Nursery Pots vs. Planters (And Dealing with Algae)

When you are growing a plant collection on a student budget, you quickly realize one painful truth: beautiful ceramic pots can easily cost more than the plants themselves. Here is how I manage my pots without breaking the bank—and how I handle the annoying algae that sometimes comes with it.

I love checking out thrift stores, but honestly, the plant section is usually too small, and I mostly just find tiny pots there. Instead, my absolute favorite hack is checking the extra-discounted clearance section at stores like Basic & More.

I can often find beautiful ceramic pots for a fraction of the price. I always look for earthy, muted colors because they fit perfectly into the aesthetic of my apartment without stealing focus from the foliage.

The vast majority of my plants stay in their cheap plastic nursery pots, which I just drop into a decorative cover pot. It makes watering so much easier and prevents root rot.

However, I do have a few massive Monsteras planted directly into huge pots without drainage holes, simply because finding nursery pots that big is nearly impossible. To pull this off without drowning the plant, two things are crucial:

• The Soil: I use a very chunky aroid soil mix that allows plenty of airflow.
• The Finger Test: Because Monsteras love to dry out completely, I literally just stick my finger deep into the soil. If I feel even the slightest bit of moisture, I wait. I only water when it is bone dry.

Lately, clear plastic pots and water propagation have become my go-to for observing root development. I used this method extensively when growing my avocado trees from pits.

But there is a catch: if roots and water get hit by direct sunlight, you will get green algae. When my avocado roots started getting covered in green slime, I figured it was time to clean them up. I carefully took the plant out, gently rubbed the algae off the roots with my fingers, and completely changed the water.

The fix: To stop the algae from coming back, you have to block the light. I ended up moving some of them into soil, and for the ones staying in water or clear pots, I simply placed the clear container inside an opaque cover pot. You still get to lift them out and check the roots, but the darkness keeps the algae away!