Fabric pots are an improvement on traditional plastic nursery pots if 4 key areas!
Cooler Rootzone
The University of New Hampshire found that “Container media temperatures on the sun side of plastic pots frequently reach the lethal range of 100-120º F even in northern production areas…The maximum temperature reached in fabric containers was 90ºF.” The hard plastic nursery pots (usually black!) absorb more heat and trap it in the container, which causes slow, stalled growth. Fabric pots breathable design allows better airflow to release heat for a cooler rootzone.
Better Root Systems
Plastic nursery pots often leads to “root balling” where the main probing roots of the plant continue to coil around the outside of the pots, and the secondary roots responsible for water and nutrient uptake are not as developed. With fabric pots, the root tips reach the outside of the pot and are exposed to air, so those tips stop growing and plants focus on expanding new roots for a even, better structured root system within the pot. This more developed root system allows your plant more access to water and nutrients.
Improved Drainage & Even Evaporation
Traditional plastic pots have a few small drainage holes at the bottom of the pot, while fabric pots quickly and even drain off all excess water, avoiding a soggy, wet medium that slows root development and attracts pests. Fabric pots also dry more evenly and from all sides, while plastic pots can evaporate more quickly from the top of the pot, so it may appear your medium is dry even if there is a lot of moisture available deeper in the pot, which can lead to overwatering your plants.
Easy Storage & Less Waste
Fabric grow pots are machine washable, and store flat, so they take up much less space than plastic containers. Quality fabric pots (We don't sell cheap flimsy fabric pots!) are also made of recycled double layer polypropylene, so they are actually a type of porous, breathable, plastic and will last for many seasons. Because they are made of recycled materials, and ship flat, they have a much lower carbon footprint then traditional plastic nursery pots. Because they ship flat we can also offer very larger sizes (we stock up to 45 gallon fabric pots!) that we could not ship if they were plastic.
Fabric grow pots have major advantages over traditional plastic pots, and work for a wide variety of indoor and outdoor growing. Check out selection today!