The Best Pots for Houseplants

Most people choose pots based on how they look, which makes sense — but the material and size of a pot have a real effect on plant health. Understanding how different pots affect soil moisture and root growth helps you make choices that work with your watering habits rather than against them.

Regardless of material, any pot you use for a houseplant should have a drainage hole. Without one, excess water sits at the bottom of the pot and creates the conditions for root rot. There is no reliable way to manage watering precisely enough to compensate for a pot without drainage.

If you love the look of a pot without a drainage hole, use it as a cachepot: place your plant in a smaller nursery pot inside the decorative one, and remove the nursery pot to water.

Terra cotta is one of the best pot materials for houseplants, particularly for plants that prefer to dry out between waterings. The porous clay allows air and moisture to move through the walls of the pot, which means soil dries more quickly and evenly. This is especially good for succulents, cacti, snake plants, and any plant prone to overwatering.

The tradeoff is that terra cotta dries out faster, so plants that prefer consistently moist soil may need more frequent watering.

Plastic pots retain moisture longer than terra cotta, which can be an advantage for moisture-loving plants. They're lightweight, inexpensive, and come in a range of sizes. Nursery pots — the plain plastic pots plants come in when you buy them — are often perfectly functional and can be kept inside a more decorative cachepot.

Glazed ceramic pots sit between plastic and terra cotta in terms of moisture retention — they don't dry out as fast as terra cotta, but they're not as moisture-retentive as plastic. They're often the best balance for most houseplants. They're heavier, which provides stability for taller plants.

Pot size significantly affects how quickly soil dries. A pot that's too large for a plant's root system will hold excess wet soil around the roots — a common cause of root rot. In general, choose a pot that's only slightly larger than the root ball (one to two inches wider in diameter). When repotting, size up gradually rather than jumping to a much larger pot.