What Size Pot for Growing Weed?
Unless you are planting marijuana straight into the ground, you might need to know how big of a pot to grow it in. The trend now, even for outdoor growers, is to use a pot for their weed. Of course, indoors you will be using pots to grow in, so maybe this article is more for the indoor growers. However, I will touch on what size pots for outdoor grows as well.
What size pot for growing weed? It is common practice to start growing marijuana in a smaller container, such as a styrofoam or plastic cup, then transplant it into a larger pot as the seedling grows. Your grow space will limit how big of a pot you can use. The more common sized marijuana growing pots are usually between 3 gallons and 5 gallons.
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It’s not just enough to know how to use a 3-gallon or 5-gallon sized pot to grow your weed. What happens if you stick to a smaller pot, will your plant supply you with the yield you want? Is it easier to use a smaller or larger pot for growing weed? What type of pot should you use? These are some of the questions I will answer below to hopefully give you the best information possible, so you make the right choice for your situation.
Does the Size of the Pot Affect Yield?
Yes, the size of pot you choose will affect how much pot you get. I heard a saying once in a marijuana magazine, “The bigger the roots the bigger the shoots”. Shoots meaning the buds. Which only makes sense. If you restrict the plant’s ability to absorb water and nutrients, the plant’s growth will be stunted.
So now, does this mean use as large of a pot as possible? No, not really. At the end of the day, if your growing weed, well your growing weed and weed tends to grow very well regardless of its conditions.
The plant itself will get big but the buds might not meet their full potential. The one thing I question in this process (which we will talk more about below) is the way seedlings are typically started by some growers. They use styrofoam or plastic cups to start the grow in and let the plant get root bound before transplanting.
Now, I know their intention is to start the plants’ life with it feeling secure in its pot but what about all the pot plants grown around the world that are started in mother earth with no size limits? Those plants seem to start just fine and grow very well, producing massive yields.
I am getting off track here, yes, the size of the pot will affect your yield, so let’s keep going and figure out what size pot you want for your grow.
How Big Does the Pot Need to Be for a Seedling?
In the marijuana growing community, it is common practice to start a seedling in a container such as disposable plastic or styrofoam cup. Growers will start the plant this way, letting the roots fill up the cup before transplanting to a larger pot.
A good way to check to see how many roots there are in the cup is to either pull the plant right out, which I wouldn’t recommend because what if the plants isn’t ready yet and you have difficulty placing the plant back in the cup? I don’t think it’s worth stressing the young plant out.
My recommendation is to carefully cut the bottom of the cup off to see if the roots are down to the bottom. If you find the roots aren’t quite filling out the cup very well yet, just place the cup into a larger pot or tray and add water to the larger container. This way, any roots that have made it to the bottom won’t dry out. This is actually a good way to feed the plant some water.
What I have just told you is the typical recommendation. I am now going to tell you to go ahead and plant your newly sprouted seed into a larger pot, if you want. Like I mentioned earlier on, some outdoor growers use mother earth as their pot and plant right into the ground where there are virtually no restrictions on the roots and those plants grow just fine. Crazy suggestion, right? Maybe not.
If you are curious, I use both methods. I like using a cup though because of how easy it is to pick it up and have a look when I want.
How Big of a Pot to Transfer a Seedling Too?
I transfer my small plant into its final sized pot. Whether it be a 3- or 5-gallon pot.
There are some growers that will transplant the pot plant from a plastic cup to a medium sized pot (1 gallon or so) then on to the final pot once it outgrows that one. I personally don’t see the benefit in doing this. I am worried I will either kill the plant some how or at minimum slow down it’s growth.
When you transplant your marijuana, the roots get disturbed and this affects the whole plant. Once you set the plant in a new pot, the roots start to take hold and strengthen in their new ground. I think this must slow down the growing process. Just my opinion.
So to be clear, after you transfer your pot plant out of a dixie type cup, you can plant it into its final sized large pot (like I do) or if you want to get fancy, you can plant it into a medium sized pot then onto the larger final one when it outgrows the medium one. The only downside to this is the time it takes to do the transplanting and you might slow down the plant’s growth.
