Balter Ceramic Pot And Saucer Set | 3.5 inch

with drainage hole and saucer

Regular price $15.25
Colors: Black Flowers
Drainage hole
Saucer Included
30-day return policy

The Balter is a 3.5-inch ceramic plant pot with a matching saucer, named after a word that means to dance clumsily, without skill, but with great enthusiasm.

Glazed ceramic wipes clean and holds moisture more evenly than raw terracotta. The center drainage hole keeps water moving instead of pooling at the roots, and the matching saucer keeps the sill beneath dry. At three and a half inches it suits a single succulent, a small herb, or a rooted cutting. The 5-inch Balter is there when the plant needs more room. At three and a half inches it tucks into a windowsill arrangement without crowding the plants around it, holding its small patch of sill with what we have agreed to call enthusiasm.

Baltering is commitment over competence, and at three and a half inches the Balter commits to exactly one thing, completely, which is holding up its end of a windowsill.

Product detail
  • Color: Black Flower, Black Lattice, Gold Diamond, Gold Stars, Grey Leaves, Grey Paisley, Olive Cross, White fleur de Lis, White Flowers, White leaves
  • Material: Ceramic
  • Glaze finish: Matte
  • Finish variation: Natural variation between pieces
  • Drainage: included
  • Saucer: Matching saucer included
  • Dishwasher safe: Yes
  • Indoor / Outdoor: For indoor use and covered outdoor temperate weather use
  • Designed by: Chive Studio
  • Year Designed: 2017
Dimension
  • 3.5 inches diameter, 3.5 inches tall

Also available in:

  • 5 inches diameter, 5 inches tall
Plants that love this pot
  • Succulents and cacti
  • Pothos
  • Peperomia
  • Haworthia
  • Hoya
  • African violet
  • Fittonia (nerve plant)

Potting a Plant

  1. Place a 1-inch layer of small stones or LECA pebbles at the bottom of the pot. Optional, but it helps with airflow.
  2. Add well-draining potting mix appropriate to your plant. Not garden soil. We know your grandmother used garden soil. She was wrong about this one thing.
  3. Transplant from the nursery pot, leaving about ½ inch at the top for watering. In a small pot, every bit of space counts.
  4. Set the pot on the matching saucer.
  5. Water thoroughly until water runs out the drainage hole into the saucer. Empty the saucer once the plant has absorbed what it needs. This is the entire system.

Potting Tips

  1. Repot in the evening.
  2. Wait 1–2 days after watering, then repot.
  3. Buy potting mix. Not backyard dirt.
  4. Move the top layer of soil from the old pot into the new one. It's a little ecosystem.
  5. Never go more than one inch bigger.
  6. Soil line sits an inch below the rim. Leca or small rocks at the bottom for drainage.

Which pot size for my plant? →

Full Repotting guide →

Pot Care instructions
  1. Dishwasher-safe. Can also be hand-washed with warm soapy water and a soft cloth.
  2. Glazed pots are dipped and kiln-fired — they are sealed, durable, and not looking for trouble. No special cleaning products required.
  3. For pots with saucers empty the saucer periodically. Standing water in the saucer defeats the purpose of having a drainage hole, which is a thing we feel strongly about.
  4. Not frost-safe. Designed for indoor use and covered outdoor temperate weather use. Freezing temperatures are not recommended.
Shipping & returns

Shipping

  • Free shipping: On qualifying US orders — threshold shown at checkout
  • Standard: 5–8 business days Express2–3 business days (at checkout)
  • International Ships: to 40 countries — rates at checkout
  • Packaging Ships: in outer box to protect gift box

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Returns

We accept returns within 30 days of delivery on unused items in original packaging. If your piece arrives damaged, contact us within 14 days with a photo and we will replace it at no charge.

View full return policy →

Wholesale Inquires

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Balter Ceramic Pot And Saucer Set - Chive Ceramics Studio - Pots - Chive Ceramics Studio

To Dance Clumsily, With Great Enthusiasm

The Balter is a 3.5-inch ceramic plant pot, named after a word that arrived one morning from one of those apps that sends a new word a day, the kind that makes you feel briefly educated and then immediately forget what you learned. That morning the word was balter: to dance clumsily, without skill, but with great enthusiasm.

We looked at the word, and then at the pot we were finishing, and the name was simply there, the way the right names sometimes are. The pot does not dance. It sits very still and holds a plant. But it holds that plant with an energy that, if you were feeling generous, you might reasonably call enthusiastic.

At three and a half inches the Balter is a windowsill size: a single succulent, a small herb, a cutting that has found its feet. Glazed ceramic, with a center drainage hole and a matching saucer, so water leaves the soil and stays off the sill. It is also available at five inches, for when the enthusiasm needs more room. The saucer lifts off for emptying, and at this size the pot disappears into a windowsill arrangement until you look closely, at which point the name starts to make a strange kind of sense.


Potting a plant with Chive

  1. It's best to repot your plant in the evening. Trust us, we know.
  2. Repot 1–2 days after watering — keeps the same rhythm going and won't shock it.
  3. Potting soil is not the dirt from your backyard. Go buy good, nutrient-rich soil.
  4. The top layer of soil in your current pot should be the top layer in the new pot too. It's a little ecosystem your plant likes.
  5. Never go more than one inch bigger than your existing pot. "It'll grow into it" is not correct, and you will kill it.
  6. Keep the soil line about an inch below the top of the pot. Add some leca or small rocks to the bottom for better aeration.
Repotting plants with Chive | Chive Studio

The Ultimate Repotting Guide

For those who have killed a plant. Or several. Or, frankly, many.

