
Most growers will begin growing cannabis in plastic pots. These pots are easily found at most garden centres in many different sizes. They can also be found as either square pots, or round pots. Square pots are better to work with when growing cannabis indoors, as they will fit together nicely in your grow room. This will make the most of the space you have.
Start off your seedling or clones in the smallest pot, 0.5L plastic pot. After a couple of weeks, the roots will start to show out of the bottom of the pot, and you need to transplant them into a bigger one.
The roots in a plastic pot will continue to grow, until they become root bound. They will spiral around the bottom of the pot, and will strangle themselves. They may also sit in pools of water and begin to rot. It is important to transplant your cannabis plants into bigger pots when roots show out of the bottom.
Transplant into 6-8L pots, for around 4 weeks. Until you are ready to flower your plants. 1 week before you want to “flip” the plants into flower, transplant into your final pots. This may be at least 18L, up to 25L.
The more space you have for roots, the more shoots you will get. Transplanting 1 week before you flip, gives the plants time to recover from the stress, and get comfortable in their new pot. When they are over the stress, flip them to flower.
What Medium is Best in Plastic Pots
Any medium will work well in plastic pots. They are a very good reliable basic addition to a grow room. As mentioned earlier, cannabis likes a lot of air in the root zone. Plastic pots will only be able to deliver air to the top of the medium. Other kinds of pots have been developed, that will help increase yield, and overall health of your cannabis plants.
Fabric Pots ( Smart Pots)
After plastic pots, fabric pots are the next popular pots for growing cannabis. The pots are made out of a light fabric, so the medium can draw in plenty of air to the root zone. This allows bacteria to breathe, and the plant will be able to eat, and drink more.
In a plastic pot, roots will grow until they are root bound. In fabric pots, the roots will “Air Prune”. When the roots touch air, the tip, will dry out, and die off. This will encourage the rest of the root to spread out radially, instead of continuing to grow like in a plastic pot.
In a fabric pot, you will get more roots, and you are less likely to have your cannabis plant become root bound. The medium will dry faster, as more air can get to it, and this will also reduce your chances of root rot.
Starting off in Smaller Pots
Start off your cannabis seedling or clone, in a 0.5L fabric pot. As the plant grows stronger, and the roots become well structured, you can transplant into a 6L fabric pot and finish off the vegetation stage. When you are coming close to flowering your cannabis plants, transplant them one more time into 18L fabric pots.
You can use smaller pots when growing cannabis in fabric pots, as the roots will be able to take full advantage of the space in the medium. You can grow a big cannabis plant in an 18L fabric pot. If you like you can go to anything as high as 25L. But make sure your plants have a good long veg before moving them to massive pots.
Fabric pots are a great replacement for plastic pots when growing cannabis. But during the flowering stage, it is common to see mould or mildew form on the side of the pots. Keep a good air flow over the plants to prevent this from happening. Or, you could update to Air Pots.
What is the best medium to use when growing cannabis in fabric pots?
Any medium works well when growing cannabis in fabric pots. But if you are using soils, instead of a coco like medium, you will have to water carefully.
Because the sides of the pot are fabric, water can pass through them easily. If you water too quickly when growing in a medium with low drainage the water can spill out of the sides. This will stop your medium from being fully saturated, and will cause issues with your roots. Water slowly, and take your time, and soil can work very will in fabric pots. But for the best results, use coco when growing cannabis in fabric pots.
Using Air Pots to Growing Cannabis
Air pots are a reasonably new piece of grow technology. Air pots are made out of plastic, but have bumps, and holes in the sides. The roots grow out to the side, and air prune in these holes. Once the root has been airpruned, it will grow radially instead of becoming root bound.
Because air pots are made out of plastic, the risk of mould and mildew developing on them is much lower than fabric pots. You still get the benefit of a good air supply to your roots, with less risk of mould.
Growing cannabis in air pots can be very rewarding. These are great pots, and they will keep your plant healthy, and happy, easier. Air Pots will cost a little more than plastic, or fabric pots. If these pots are in your price range, they are definitely worth the investment. They will outperform any other type of pot you can use to grow cannabis.
What Medium should I use when Growing Cannabis in Air Pots?
Much like fabric pots, thick soils can be a problem when growing cannabis in air pots. The water will find channels through the soil, and you may find it difficult to fully saturate your medium.
