A Beginner’s Guide to Cannabis Pots and Containers

So, you’ve decided to grow cannabis and thought, how hard can it be? All you need is a pot, tap water, and a few seeds. But the moment you walk into your local gardening store to purchase a container, you’re met with the horror of choosing between so many different types of containers. 

Your first instinct will be to choose an average-sized brown container made of plastic or terracotta, but you will get even more confused looking at the various shapes, number of drain holes, etc. on them. Heck, there’s even a container made of fabric! 

If you’ve ever wondered about how to choose the best container to grow your cannabis plants, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we go over the best containers you can use for growing cannabis as a beginner. Whether you’re growing indoors or outdoors, we’ve got you covered. Do note that we will only discuss soil-holding containers and not hydroponic ones as talking about reservoirs, water, and the growing media used can be a different topic altogether. 

Read on to know all about the best cannabis containers and pots for beginners. 

What Makes a Plant Container Suitable for Cannabis?

You can grow cannabis in any container if you are brave enough — even an old sock drawer — but in 99% of the cases, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Unless you have strong reasons to grow cannabis in unconventional pots, you should stick to gardening containers that promote better plant health. 

For cultivating cannabis, you have many options that you can choose from when it comes to pots, but whichever container you choose should meet a few basic criteria for being right for your plant. 

The primary aspect you should think about is the soil or any other growing medium of your choice. This growing medium must be firmly held within the container without the risk of being washed away or spilling over. This is crucial as the soil is responsible for holding your plant up, and if it is not firmly held, your cannabis plant can tip over. 

Additionally, the pots should be sturdy and structurally strong, even if they’re made of fabric. The root ball keeps expanding throughout the plant’s growth cycle, and while it grows slowly, it has the power to break apart the container. This is a small-scale version of roots growing through walls in older buildings! Plus, roots are fragile and a sturdy container will protect them. 

Along the same lines, the container you choose should be large enough so the roots get space to grow into. If the container is too small, the roots may not get enough space to grow, leading to root-bound cannabis that does not grow big or produce a bigger yield. 

However, that doesn’t mean you choose a 20-gallon container to grow your plant — more isn’t always merrier — instead, you need to stick to a container size that’s large enough for the expanding root ball but not so big that all the nutrients get lost in it without ever reaching the roots. 

Ideally, you should also be considering drainage when choosing a container for your cannabis plant. When you irrigate your plant, the water must have a way to get out without pooling in the soil. Otherwise, you’re inviting overwatering, drowning roots, root rot, and various other serious problems. 

Most gardening pots are already equipped with drain holes, so you don’t have to worry much unless you’re using a bucket or the drain holes have gotten plugged over time. 

What is the Best Pot for Cannabis Plants?

Cannabis containers or pots come in a few varieties, and depending on the kind of cannabis you are growing, your local weather, cultivation method, etc., you want to choose a container that offers the benefits. Like anything else, all the different types of pots offer different pros and cons, and some would be more suited to you than the rest. 

For instance, some containers are more airy whereas others are not. Your plant will likely adapt to whatever type of container you use, but you’ll notice the difference in how the plant grows. That is where using the right type of container makes sense. Typically, plants grow as big as the roots do, so if the plant is growing in a small square pot, the plant will somewhat mimic this shape and size, too. On the other hand, a deeper container may lead to a taller plant. 

When looking for a container, you will come across the most common types including plastic pots, fabric pots, and even ceramic ones. We’ll be diving into each of these common container types to figure out what works best for you. Here are some of the most common types of containers you can use for growing cannabis. 

1. Plastic Pots 

The most common type of containers are plastic or ceramic containers; they are cheap to buy and readily available in all corners of the world. This makes them ideal for beginners as they are quite easy to work with. 

Expert growers recommend using square plastic containers over round ones since they allow you to place your plants closely together, optimizing the available space in your garden or if you have a small grow room/tent. 

The advantages of plastic pots are well-known and obvious, but they also have some downsides that may make them unsuitable for your operation. For example, plastic pots don’t allow the roots to get exposed to outside air except for what is available in the growing medium, so the roots don’t self-prune. 

Due to a lack of root pruning, the roots tend to grow continually in plastic pots until they run out of space. Generally, the roots grow toward the bottom of the container, where they start huddling together and eventually choking themselves — that’s root-bound cannabis. 

Another downside of plastic containers is that if they are not designed well or due to other growing medium factors, the water can pool at the bottom of the container, leading to root rot or slimy roots. 

