Clay Pots or Plastic Pots for Orchid Growing

Orchid beginners are always confronted with a lot of questions and I am providing my views on this topic.

Clay Pots or Plastic Pots. Which is best for growing orchids in Bangalore weather.

I grow most of my orchids on plastic pots with slits and some grow on clay pots.

Attribute	Clay Pot	Plastic Pot
Porosity	Clay Pots are porus and hence help the roots to breath better and hence lesser probability of root rots	Plastic Pots are non porus and based on the watering it could be more prone to root rotting than clay pots. Plastic pots with slits improve air circulation and are better than normal plastic pots
Evaporative Cooling	Due to the porosity of the clay media, the roots are relatively  cooler	No evaporative cooling
Watering Frequency	Due to Porosity of clay, it would retain less moisture and hence needs more frequent watering than clay pots. Since less moisture is retained, it is less prone to root rots	Retains more moisture than clay and is benefecial for some of the orchids but if overwatered it could cause root rots. Platsic pots with slits are better than normal plastic pots
Sterlization	Sterlization of clay pots is very difficult	sterlization of plastic pots is easier
handling & life of pots	Handling of clay pots is relatively tougher and life is short	Handling is much easier and life is normally more
Weight	because of their weight, they are suitable for top heavy plants (Vanda, Cattleya)	Adding some weights in form of gravel stones in the bottom of the pot or placing the Plastic pot inside a clay pot during the blloming season could help in addressing this issue