great idea gonz, trouble is never seen them here in OZ, but it,s not to say they don,t exist. Even if they do exist, for some reason orchid pots over here are usually twice the price for some reason, maybe they think that if you grow orchids you must have more money than people who just grow colored cabbages. It,s a shame because they are obviously a better pot being much more open at the bottom. Anyway what i have been doing is using a very sharp 6mm drill and making about 20 holes around the circumference of the standard 140mm black squat pots to increase the air flow through the pumice style volcanic rock that is called 'quinkan gravel' over here. We use it in the various sizes e.g. 5, 10, 15, & 20mm. I usually put a few large pieces of 40mm standard non aerated gravel in the bottom , then a single layer of 20mm over these then a combo of 10 & 15mm around 40mm deep around the natural root zone of the brom then a half teaspoon of slow release fert, then a layer of 20mm over this just to support the brom so it feels a little more secure without being to damp around the bottom leaves. No organic matter whatsoever, they love it, and with the extra aeration from 6mm holes i rarely loose a brom from rot. Everyones situation is different so you have to adapt to try and imitate the natural environment the best way you can and because i live in a high rainfall tropical area this is how i have success. Down south around the Brisbane area they can get away with using 100% pine bark chips and nothing else so when we buy broms from down there we have to repot them straight away otherwise we just finish up with a pot full of fungus in 10secs flat and then all sorts of problems occur as you can imagine. Anyway let us all know how you go with the clear pots, i wish they made them in the standard squat pots, maybe we can recycle our 2litre polycarbonate mineral water bottles, 2mins and a pair of scissors, a little creativity and presto you,ve got a cheap hanger.

I have been using smaller sized clear pots for seedlings and I think they work well. I paid a premium for those from an orchid dealer. I tried to order a case of clear pots of any reasonable size from Florikan and they only had them available as full pallets.

Honestly, I doubt it makes much difference. It's probably like using Super Thrive. If you believe it then it works.

Clear pots? I know lots of orchid growers and I've never heard of such a thing. I've seen pots with extra holes, as bromsofnq describes, but nothing transparent. What is the reasoning behind that?

For the orchids guys it's supposed to let you see the root growth or something. Lately, all the potted orchids at home depot have been clear pots set inside of clay pots. I wanted some clear pots to make sure the seedlings that are under the rim got some light. Of course, they aren't completely clear, just transparent.

Our orchid grower here said that the only advantage of the new 'clear' pots is you can see easily when the plant needs to be moved up a pots size based on the root growth

You can order them through greenhousemegastore.com
They are a thinner gauge than what you're used to working with. The price is 10 for $4.50 or 450 for $91. Lots of drainage!

Lisa,
orchid roots can do photosynthesis. I suppose nothing like this can be expected from bromeliad roots, they are quite different.
Also, transparent pots promote algae growth.
Tomas

Yes, Tomas, even white pots promote algae growth more than black pots.

Personally I think it would look ugly. If you were to slip that pot inside a more attractive container, I could see that. Otherwise I just don't see the advantage, unless you want to be able to see if you've got root mealybug!

Good point Tomas and Lisa, about the algae. Tomas, is there any evidence that brom roots can photosynthesize like orchids? My intrest was spurred by John Arden's collection which features plants, especially orchids, that he says have benefited nicely.

Gonzer,
I do not think the clear pots are even much useful for photosynthesis in orchids (and many orchid growers confirm that). The roots are important for some genera (have a look at this link and you will see it immediately - this species has no leaves, so the roots are the only part of the plant that actualy can photosynthetize: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/Webb/BOT410/Roots/PsynOrchRoots.htm), but if you compare the leaf and root surface of the most commonly grown genera, it is clear that the leaves are much more important for the photosynthesis.
Beside this, the orchid roots are very particular if compared to bromeliad roots, so I do not think the later can photosynthetize, in any case the surface of the roots is very limited.
Maybe this can be useful too
http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/lifeforms/epiphytes/epiphyticorchids.html
Tomas

Hi. Some orchids, like phals, are usually potted in clear plastic pots not only because their roots do photosynthesis, but also as a humidity control method. Their thick roots appear grey when dry, green when wet and brown when rotten, therefore, it is very easy to tell when to water your plant.

I wrote this message yesterday but it's not posted. Maybe it is and I can't see it? Sorry if I post twice!

That's a good reason, rociom. I don't know of any broms that have roots like a Phalaenopsis, though. The biggest, thickest roots I've seen are on some of the larger foliage-type Vrieseas, Werrauhias, etc. but they're still not as fleshy as orchid roots and there's no green pigment to them, so photosynthesis seems doubtful.

My main reason for the pots was to experiment with the larger, xeric plants of Tillandsia. The fasciculata-types tend to have very large roots that are apparent only when mounted, which is a pain-in-the-!!! to do. Since the size and thickness of these pots is limited I'll start with smaller plants. The Japanese habitually use bark-nugget filled terra cotta pots to display their tills.