Potted Plants

[TwoTank]

Is it ok to keep my plants potted? I was ill instructed by some jerk who wanted to sell me something and the gravel is too large to grow the plants in. Is it okay to bury the plants (potted) in the gravel and them continue to survive?

 

[Viper]

Is it ok to keep my plants potted? I was ill instructed by some jerk who wanted to sell me something and the gravel is too large to grow the plants in. Is it okay to bury the plants (potted) in the gravel and them continue to survive?

Are there slots in the pot to allow the roots to grow out? I've read before that plants can survive in the pots because the roots will just grow out of the pot. Never tried it though.

 

[TwoTank]

Are there slots in the pot to allow the roots to grow out? I've read before that plants can survive in the pots because the roots will just grow out of the pot. Never tried it though.

Yes, slits are in the pots. I'm just unsure how it will grow in the large gravel once it outgrows the pot.

 

[neilanh]

Depending on how they're packed into the pots, they can grow through the packing material and pot.

What kind of plants are they? It may be that what you have can and will grow just fine unpotted in standard aquarium gravel. do you have the names?

 

[HN1]

The plants shold be fine as long as the roots aren't bound.

That "jerk" that was "trying to sell you something" was probably just a poorly trained guy trying to make a living. Just sayin'.

 

[jsoong]

Depends on the pot & the plant. A lot of the cheaper aquarium plants will do just fine in aquarium gravel. <Some, like anubias or java ferns, don't need any substrate at all & can be tied to a rock or driftwood, etc.>

It is fairly common to have potted plants in goldies tanks to prevent the fish from digging up the plants. To have really good plants, you want to use a good size pot (like 3") - an unglazed terra-cotta pot works well - so the plants have room to grow. I wouldn't leave the plants in those tiny plastic pots, even with slots. 1. The slots are too small for roots to grow out of. 2. The plants are usually packed in rock wool & such, not ideal planting medium. 3. Even if the pot & medium is ideal for the plants, once the roots grows out of the pot into the gravel, it is no different than if you had planted the plants in the gravel directly. If the plants actually needed good substrate, you will need to have all the roots in the substrate - ie a big enough pot to hold all the roots.

Your best bet is to ID your plants to see if they actually need a fancy substrate. Most plants in the typical lfs don't.

 

[mgamer20o0]

how large is the gravel? i think more info would help like the others said.

 

[T Dawg]

Is it ok to keep my plants potted? I was ill instructed by some jerk who wanted to sell me something and the gravel is too large to grow the plants in. Is it okay to bury the plants (potted) in the gravel and them continue to survive?

Like a house plant, if the roots outgrow the pot size they need to be repotted. Some plants with slow root growth may go years, others may only go months. You can sink the pots in the gravel, but will want the top of the pot slightly above the gravel for firts and nutrients. Some plants need extra holes in the pots to have water flow to prevent root rot. My neighbour has a 8"x8"x36" pot with all the plants in it and they do quite well, the container is so big it is like there is no pot. You may instead choose to mix in some smaller gravel or flourite in your existing substrate to accomodate your plants.
Goodluck.