Growing and caring for plants in your home has so many benefits. Bottom line, plants make people happy. Plants in the home are also art and architectural pieces that can help to finish and define a space.

Picking a plant can be a tall task, especially if you are new to plant parenting or are in a new space. Choosing a container can add an extra element of decision fatigue if decorating per se is "just not your thing".

Not to worry, we are here to help! Collectively, our greenhouse staff has hundreds of years of experience in choosing the perfect plant for all the places and are equally talented in finding the perfect pot.

When you purchase a plant, check out the roots. Is the soil to root volume pretty even? If so, it's ok to leave your plant in the pot it came. Just drop it into a decorative container more on that later). You can also repot your new plant into the same sized decorative pot, if it has drainage. When the balance of soil to roots is weighted too heavily on roots leaving little soil volume to absorb and hold water and fertilizer, it's time to repot.

When repotting plants for the purpose of increasing the root zone, we recommend bumping your plant up one size. Grower pots are generally sized in even numbered inches: 4", 6", 8", 10 etc. For example, if you are sizing up a 4" plant, move to a 6" pot.

Always choose a pot with drainage. Grower or nursery pots, as they are often referred to, are a great place to start. These can be easily inserted or "dropped into" decorative containers that do not contain drainage. Simply take your plant to the sink to water, let it drain, then return it to its decorative container.

If you like to plant directly into decorative containers, that's just fine. Terra cotta pots almost always have a drain hole and corresponding saucer. And even better, when you purchase a pot at Tonkadale we are happy to drill a hole for you - just ask at check-out!

Check out our video on using grower pots/nursery planters as drop-in containers!