Coco, and other coco based mediums work well when growing with air pots. Because those mediums are light, and have good drainage. The water will pass through the medium faster. This will leave the medium fully saturated, and the root zone damp, all the way through.
Final Points
Cannabis will grow in anything! A bucket, a mug, even drinks bottles! You can see it done on in some of our diaries! It takes skill, but you can grow cannabis in any container. Give the roots enough space, and make sure the runoff can leave the medium, and your plant will survive. But for the best plants, you have to invest in the right pots.
Whatever pots you decide to go with for your percy grow, we are here to help you every step of the way.
Thanks for reading! You can find more information on anything related to growing in our cannabis grow guides. All of our guides are written by experienced growers, and members of our cannabis growers forum. If you have any questions, sign up. It is free, and we are always happy to help!
Good luck Percy Growers, Stay safe, and Happy Growing.
I use fabric pots. I started out using a 15L bucket that paint came in. Still had good and bad results. I find with the fabric pots I don’t seem to over water as much. Although that could just be learning.
@speks I reuse fabric pots with no issues. They dont really need to be cleaned either unless they are badly…. soiled…. lol
I use plastic pots until the plants go into their final pots. I only use fabric for the final pot 🙂
Does the fabric pots cause problems when transplanting? Do the roots grab on to the fabric? Also, is it OK to reuse the fabric pots? Is there a lot of cleaning first?
I have my eyes on air-pots … there’s quite a few sizes available and great for the roots. As a bonus, they look cool 🤟
@monkeydo That’s right I forgot about Mr Hellmanns, I should have said “before downgrading to pots" 🤣
I do seem to remember a Mayonnaise tub or two in a tent back in the beginning 😉 . The pot didn’t seem to harm anything iirc
@pathologicalsloth Iv just been using normal round black plastic ones since I started, well I started with buckets before upgrading to pots.lol I use 5 ltr, 10 ltr, 18 ltr and iv got 20 something litre pots too but I usually go for the 5 litre and 10 litre ones, just because I find them easier to work with for getting more plants on the go in the space I have to work with 👍
@mr-buddster I’ll be following this grow, unfortunately I can’t have a living soil bed in my current situation but I’ll probably try it in the future
@pathologicalsloth I am all in on fabric pots. I just made my own living soil bed. if you can sew a little it’s no big deal.
@toploader cheers mate, thanks for the response I’ll have a look at these 🤘
@pathologicalsloth hi mate. Been growing for sometime now in the TG Super Soil.
I’ve found that these pond planters off of the dreaded Amazon work for me. They come in various sizes and in my opinion help prevent the roots becoming too soggy, by providing good drainage. I usually line mine with some coco matting or weed barrier, just to stop any soil washing out. I also like to maximise my space and you can get more soil in a square than a circle, if you get my meaning.
I’m sure there are other equally as good or better options, but this has worked for me.
Hi everyone,
I’m looking at upgrading for my next grow. I’ll be growing autos in TG’s super soil. I’m currently using 10L plastic pots but after reading the above I’m thinking fabric might my better? What recommendations do people have for size and trusted brands?
I’m in UK btw
Cheers!
@fital if I do any early training it’s usually done using wires stuck into the soil like stakes. When transplanting the stakes move with the rootball so it’s no problem
@fital there a re lots of ways round this really. Untying the ties that hold the plants down, transplanting then re tieing is one, and its nice and easy to do. Another way is to use bends instead of tie the plant down, then you don’t need to worry about tying anything 😉 Most of the training should be done in the final pot too, so smaller pots wont have too much to remove. Just do a little training, and topping when in the smaller pots and go all out when you have transplanted into the final pot 🙂
Sorry for all the basic questions – but how do you factor in LST to this?
I understand the need, benefits and rough timing involved here, but if you’re doing LST do you need to go straight to the largest pot for veg so as not to lose your ties/re-do your ties when you move to the largest pot for flowering?
@macky
having this guide helped make my decision. Cheers. I’ve got myself some air pots for my next run.
@leo-stile Good to know!
Here’s a pic of my Wedding Cake mother before being potted up to a 20L airport.
