Can succulents be planted in plastic cups?

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Bill
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Re: Can succulents be planted in plastic cups?

Post by Bill »

And why not, shot glasses make great mini pots for potting on seedlings, drainage holes made with a four inch nail heated with a gas blowlamp (hold with pliers!), you can get through ten stacked with one heating. And cheap too, 40 are just £2 in the Range. That said not sure I would use clear plastic for bigger plants,
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Mainly Haworthia and Gasteria, a few other South African succulents and the odd spiky thing.
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Re: Can succulents be planted in plastic cups?

Post by stockportdave »

I had the same question, so when I took some pups from Mammillaria Elongata I had four clear plastic pots which I drilled holes in the bottom for drainage, and planted up.

I planted 10 plants, four were planted in the clear plastic pots and the rest in normal plant pots, I recently repotted all of them and saw no difference in the growth between those grown in clear plastic and those grown those in normal plant pots.

I agree drilling drainage holes are a good idea if not vital for any excess water to be able to drain away, and its also worth noting that the clear pots I had were hard plastic not soft like the ones in the photo. drilling plastic is easy enough, so not a reason not to try.

Of course this doesn't nessasarrly mean all cactus will grow in clear pots, however the ones I planted did, without any issues.

Lots of cactus produce offsets or can be split and I feel its interesting to try things, so have a go and let us know your findings.

I have also grown cactus in plenty of ceramic containers, and have adapted these by drilling draining holes in them, while drilling ceramic isn't easy, there are special drill bits available, used for drilling tiles etc and although some are not cheap and don't last long they do work.

I have seen cactus grown in all manor of containers especially at artisan markets, and it seems attractive or unusual containers seem popular for growing and selling cactus at these types of events.

Good luck !
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AnTTun
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Re: Can succulents be planted in plastic cups?

Post by AnTTun »

I grow most of my plants in plastic cups because square pots are a bit above my self-forced-budget and I need a lot of them. I use white cups but they are still not dark enough to prevent algae growth. So a year or two later inner surface gets covered with yucky green stuff. But my plants don't seem to mind that (much). Other disadvantage of plastic cups is that they break easier as time goes by, plastic gets old under the sun.
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