Fyba Longlife Pots

Material

Fyba Longlife Pots are made from a strong paper-like organic material, made from wood pulp, recycled paper and textile fabrics, saturated with pure bitumen.

Characteristics

• Semi-rigid and very strong.
• Lightweight and will not break when dropped. 
• Clean.
• Sterile.
• Good water retention.  The pot will absorb a little water but there is no evaporation through the sides, so frequency of watering is reduced compared to peat pots or soil blocks, etc.  Potting soil does not dry out quickly and is easily re-wetted if this does occur.  Drainage is through slits round the outer edge of the base of the pot.  The base is designed for capillary watering.
• Good heat retention.  The material acts as an insulator.  Potting soils warm up quickly and the pots retain the warmth, speeding up root development and growth.  The warm dark colour blends well with the plants to create an attractive appearance.

Pot Life

Above the ground the pots last between 8 and 10 months according to the growing conditions.  In dry conditions with air circulating around the pot they last longer.  Roots of vigorous plants will penetrate the sides and base of the pots.

Decomposition

The pots decompose due to the action of bacteria in the soil, breaking down the organic material of the pot.  Soil conditions and the moisture level effect the length of time taken for the pot to rot but as the plant roots will have quickly passed through the side of the pot the delay is not harmful and in poor quality soils it is an advantage because the fibrous roots develop in the potting soil whilst other roots are establishing themselves outside the pot.

Advantages

Fyba Longlife Pots help to create very strong root sysems and encourage fast growth.  They keep roots moist and warmer than other types of pot.  They protect roots from sun, scorch and frost better than any other type of pot.  Fyba Longlife Pots are bio-degradable so they can be planted out with the plant thereby avoiding root disturbance.  The roots pass through the sides and base of the pot.

The deep pots allow the tap roots of trees to grow straight down and through the pots.  Roots of trees grow outward from the stem and if they are restricted as with plastic bags or plastic pots the roots begin circulating round the pot and will continue to circle even when the plant is planted out.  Fyba Longlife Pots allow the roots to grow in the natural way, through the sidesof the pot, which avoids root ringing and ensure that the tree establishes well in the ground.  The flexible pot allows plants to be packed tightly in boxes or on pallets, using less space than rigid pots.

Uses

For all types of plants where the life is up to ten months and the plant will then be transplanted or re-potted.  Also for plants to be sold to gardeners or used in landscape work where it is an advantage to avoid root disturbance.

The small sizes are used for alpines, pansies, violas, heathers, softwood cuttings, flowering shrubs and miniature roses.

100 and 125mm pots are used for dwarf confiers, junipers, fuchsias, Hypericum, etc.

160mm pots are used for strawberry plants under glass, herbaceous plants and roses.

190 and 230mm pots are often called Cropping Pots as plants are grown in them from propagation to completed cropping.  Young tomato plants or cucumbers are potted in 230mm pots in the greenhouse and irrigation pipes attached into the pot.  This method is often used when greenhouse soil is poor quality or diseased.  To save heating costs the young plants in the 230mm pots may be concentrated into one greebhouse until the plants need to be spaced out and then easily carried into the cropping position.  Because air temperature is usually higher than soil temperature the plant roots in Cropping Pots are warmer than those in the ground so the plants grow faster.  Fertiliser and water are retained close to the roots in the pot.

Chrysanthemums in 190 or 230mm pots grow well in the open and are easily carried into the greenhouse to flower when the summer crops are cleared

100x125mm Long Tom Pots and 120x180mm Dixie Pots are used for deep-rooted shrubs for landscape work and retail sales.

100x180mm Amipots are narrow, deep pots which taper to a 64mm base specially designed for tap rooted forest trees.  One or two year old plants are potted up and grown in the Amipots for a year, where they make strong root growth to ensure good establishment in the forest.

Pot Sizes and Volumes

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