I love how the plants just grow so well in these pots. I start my seedlings off in 1L airpots, and pot up from there. Also they clean up easily and can be reused for many grows👌 what more could you want? 😂
My fabric pots get covered in a light fungus towards the end of the grow. It’s never caused bus rot and I believe shows that there is good stuff going on inside the pot. As Macky says watch the over watering (particularly in big fabric pots)
DIY Air Pots on the Cheap …
I made some of these but have yet to try them out. The material is foundation wrap used for waterproofing basements. I got it free from a new house build extras. The bottom is 1/2 inch galvanized wire mesh for strength covered with the plastic to stop loss of soil, no drainage holes in the bottom yet but I plan on it. 3/16 inch holes drilled in the side, drilled all 4 pots at the same time stacked on top of each other, lot of drilling as it was. Next time I think instead of drilling I’ll just try a hammer and nail which won’t leave plastic bits to deal with and also extends the holes a little. No need to drill the top few inches for the water to run out before being absorbed into soil. Everything can be held together with zip ties or wire. After researching the plastic I discovered that it is not UV light protected so probably not good for outside, I think it is available with UV protection? Zip ties with UV protection are available to. Indoor grow lights may or may not have UV depends on the manufacturer. 😎
@mackyGood points, just with how I cocked up so bad this time it’s dented my confidence in my ability to grow a weed ffs? maybe I’ll continue with fabric in the next grow and try an air pot too as I should get two pots in my tent. I’ll look for that solution to wipe the fabric pots I’m using now. Do you put them in the washing machine once the grow is finished or hand wash in just hot water?
@lovemygreens
You just have to water less mate, maybe add a bit of perlite to help drainage. But in soil, you gotta let the medium dry out a lot before watering again to prevent over watering.
Though mould does appear on the fabric pots, it’s never made its way onto any of my plants. You can wipe the outside of the pot with some h202 solutions too, that gets rid of it for a while, and does no harm to the plants.
Fabric is better than plastic pots. But you have to weigh up the options first lol Id go for fabric pots if i was you mate.
Reason I liked the thought of airpots was due to my rookie mistakes with my current (first ever) grow with overwatering and the killing off/stunting of seeds/plants in my fabric pots. I too have what I thought was mould but presumed that was from overwatering so learnt something new again. Thanks for all the replies and advice?
Oye leave my mouldy fabric pots alone lol, i just give them a wipe down every now an then but yeah it kinda ugly lookin an its all the salts an stuff from the nutrients aswell so i feel it could have an effect on build ups, definitely want to upgrade to airpots but i cant justify payin 40 t 50 buk on 4 pots lmao so fabric it is i just need the 5 gallon ones instead as the 3gal ones i have seem to dry to out too quick i have to give them an extra little drink durin the day so they don’t dry out to much
@zn
yer man i hate that about fabric pots. Mine always get mouldy, so i prefer to use Airpots for flowering. But i grow in coco
I use 11ltr & 18ltr Wilma square pots…fit together nicely when in veg…drainage is good and they don’t get mouldy on the outside like the fabric ones 😉
I Wouldn’t use air pots for soil grows mate. It give 2 problems. Drainage isn’t good, so water will run out of the sides of the pots before it reaches the bottom. And, if you get bugs, they will be harder to kill, as the larvae will live all over the pot, rather than just on the surface.
Fabric pots will work best for soil, but airports are more for cooc and soilless mediums
10-12 L fabric pots ill work. 2 plants in pots thats size will fill the tent 🙂
@lovemygreensHi Mate, I use 12.5 litre airpots for autos and 25 litre for photos which work well for me.You can squeeze 9 x 12.5 litre pots into a 1m x 1m space.If you you want to go down the fabric pot route, Gronest make really good fabric pots and just pennies to buy. They do a range of sizes 1, 2, 4, 8, 11, 15, 19, 25, 39, 55 and 75 litres. I would opt for 11 litre fabvric pot for your available space. They will work really well for you also.You will need to adjust your watering schedule slightly as the medium dries out much faster in an airpot (and smart pots too).Using a sprinkler head on your watering can (rather than a bare spout) – helps moisten the top layer of soil to prevent the water funnelling off to the sides and water gently.It is always a bit of a trade off, bigger pot usually means bigger plants, so you will need to consider what is best for your available space. If height is an issue for you, have you considered mainlining?
Hi Macky, great article and one I’m interested in as looking to try air pots for my next soil grow. With a 70x70x160cm tent what size air pots would you recommend for autoflowers? I’m seeing anything from 6l to 10l and above on google but concerned that air pots are thinner and taller so limiting space for growth in my size tent taking into the fact the lights and extractor fan are there too.
Some guy told me it was good to release an article every day for 90 days…. I’m on a mission 😉 lol
great post! dam the resources here are so good – loving the grassroots community