Most indoor plant pots are cover pots, a decorative outer pot that holds the plastic nursery pot your plant came in. It keeps watering simple, protects your shelves and lets you change the look without repotting. The trick is to choose the right size and keep the roots out of standing water.
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Buying guide
A pot is the most visible part of a houseplant after the leaves, and it also decides how healthy the plant stays. Get the size and the drainage right first, then choose the material and colour.
A cover pot has no hole, so you keep the plant in its nursery pot and lift it out to water at the sink, letting it drain before putting it back. A pot with a drainage hole can take the plant directly, but needs a saucer underneath. Both work. Cover pots are tidier on wooden furniture.
Measure the top diameter of the nursery pot and choose an outer pot 2 to 5 cm wider, so the inner pot slips in easily and air can circulate. Check the height too, as the rim of the inner pot should sit just below the outer rim. When repotting, go up only one size at a time, usually 2 to 5 cm.
Water collecting at the bottom of a cover pot is the most common reason houseplants fail. Check after watering and tip out any excess. A layer of clay pebbles in the base lifts the nursery pot clear of drips.
Glazed ceramic is heavy, stable and easy to wipe. Terracotta is porous, so soil dries faster, which suits succulents and cacti but means more watering for ferns. Metal pots look sharp but may mark surfaces if water sits underneath. Fibre clay and recycled plastic are light, which helps for large plants you need to move.
Group plants in odd numbers at different heights, using one or two materials and a short colour palette across the plant pots. A tall plant on the floor, a medium one on a stool and a trailing one on a shelf make a corner feel planted. Plant stands lift smaller pots off the floor and closer to the light.
Large plant pots are heavy once filled, so choose a lighter material or stand the pot on a caddy with castors before planting. Check that the base is level and wide enough not to tip as the plant grows taller.
No pot will help a plant in the wrong spot. Check how much light the plant needs, place it, then choose the pot to suit that corner of the room.
A cover pot has no drainage hole and holds the plant in its nursery pot. A planter with a hole takes the plant directly and needs a saucer.
Choose an outer pot 2 to 5 cm wider than the nursery pot. When repotting, move up one size at a time.
Roots need to drain. Use a pot with a hole and a saucer, or keep the plant in its nursery pot inside a cover pot and tip out excess water.
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