Before you put a plant into your new pot, you have to get it out of the nursery pot — a process that ends badly more often than any gardening influencer will admit. We wrote a full guide: when to repot (early spring, and not when you're feeling impulsive in October), which soil to use, how to tell your plant is root-bound, and how to avoid the three mistakes that kill perfectly healthy plants within a week of a well-intentioned repotting.

It is the guide we wish someone had handed us twenty-five years ago. It is written by people who have personally committed most of the errors in it.

Balter Ceramic Pot And Saucer Set - Chive Ceramics Studio - Pots - Chive Ceramics Studio

Also Available, and Related

The Balter 3.5" is rarely an only child, and its siblings share the silhouette while splitting the difference on size from a cutting to a corner plant.

Shop the 5" Balter

Pots with drainage by chive studio

Drainage Is the Whole Point

The Balter 3.5" opens onto a wider plant pot collection, where every piece is made to the same standard and sized for a different plant.

Shop pots with drainage

Water It Like You Mean It

The Balter 3.5" drains well, but watering still decides everything, so a real watering can or mister makes the difference, and ours look the part on a counter.

Shop watering cans & misters

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Did Not Ask How It Was Finished

Chive Studio designs pots and ceramic flowers, and runs every shape through more revisions and arguments than anyone budgets for, because we are incapable of making something we do not mean. We design everything we sell, license nothing to other manufacturers, and have never sold to a big-box retailer, which is the kind of decision that sounds principled until you see the schedule.

Botanical institutions keep choosing the work, which we credit to buyers who can tell at a glance whether an object is what it claims to be. Brooklyn Botanic Garden carries Chive. So do the San Antonio Botanical Garden and Denver Botanic Gardens, where a pot has to hold its own beside the plants it was made for. We ship to over 40 countries, and the glazed surface wipes clean and outlasts most of the furniture it sits beside, which is a claim we can make only because we have watched it happen for years.


Plant Tips from Chive Studio

Quick tips, straight answers, and the occasional reminder that overwatering kills more houseplants than neglect does.

How to Repot a Plant: Watch for the Linen

Todd Newgren
How to repot a plant comes down to three signs, one rule, and one soil decision that most people get wrong. Chive Studio has been making drainage pots since 1999. The neighbor i...
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Are Ceramic Pots Good for Plants?

Todd Newgren
Ceramic pots for plants outperform plastic on drainage, weight, and longevity — when they have a drainage hole. Chive has spent 25 years getting that detail right, and the pots ...
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Non Toxic Plants for Cats: The Complete Guide

Todd Newgren
Spider plants, hoyas, and Boston ferns are non-toxic to cats and work well as houseplants. Chive's ceramic wall flowers — stocked in the Getty Museum and over 200 galleries — ar...
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Frequently asked questions

What is the Balter ceramic pot good for?

The Balter is a ceramic pot for indoor plants. It works well for pothos, snake plants, peace lilies, philodendrons, and small ferns and suits modern, boho, and minimalist rooms. As a 3.5 inch ceramic pot, the Balter fits a shelf, sill, or desk and pairs cleanly with the rest of the Chive pot range. It comes in several colorways to match different rooms.

Is the Balter a plant pot with a drainage hole and saucer?

Yes, the Balter is a ceramic plant pot with a drainage hole and a matching saucer. The drainage hole lets excess water escape so roots are not left sitting in water, which is the most common cause of root rot indoors. Water until you see a little drain into the saucer, then empty it. For a ceramic pot with drainage, the Balter keeps watering simple.

What size plant fits the Balter 3.5 inch?

The Balter 3.5 inch is a ceramic pot that holds a nursery plant of a similar width, so match the grower pot to the opening rather than the mature size of the plant. Good choices include pothos, snake plants, peace lilies, philodendrons, and small ferns. For a 3.5 inch indoor plant pot, size up by about an inch when you repot so roots have room without swimming in soil.

Is the saucer included with the Balter pot?

Yes, the Balter ships with a matching ceramic saucer, so it arrives as a complete pot and saucer set. The saucer catches water that drains through and protects shelves and sills from rings and moisture. Both pieces are finished to match, which is why the Balter reads as one considered object rather than a pot with a random tray underneath.

Are ceramic plant pots good for indoor plants?

Yes, the Balter is a ceramic plant pot. Ceramic is fired hard, holds glaze color well, and does not break down with watering the way untreated materials can, which makes ceramic plant pots a reliable choice for indoor plants. The Balter is glazed to seal the surface, so it wipes clean and keeps its finish on a sill, shelf, or table.

How do I care for plants in the Balter pot?

To water the Balter, add water until a little runs into the saucer, then tip out what collects so roots are not left standing in it. Because this ceramic pot has a drainage hole, you can water thoroughly and let the excess go, which encourages even root growth. Check the top inch of soil before watering again rather than watering on a fixed schedule.

Is the Balter a good ceramic pot for snake plants?

The Balter is a good ceramic pot for snake plants. It drains freely, so the roots get water and air in the right balance. For anyone searching for a ceramic pot for snake plants, the Balter covers both looks and function. Match the nursery pot to the opening and the plant settles in without fuss.

Does the Balter work as a housewarming gift?

The Balter makes a practical gift for a plant lover because it is a finished ceramic pot that solves a real problem rather than adding clutter. It arrives as a pot and saucer set and suits most modern interiors. For a plant pot gift that gets used, the Balter is an easy choice, and it suits anyone building an indoor plant collection.

Shido Vegetable and Flower Seeds Vacuum sealed for peak freshness

The pot is sorted. Now what goes in it?

Shido seeds come vacuum-sealed, non-GMO, and packaged well enough that people keep the packets after the seeds are gone. Which is either a design success or a problem, depending on how you look at it.

Your new pot is waiting.