should I use plastic?

[suzyqhomemaker]

I have all my orchids in clay pots right now but the pots always grow ugly white junk on the outside. Would using plastic liners inside the pots help? I'm tired of scrubbing the gunk off of my pots.

I'm thinking yes because I actually have one dendrobium in a plastic pot within clay that never gets gross.

Suggestions?

[orchids4me]

Its a matter of preference. The white stuff on your clay pots is the mineral and salts flushing through the clay and scrubbing is how you rid it. If you choose to use plastic pots you will have to adjust your watering plastic doesn't breath and hold moisture longer. If you buy the plastic pots with the slits up the sides it helps the pots to breath and these do dry a bit quicker and the roots breath better. You will see some deposts build up in the slits over time. This is why we all say "flush the pots". This helps rid the depost build up. But with clay it will always have that white powdery stuff no matter what it absorbs it and in a sense bleeds it out that way. Some plants just don't do well for me in plastic pots and need to dry out faster my oncidiums and Dens are in clay. Others are in plastic again I stress in plastic watering habits change due to retaing mor moisture. So its up to you if you can grow orchids well in plastic some I can and some I can't .
Good luck
Emmaye

[sunshine]

orchids4me, I agree with you. I use clay and plastic for my chids depending on the chid and how often I have to water. My catts do good in either. My phals I prefer clear plastic pots to keep an eye on the roots and let the condensation tell me when to water.

But if you really don't like looking at the mineral buildup on clay pots look for some pretty cache pots to set the pots down in. Anything can be used for a cache pot. I get a lot of mine at yard/lawn sales, the Dollar Store.

[dounoharm]

i agree with the above...if they are doing good in the clay, dont mess with success! get a cache pot to slip the clay into and then you dont se the mineral buildup.....gl