Black nursery pots and heat

Last year my only plant was in a 10-gallon black nursery pot. It got hot but there was no visible adverse effects to the plant. This year I have a few more, they are in black 3 gallon pots, it'll be a few weeks before they go into the 10 gallon ones. These get really hot, and i have to water every day. So far the plants seem ok, but the pots are almost too hot to handle. We've already had one 100 degree day, with highs in the upper 80's and low 90's otherwise.

Should I just not worry about it long as things look healthy, or is there way to keep them from getting too hot?

I don't think the high temps are optimal for your roots but I don't think you will see any adverse affects from it.

To keep em cooler you could try placing the pots in holes and/ or add some straw to the top of the soil to help keep it cooler and to retain moisture.

Direct sun on black plastic pots can harm your roots. If you pull a plant out of a pot that has been sitting in the sun for a long period of time you can see the difference in roots from the direct sun side of the pot and backside of the pot. I am speaking from experience in the nursery/landscape industry...I wouldn't recommend pulling your girls out to check. Really the only way to see a negative effect on the plant would be if you're using #5 or smaller containers, bigger containers have too much soil to make any difference.

maybe put the pot in a burlap sack? that could provide some shade. you could wet the burlap too to make it not get hot

smart pots and dina gro pro tekt

Well, they'll only be in the 3 gallons for another week. And last year the 10 gallon pot was big enough that it wasn't an issue. So far no visible ill effects, but I suppose I could find white butcher paper or something and wrap it around the outside of the pots.

No clue where to get butcher paper or something like it tho. I'd transplant them now but we're having a birthday party next week and I have to move them into the back room of the house for that so the guests don't see 'em. 3 gallon pots are moveable, 10 gallons not so much

obijohn said:

Well, they'll only be in the 3 gallons for another week. And last year the 10 gallon pot was big enough that it wasn't an issue. So far no visible ill effects, but I suppose I could find white butcher paper or something and wrap it around the outside of the pots.

No clue where to get butcher paper or something like it tho. I'd transplant them now but we're having a birthday party next week and I have to move them into the back room of the house for that so the guests don't see 'em. 3 gallon pots are moveable, 10 gallons not so much

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i would try the butcher for the butcher paper lol. until then, try spinning the plants every few hours