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I have a hardwood bowl,that I would like to use to grow a spider plant in, outside in a self-build little greenhouse. The bowl does not have a drain hole.

  1. Is it possible to have the plant in a drain-less bowl without the soil developing some sort of rot / fungus?
  2. I want to build a little greenhouse with a slanted, hinged plexiglass top cover, so the snow can slide off. In the winter it can get sunlight as the leaves are off the trees. Does that seem plausible?
  3. If the roots of the plant grow into the bottom of the bowl, this would be very interesting.

wooden_bowl

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  • What hardiness zone are you in?
    – Jurp
    Commented Nov 22 at 20:34
  • While it might be possible to grow the plant in a drainless bowl its not a great idea - Everything I could find on that plant says it wants free draining soil - so ensuring the plant does not sit in water could be a challenge. Not all Fungi are bad for plants, some are very beneficial - however you may be missing that the soil needs to have some air in it to encourage a healthy microbiome so the plant can get nutrients - and having soil that is waterlogged can create a "toxic" microbiome.
    – davidgo
    Commented Nov 24 at 3:21
  • @Jurp I'm in US Mass. Yes, I understand. I will make drain holes and build my little greenhouse.
    – birdpoolcleaner
    Commented Nov 25 at 14:32
  • A spider plant will freeze if left outside at night in the winter in Massachusetts, unless heated to at least 40F
    – Jurp
    Commented Nov 26 at 2:24
  • Spider plants can live in water, so no drainage is not your problem. Your greenhouse will allow the plant to die by freezing slowly. No question. Overnight in January.
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Nov 26 at 13:06

2 Answers 2

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The wooden bowl full of damp roots and soil will rot, with or without drain holes.

Drain holes are better for the plant in the bowl, though.

Spider plants are pretty hard to kill, so that should work in your favor.

If you get snow, and build a little greenhouse for the plant to be outside, you'll need to heat the little greenhouse. Spider plants are usually kept in the house where it does not freeze; freezing will probably kill it.

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  • @ Ecnerval: there is only on way to find out. We get good sunshine in the winter with the leaves down.
    – birdpoolcleaner
    Commented Nov 25 at 14:45
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    And have you arranged a system to store heat from the sun for the many winter hours that the sun does not shine? It's pretty common for a greenhouse to overheat and require venting in sun, (or it will cook the plants if not vented) even in winter, but once the sun goes down, unless there is supplemental heating or some effort has been spent on storing daytime heat for release over the night, freezing is common.
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Nov 25 at 16:04
  • good point. I will make the greenhouse movable, and bring it inside when we have a blizzard.
    – birdpoolcleaner
    Commented Nov 27 at 13:45
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You can plant in that bowl and be successful. You will need to give your plant enough water, but also let the soil and roots dry out periodically to kill off pests. This is much easier to do with drainage because you can water the plant until you see water come out of the bottom and know the soil is saturated but not waterlogged. It's impossible to overwater a plant with drainage in one watering session.

Your idea of a tiny greenhouse is a great one. Those are called cold frames.

If this bowl will only ever be used to hold plants, I would consider drilling a hole or two in the bottom. Otherwise, I would be sure to use a well draining potting mix and pay extra attention to how much I water it.

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