If you look through horticultural history, there have been a few innovations that can genuinely be described as game-changing: commercial seed production, the invention of synthetic fertilisers, hydroponics and drip irrigation are all examples wherein the gardening world took a big step forward. The Air-Pot® is another such progressive leap, and in this post we’re going to be telling you all about it.

Jump to:

• What is an Air-Pot®?
• What's so special about them?
• Using Air-Pots® at our nursery

What is an Air-Pot®?

The Air-Pot® is a container for plants that has holes all around the outside in the form of angled, cut-off cones, giving it a distinctive appearance and lending it a look a little like that of a truncated massage roller! They come in various sizes and are made from recycled HDPE, making them both lightweight and durable. They’ve been used in plant and tree nurseries for several decades now, and with good reason.

The main difference between a conventional plant pot and an Air-Pot® is, quite obviously, the holes running all around the surface of the latter. Unlike traditional plastic plant pots, Air-Pots® also have greater drainage, with the holes around the side of (and beneath) the plant allowing water to drain away much more easily.

One of the good things about Air-Pots® is that they’re reusable, with the ease-of-assembly also leading to easy flat-packing when not in use. And we’re not the only ones to use Air-Pots® either, they’re used in a whopping 40 countries around the world, with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew using the pots for more than 3,000 separate species. Plus, they’re designed and made here in the UK, in Scotland. Pretty nifty, right?

What’s so special about Air-Pots®?

The key to the Air-Pot® is its holes which enable a process called air-pruning to take place. The carefully-designed shape of the pot guides a plant’s root tips to grow toward and then out of the cone holes. When these tips meet the drier air, they become desiccated and die (in essence being pruned). This then stimulates the development of additional roots which in turn creates a dense, fibrous mat of healthy young roots.

Plus, it has the added benefit of preventing root spiralling and stopping plants becoming root bound. But don’t just take our word for it, the manufacturers of Air-Pots® have the stats to back all this up – and who doesn’t love a good stat? A recent German study found that the Air-Pot® was the only pot to entirely eliminate root spiralling, while a Dutch study concluded that when grown using Air-Pots®, three species of tree grew almost 70% faster than those grown in the field.

What about the compost?

Now, we know what you’re thinking… Won’t a pot full of holes act like, well, a pot full of holes? What happens to the compost inside of the pot? There’s an easy fix for that, just make sure to use a fine-grain compost and that you compact/tamp it down regularly as you’re filling the pot, gently banging the container every now and then just to shake off any loose compost. Make sure that each and every hole beneath the planting level is packed with compost.

Do plants grown in Air-Pots® require more watering?

Yes, plants grown in Air-Pots® require more watering than those grown in the open ground or in regular pots, due to the quicker drainage they exhibit, and the fact that a healthier, more vigorous network of roots requires more water than does a root network that hasn’t been air pruned.

Using Air-Pots® at our nursery (and sending them to you)

We bloomin’ love the Air-Pots® we use at our nursery; they’ve led to faster-growing, healthier plants which means we’re able to send happier, healthier plants to our customers, and that’s what we care about most. Plus, they look seriously funky, too… If you select a plant that’s been grown in an Air-Pot®, planting is as easy as you like.

Normally, we’ll remove the Air-Pot® for you, wrap your tree in hessian and send your tree to you (that way we can be more sustainable and reuse the pot at the nursery). You can also buy your Air-Pot® alongside your plant at point-of-purchase, however, and you’ll just need to unscrew the holding pins that keep the Air-Pot® in its cylindrical shape, remove the pot and you’ll be left with your plant, ready to go in the ground.

Reuse your Air-Pot® (if purchased)

If you’ve chosen to purchase the Air-Pot® alongside your tree, then once your plant is in the ground, that leaves you with a pot you can reuse for yourself. The world’s your horticultural oyster when it comes to what you can grow in it; so whether you’re looking to get some homegrown vegetables going or want a feature flowering perennial for the patio, you can use your Air-Pot® and know that you’ll get good success.

Final thoughts

Hopefully, having read this you’ll have a better understanding of what Air-Pots® are, how they work and why we think they’re so beneficial for the plants we grow for you. We’ve got a huge number of other gardening guides that you can take a look at while you’re here, including how to plant a tree, planning the perfect garden and our garden jargon buster.