That one weird trick... cutting down nursery pots.

[sparklemotion]

I find myself disliking the floppiness of cut-down nursery pots.

I swear that once upon a time I saw something online (probably here) about how to shorten the can but not lose the stiffness from the collar.

I think it involved cutting the collar off but then reattaching it in some nifty way? Has anyone else seen this picture/blog post/video that I am remembering?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I can't help you with this, but or garden centers hand out free nursery pots if you ask nicely. They have 100's of them in the recycling bin.
I just glue two of those together after cutting them to size.
Don't try double sided tape, I did try that and it just gets stuck halfway ;-)

 

[sparklemotion]

So you're just doubling them up? That's not a bad idea (and I have plenty lying around that I could try that with).

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Otherwise, what sounds logical to me: cut a vertical strip out of the upper half, so when you shove it inside the lower half, it will fit. A piece of duct tape, and presto!
Otherwise there's too much of a size difference between upper and lower half.

But doubling them up is way easier.

 

[Tim gannotta]

Anyone heard of air pruning roots using plastic pots with holes ..

 

[0soyoung]

Anyone heard of air pruning roots using plastic pots with holes ..

Yes.

Isn't it incredible what logic reveals?

 

[barrosinc]

Anyone heard of air pruning roots using plastic pots with holes ..

https://www.bonsainut.com/search/59899/?q=colander&c[title_only]=1&o=date tons of info

 

[sparklemotion]

Anyone heard of air pruning roots using plastic pots with holes ..

Hi Tim, are you asking about colanders/pond baskets/rootmakers/airpots? Or are you asking about taking a regular nursery can and poking holes in it? If the latter, my answer would be that pond baskets are pretty damn cheap (and I would probably injure myself trying to poke that many holes in a pot).

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Pond baskets over here are waaaaaaaay more expensive than regular nursery pots. Why? I don't know.
But 6 dollars a piece, for a small one, isn't something out of the ordinary around here. 6 nursery pots of the same size, sell for 1,50. Collanders come cheap though. They go for 35 cents. A pond basket the size of a collander, could easily go for 20 bucks or more.

I have been poking holes in regular nursery pots to get some more aeration. It works. It's not the best method, far from it, but it is the cheapest and most space-efficient. I don't have room for 40 collanders and I don't have 240 dollars lying around for pond baskets.
Red hot glowing nails work great. Just don't breathe the fumes.

 

[MHBonsai]

Poke holes in the 'bottom section' prior to sticking it together. Works like a charm.

 

[sparklemotion]

Poke holes in the 'bottom section' prior to sticking it together. Works like a charm.

I love this idea too...but I swear there was another way that maybe didn't involve flipping the top?

 

[Melospiza]

Poke holes in the 'bottom section' prior to sticking it together. Works like a charm.View attachment 206817

This is how I do it, but remember to cut it just right so that the top portion doesn't slip and fall through if you lift the pot using the wider bottom portion. You can also tie the two sections using pieces of wires threaded through holes made in the two sections.