Flower of the Week: Coir Pots

A recent development in the green industry has been the use of pots made out of coir, or coconut fiber, rather than plastic. The instructions call for planting the whole thing, pot and all, in the ground. The idea of reducing waste and saving resources is a good one, but how well do the plants perform? This photo shows two hardy geranium plants that were dug up one year after being planted as instructed. You can see that the coir pots are still intact and have not yet broken down, and there has been very little root growth outside the pots. It’s amazing that these plants survived a Utah summer and then a Utah winter with such a feeble root system! The fiber pots may break down more quickly in wetter climates, but we advise Utah gardeners to take the plants out of the pots before planting, in order to give them a better start. The coir pots can then be discarded in the yard waste can or on the compost pile.