Why do houseplants need the right size pot to grow healthy, but in nature the plant is in a “pot” that is essentially infinitely huge?
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In nature plants have to compete with each other. Growing roots out is balanced by other roots from stuff like grasses, poor soil, rocks etc. In a large pot there’s nothing holding the growth back besides the wall of the pot, and the roots end up growing excessively compared to the foliage stunting their growth above ground a bit. Now while inconvenient that won’t necessarily kill a plant, just slow it’s growth a bit. What kills it is that a large pot full of soil and few roots doesn’t drain as well. Moisture isn’t taken up by the roots quickly enough, reducing aeration, and bacteria breed in there and the roots rot.
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