It’s probably important to note that if you choose to transplant from small to medium to large, you should not transplant once flowering. Growing your buds is the most important time of the plant’s growth. Make sure you have the plant in its largest pot before you flip the lights to go into the flowering stage.
What Size Pot for Vegetative to Flowering Stage?
I would recommend your plant pot size for the vegetative stage be up to at least 3 gallons. Your plants will still flower nicely in a 3-gallon pot however, having marijuana plants in as big as 5-gallon pots at the time of flowering will be more beneficial to the overall size of yield you end up getting.
You can even go larger if the type of plant you have warrants it and if you have enough space wherever you are growing. I always assume someone is growing indoors when they are asking about the size of pots to use.
What Size Smart Pot for Indoor Grow?
I found this question online and thought it was worth answering quickly. A smart pot is a fabric pot and the size you use should fall in line with the recommendations for pot sizes previous in this article.
Just be aware that fabric pots will allow the soil to dry out faster so you might be watering more often. Which is fine (and is also a bonus) because the plant will be exposed to more water and more nutrients, meaning it should grow to its full potential.
What Size Pot for Grow Tent
The size of plant pot you choose to grow in your grow tent will depend on how big the tent is and how much you want to spend. In my experience, pot plant pots in grow tents tend to hold onto moisture longer so using a fabric one might be the best choice for this situation. It also depends on where you live and what your natural moisture levels in the air are as well as the temperature of the room that the grow tent is in.
I really like these fabric pots over on Amazon for using in grow tents.
Best Size Pot for Growing Weed Outdoors
Now let’s move things outdoors. If you have the luxury of being able to grow marijuana outdoors, first of all, I say grow it in the ground, if you can. There are nutrients in the earth that will benefit your plants in a way that manufactured fertilizers simply can’t replicate. Again, just my opinion.
If you want to grow in a pot outdoors, then try a pot size of 5 or more gallons. If you have the space and don’t need to move the pot around too much, lean on the side of bigger is better. Remember the saying that ‘more roots equal more shoots’.
Do Bigger Pots Mean Bigger Plants?
Yes, bigger pots usually mean bigger plants and bigger yields. There comes a time when the pot being used is just so big that the plant won’t be able to grow any bigger, no matter what.
At what point does this happen you might ask? I really don’t know. What I do know is that a 5- gallon pot is much better than a 1- or 3- gallon pot. A 10-gallon is even better, but is a 15- or 20- gallon better? I don’t know.
You would have to grow the same strain of marijuana, in the different sized pots with the same lighting and see how each yield in order to come to that conclusion.
Do Indica and Sativa Marijuana Plants Need Different Sized Pots?
I use the same pots, regardless if I am growing an Indica or a Sativa plant. Sativa plants are usually taller and can have more branches and leaves so maybe a larger pot would benefit this type of marijuana.
I wouldn’t worry too much about this, though. At the end of the day, you can just trim back the fan leaves on the plant and that should help a bit, if you are using a smaller pot.
What Types of Pots Can You Grow Marijuana In?
There are more options for pots today than 30 years ago. Some common selections today are pots made of clay, plastic, fabric and then the air pots which are gaining popularity.
This section might warrant its own article so we will touch on these at a high level, mentioning pros and cons for each.
Clay Pots
Pros
- Reasonably priced.
- Clay is Porous so the soil will dry fairly quickly.
Cons
- Cracks easy.
- Very heavy.
Plastic Pots
Pros
- Very cheap to purchase.
- Come in many different sizes.
Cons
- Soil might stay too wet for marijuana.
- The plastic stores heat. This could lead to roots overheating.
Fabric Pots (smart)
Pros
- Reasonably priced.
- Come in many different sizes.
- Soil dries easier than other options.
Cons
- Need to keep them in a tray because of water.
- Roots can pop through material.
Air Pots
Pros
- Roots get exposure to oxygen.
- Roots will not choke themselves out.
Cons
- Cost more than other options.
- Could require more watering.
Conclusion
Just to sum things up…
Most grow pots (regardless of size) will work fine for your marijuana however, the saying “bigger is better” holds true when it comes to growing big juicy buds.
I would recommend trying fabric or air pots, if you haven’t yet.
Good luck.
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