How can ‘over-potting’ be a thing when plants grow straight from the Earth’s surface with infinite amounts of soil available?
In: 1858
Infinite soil means infinitely deep drainage for excess water to drain away.
Not so in a pot: a layer at the bottom stays completely saturated in a phenomenon known as the perched water table. (Note that adding a “drainage layer” of bigger rocks does not help this–it just means the perched water table is higher up in the medium.)
In a very big pot, the amount of moisture a plant can intake relative to the pot size is miniscule, so the roots stay wetter longer and die faster.
Note that pots that are very wide have worse drainage than pots of the same volume that are very tall. That’s why all tree nurseries use tall pots with good drainage holes. You can try this out for yourself with a flat container. Water it thoroughly, then wait ten minutes. Now tip it up on its side, and way more water will flow out.
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