Growing with
O-Pots!
H2Orchids...
It's all about balancing hydration and air
Our unglazed orchid pots wick water to let air roots...
Breathe!
Any pottery can hold a plant.
One size does not fit all
We believe an orchid pot should support each plant individually,
because not all orchids grow in the same ecosystem
Our heavy, unglazed stoneware:
Wicks water efficiently
Discourages fungus
Doesn't fall over
And looks amazing doing it.
select images to zoom
The natural charcoal infusion is more than smoky matte color.
Carbon deposits from our raku kiln firing process
discourage fungus growth.
They're fired in the same way as horticultural charcoal.
The built-in ring at the base of the pot holds
horticultural charcoal, activated charcoal
and/or aquarium gravel
This hydration tray system is designed to keep water clean
to avoid root rot and fungus.
Remember to wash your H2O trays as often as you fertilize
(no matter what kind of trays you have)
'Salt Burn' is fertilizer build-up in potting medium.
It evaporates in hydration trays and becomes concentrated.
Soaking or dipping the plant and pot in a tub of clean water
before fertilizing
helps wash concentrated fertilizer out of the potting medium
Greenhouse vs Homegrown?
Cats vs Phals?
See our feedback from orchid society members
How O-Pots Work...
Soak new pots in plain water
before transplanting, 20-min.
Put aquarium gravel,
activated horticultural charcoal
(or both) in the built-in ring.
Use clean aquarium gravel or large polished rocks in tray to controlwater wicking andair-borne humidity.
Add a few pieces of horticultural charcoal to gravel in tray to help keep standing water clean.
Change charcoal in tray 2x a year.
More gravel = more humid air
Less gravel = wetter medium
No gravel = wet & dry cycles
Have a cup of clean water nearby
for added humidity in the air if needed.
Spray pottery 3x a week or more depending on your kind of plant, it's grow space & relative humity.
Dip or soak orchids in a bowl of plain
water for a few minutes
once every six-to-eight weeks,
or before fertilizing to keep "salt burn" (dehydrated fertilizer)
from concentrating in the grow medium.
Tips...
Wash drip trays often to help avoid root rot, fungus, and concentrations of evaporated fertilizer "salts", called "salt burn".
We use GROW MORE orchid variety-specific fertilizers sparingly.
Hawaiian Floral Mist Plant Spray is an excellent foliar feeder for all orchids.
Your success will depend on your city's climate/humidity & the kind of orchids you're cultivating.
O-Pots Started in 2013
In 2013, I was tired of the usual over-glazed,
cookie-cutter pots from the
usual big box stores. I love the look of slender Japanese orchid pots and the airflow of un-glazed terracotta.
Many actual pots for orchids are too lightweight to support big & tall oncidiums, for instance; which need room to spread and lots of airflow.
So a new product went into development! Our Raku O-Pots are un-glazed, naturally carbon-infused raku stoneware, not lightweight terra cotta earthenware.
The pottery comes out of the raku kiln red-hot and is put into metal bins with 100% organic cedar shavings. The lid goes on and the pottery is infused with carbon.
It's all natural color. We never stain with India ink, wax or colored glaze. The color variations are smoke and flame patterns left from the ancient Japanese Raku family process.
No two pieces are the same.
After a year of happy orchids, we began looking for test groups & joined the
Northwest Orchid Society (NWOS), at the University of Washington Center For Urban Horticulture. In January of 2014, we gave a demo at the NW Orchid Society. Our NWOS friends gave us great feedback and a 'wish list' of things they wanted from water-wicking ceramics.
At the end of the day, we learned our pots are a unique, new product for the cultivation of orchids. Even the old-timers @ the Northwest Orchid Society had never
seen anything like them!
We custom designed 32-raku O-Pots for the Northwest Orchid Society, to be used @ the 2014 NW Flower and Garden Show @ the Washington State Convention Center, in Seattle. This 8' x 5' live orchid installation was part of the NWOS' award winning garden design.
Today, we ship O-Pots all over the USA. 75% of our business comes from repeat customers and their friends.
Getting ready for the NW Flower and Garden Show in Seattle, Washington State Convention Center January 2014
