Pots & Trays — Airpots

An airpot does what a fabric pot does, but in rigid plastic: the wall is a folded pattern with openings to the outside. Every root tip that reaches one stops on contact with air, and the plant branches back inwards. You keep the shape and stackability of a hard pot and still get the divided root mass.

What air pruning gains you

In a solid pot a root grows until it meets the wall and then circles. The plant keeps making root without reaching new substrate, and in time that tangle strangles itself. An open wall does give a signal to stop, so instead of one long root you get ten short ones working through the whole volume. That is what the range on this page is about, and it is why the product pages talk about root deformation and root rot.

Six sizes from 3.5 to 50 litres

The Airmaxx root pots run from 3.5 litres through 7.8, 9.4, 14 and 24.7 to 50 litres, so from young plant to shrub within one range. The 7.8 is the size for a full cycle in a small tent; the 50 is meant for large plants and perennials. They are round, so they also appear under Round Pots, and on a full floor they leave gaps between pots as any round pot does.

Rigid or fabric

A rigid air-pruning pot lasts years, stands up empty and can be cleaned; a fabric pot folds flat and takes almost no storage space. The pots from the Airpot brand itself, at 5.8, 12.5 and 22.5 litres, are rigid too but sit under Fabric Pots among the fabric; that is also where the full soft-pot range is.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to water more often in an airpot?
Yes, because water also evaporates through the wall openings. Against that, it is hard to drown the roots, so you give smaller amounts more often rather than a lot at once.

Can I reuse one?
That is the point of rigid plastic. Taking it apart, cleaning it and rebuilding it works for several rounds in a row, where fabric weakens over time.

Do I need a tray under it?
Yes, and a larger one than you would expect: an open wall lets a little through at the sides too. The sizes are under Plant Trays.