This Is The Only Kind Of Pot Your Plant Needs, According To An Expert

Have you ever bought yourself a beautiful new house plant — all verdant and glistening with promise — only to watch it die shortly after you’ve carefully repotted her into a beautiful pot that perfectly complements your living room decor?

Honestly, It feels like a personal affront.

But before you get too down on yourself, remember there’s a lot going on beneath the soil, and even if you’ve replanted your new plant perfectly, other things could be preventing it from living its best life — or living at all.

So how do we give our plants the best chance at thriving? That’s what we — Raj Punjabi and Noah Michelson, the hosts of HuffPost’s “Am I Doing It Wrong?” podcast — asked plant expert Maryah Greene when she dropped by our studio.

Press play to listen to the episode:

“For beginners, I recommend, every single time, start with a terracotta pot, especially one that’s got a hole at the bottom,” Greene told us. “The thing about terracotta is, it’s clay. It’s breathable. So if you’ve ever watered a plant in a terracotta pot…it makes that kind of funky pattern on the edges. That’s the water being absorbed by the pot. It allows air to sort of flow in and out of the pot so the roots can breathe.”

The material, which has been used for thousands of years, serves as a kind of “catch-all system for overwatering and excess moisture,” the author of “ Good Things ,” a children’s book about nurturing plant (and human) life, said.

Another good option is a glazed clay pot, ideally with a hole at the bottom or drainage stones beneath the soil, because the glaze can limit the clay’s breathability and air flow.

What should you avoid if you want your Ficus to flourish and your Pothos to prosper?

“My least favorite is a plastic pot — and I know some folks are going to hate me because those are the most affordable. But the thing about it is, plastic is just not breathable,” Greene said. “If you’ve ever been in a rainstorm and it’s humid, you just get all sweaty and gross inside your poncho or raincoat. That’s what the roots are feeling inside of a plastic pot. They just can’t breathe in there.”

We also chatted with Greene about how your plants communicate their needs, the importance of rotating your plants, and why you should do a little plant-home compatibility research before even heading to the nursery. Listen to the full episode above or wherever you get your podcasts .

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Need some help with something you’ve been doing wrong? Email us at AmIDoingItWrong@HuffPost.com , and we might investigate the topic in an upcoming episode.