Airmaxx Rooting pot 3.5 Liter

A 3.5 litre rooting pot you assemble yourself: a perforated wall you roll around a separate base and fix with two screws. Assembled it stands 20 centimetres tall with a diameter of 15 centimetres. The smallest size in the Airmaxx range.

How it goes together

The pot ships flat: a strip of wall, a base with a foot, and two small screws. You roll the wall into a cylinder, close it around the base and tighten the screws. That is all of it, and it takes less time than unpacking.

Two things go wrong in practice, and both are awkward to put right once the pot is full.

The first is which way the cones face. The points in the wall must face outwards. Turn the strip around and every cone stabs into the substrate, which turns a rooting pot into an ordinary pot with holes in it. Check the points are facing away from you before you reach for the screwdriver.

The second is the top two rows. Those cones have no hole in them, and that is deliberate. They belong at the top, where they form a solid band so substrate is not washed over the rim when you water. Fit the wall upside down and that solid band sits at the bottom doing nothing, and you lose a little soil with every watering.

What this size is for

Three and a half litres is a raising size: a rooted cutting or a young plant you want to build up for a few weeks before it moves to something larger. The benefit of air pruning starts exactly here, because the root ball you transfer later is already finely branched rather than grown in circles.

Apart and back together

What you screwed together comes apart again. At the end of the crop you take the two screws out, unroll the wall and hold the root ball in your hand without prising anything loose. Rinse it, dry it, store it flat.

Technical Specifications:

• Volume: 3.5 litres
• Assembled: 20 cm tall, Ø 15 cm
• Supplied: flat, wall plus base with foot
• Fixing: 2 screws, included
• Wall: perforated cones, top two rows solid
• Drainage: through the base, which stands on a foot
• Reusable: yes, dismantles

Frequently asked questions

Do I need tools? A crosshead screwdriver, nothing else. The screws are in the pack.

Why does this size take two screws and the rest three? The wall is shorter, so there is less overlap to secure. The larger sizes use three.

Does substrate fall through the holes? Not to any degree with normal potting soil or coco. With very fine, dry seed compost it helps to wet the pot before filling.

Does it need a saucer? Yes, because the base sits on a foot and water runs straight out. A 17.4 centimetre plant tray fits neatly underneath.