For these two reasons, it becomes necessary to repot the roots once they outgrow the containers, and you’ll know it’s the right time to repot your cannabis when you can see the roots from the drain holes. 

2. Ceramic Pots

On the other hand, ceramic containers are quite similar to plastic containers, but the former has an upper hand when it comes to temperature regulation. Ceramic containers offer better protection from environmental temperature fluctuations. For instance, if the sun is bright and the weather is warm; the ceramic pot will keep the roots relatively cool. 

Ceramic containers also have some downsides — they are not so good at draining water and they tend to break easily. Plus, ceramic pots can get heavy — really heavy — making them quite cumbersome to use and usually not so suitable for cannabis plants unless you live in a hot region. 

These pots also don’t come with drain holes usually, so you have to manually drill them out before you can plant your cannabis plant in them. 

3. Fabric or Smart Pots

Fabric pots are made of textiles, and as a result, they are quite light to use and provide your plant with excellent ventilation in the root zone. Your roots will love these. Plus, the same ventilation encourages a rich microbial life (friendly bacteria) in the root zone, which improves nutrient availability for your cannabis plant. Essentially, these containers make it difficult for the roots to get bound up in the growing medium. 

The fiber walls of a smart pot allow the roots to get air-pruned once they reach up to the walls; this is when the roots get exposed to air and stop growing in that direction. When the roots are exposed to air, the tips dry out and die — the roots prune themselves and this process is air-pruning. 

Thanks to this air pruning, the roots do not get bound up in the container and only grow as much as they can. Fabric pots also help encourage new root development and better growth of your cannabis. 

Additionally, fabric pots’ excellent ventilation also prevents the growing medium from holding too much water than necessary, which reduces the chances of root rot or slimy roots for your cannabis plant. 

But this can sometimes be a bad thing for some growers as the ventilation can make the soil dry out faster, requiring you to water your cannabis more frequently. This can be overcome by using smart pots that are double the size of the container you would normally use to grow your plant. Yes, you’ll need more growing medium and nutrients for this, but it still does not compromise the tremendous benefits these pots offer. 

4. Air Pots

Air pots offer some unique benefits that make them viable for cannabis growers. Essentially, these pots have holes on the sides, as you can see in the diary posted by GeOMaTTiC. Like fabric pots, they allow the roots to get air pruned, preventing the issue of tangled roots. 

You may enjoy growing your cannabis in air pots too as the plants grow quite well and there’s less chance of slimy or moldy roots, thanks to their excellent aeration, as the name suggests. 

The only downside with air pots is that you can’t use regular soil as a growing medium. Since they have so many holes, irrigation water will form canals through the growing medium, which will not only drain out some of the soil but also make it difficult for the soil to retain water. Instead, you need to use coconut fibers or a similar light-growing medium as an alternative to soil. 

It’s also important to remember that regardless of the growing medium you use, you’ll have to irrigate your cannabis plant more often, and these containers are expensive, so they may not be the ideal option for most beginner growers. 

5. Hempy Buckets

Hempy buckets are an ingenious solution for indoor growers who want a hydroponic setup but don’t have the necessary resources for one. These buckets offer you a manual hydroponic solution for growing cannabis. 

How do they do that? Hempy buckets, unlike regular pots, don’t have holes on the bottom for drainage; instead, the holes are located a few inches up on the walls/sides, as shown in the picture by grower TheOutlawBubbaKush. Doing so allows the container to hold nutrient water at the bottom, acting as its own small nutrient reservoir. 

Here, you have to use perlite and vermiculite mix or other similar growing mediums like clay pebbles to hold the plant, and you’ll have to spend a bit on hydroponic nutrients. Alternative growing mediums aren’t as rich in nutrients as soil, so the responsibility lies on you. 

Fortunately, you don’t have to invest in anything more apart from basic grow lights, nutrients, and alternative growing mediums. If you’re a new grower looking into hydroponics but don’t know where to start, this may be the best choice for you. 

What Size of Pot is Best for Cannabis Plants?

But choosing the right container does not end with the choice between plastic, ceramic, or smart pots; you also need to pick the right-sized container. As mentioned earlier, growing cannabis in a small container can cause root binding whereas growing it in a bigger container leads to nutrient loss. 

It is always better to use bigger pots, especially if your goal is to grow massive plants, but this entirely depends on your goals and preferences. Sometimes, bigger may not be better. So, when choosing the right container size for your cannabis, you should consider the following things:

• The size of your grow room or garden — figure out how many containers can you fit in the space without crowding the plants 
• Your budget
• The kind of yield you expect from your cannabis plant — bigger pots equal bigger yields 
• The effort you’re willing to put in — large pots are more difficult to manage and move around 
• The strain you are growing and the kind of rhizosphere environment it requires

Also, it is recommended that you transplant your cannabis a couple of times during its growth cycle, from a smaller to a bigger container, which is more suitable for the size of the plant. 

Cannabis growing containers come in various sizes, but the most common indoor pot size for cannabis is 2.5 gallons. This is a good starting point but avoid choosing a container that’s less than 2 gallons in any case — that’s not enough room for any healthy cannabis plant. 

Then you can transplant your cannabis to a bigger container as it grows. For your reference, here is a table about the ideal pot size based on your plant’s size. Remember, this is generic and may change depending on the strain you are growing and your local weather. 

Indoor vs Outdoor Plant Sizes to Grow Cannabis

A cannabis container’s size makes a massive difference depending on where you are growing your cannabis plant: indoors or outdoor. Since outdoor growers have the luxury of space, they prefer to grow cannabis in bigger pots, whereas indoor growers stick to smaller containers that are easier to fit in the confines of the grow room. Let’s take a look at the two scenarios and the best pot sizes you should stick to. 

Container Size for Indoor Cannabis 

When you’re growing cannabis indoors, you need to be meticulous about the room’s layout and how many plants you grow. There’s no point growing ten plants when you cannot even reach half of them without leaning on other plants. So, ensure there is enough space for the plants to grow and for you to move around, and choose the container size accordingly. 

Generally, indoor cannabis growers use smaller containers that range from 2 to 6 gallons, as per their plant’s growth. These containers are small enough to fit in the grow room, unlike bigger ones that are much more difficult to manage. 

Another aspect to keep in mind when choosing containers for indoor grow rooms is to choose ones with enough drainage holes. Airflow and water flow are super important in an indoor environment. 

Container Size for Outdoor Plants

On the other hand, if you are growing cannabis outdoors, you can be more relaxed with the container size. Bigger containers encourage better root development, leading to bigger plants. So, you can choose bigger containers without worrying too much. 

Again, the importance of progressively building up to the size cannot be understated. Avoid growing a foot-long cannabis plant in a ten-gallon container — you are only wasting space, growing medium, and nutrients at this point. Instead, transplant your cannabis into bigger containers as it grows to optimize the usage of nutrients and growing medium. 

PRO-TIP: Use Saucers to Catch RunOff Water 

One of the most overlooked and underrated considerations when choosing a container for your cannabis plant is the saucer that sits under it. You generally won’t think about this, but it’s important to do so nonetheless. 

When you water your plant, you want around 25% of it to drain out immediately and the rest over the next couple of hours. This drained water can create a big mess if you haven’t placed a saucer under the container. And since this water is nutrient-rich, it can also damage other components and flooring in your grow room. 

However, placing a saucer is not as simple as placing a dish under the pot and hoping for the best. Depending on the type of container you are using, you need to use an appropriately sized saucer. For example, if you are using smart or air pots, you should use bigger saucers since these containers drain water faster than regular containers. 

If you’re growing multiple plants, you may run into one annoying problem over time: cleaning out all the saucers. It’s a lot of effort and cumbersome, especially if the saucers are hard to reach. Even in this case, you can place a much bigger saucer under multiple plants to catch the water; this way, you will have fewer saucers to clean every other day. 

You can even place a runoff tray with an incline under your plants, which will not only catch the water but collect it in one space that is much easier to clean. Or you can use an automated pump to drain the water from the saucer, but that would probably be overkill for most new growers. 

Summary: A Beginner’s Guide to Cannabis Pots and Containers

When growing cannabis, using the right-sized container is super important and is one of the most important decisions you’ll make before you even grow your plant. As much as sites like Pinterest may push you to purchase aesthetic containers, use logic here and pick a container that suits your cannabis plant, no matter how goofy it looks. 

Essentially, your container should hold the growing medium well, offer ample space for the roots to develop, and provide proper drainage to avoid problems like root rot or slimy roots. 

Traditional pots are an excellent choice as they are easy to use and you may already know how to deal with them. But if you want to take it a step further, you can choose air pots or fabric pots, which offer excellent air-pruning advantages that promote better root growth without the risk of root binding. 

Remember not to go under two gallons; choose a container that fits your plant’s size and transplant your cannabis on time to prevent issues. And don't underestimate the importance of saucers; they prevent messes and protect your growing space.

Every choice you make, including the container, contributes to your plant's health. Stay tuned to learn more about growing cannabis like a pro.