Convex Ceramic Pot With Drainage Hole And Saucer

with drainage hole and saucer

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

The Convex is a geometric ceramic plant pot with a center drainage hole and a matching saucer, and it was the first thing we ever made by asking a laser 3D printer to essentially print a piece of mathematics. The mold cost roughly two thousand dollars to produce, which at the time felt like a serious investment in a very specific idea and would now cost about thirty-five dollars at a copy shop on a slow Tuesday.

We try not to think about that too often. The pot is still beautiful. The mathematics still work. The two thousand dollars is gone and is not coming back, which is also a piece of mathematics, just not the fun kind. The drainage hole keeps roots healthy, the saucer keeps the surface underneath dry, and the curve does the rest, catching light along an edge no potter's wheel could ever reproduce.

Product detail
  • Color: Cobalt, Green, Green Blue, Medium Grey, Mint, Purple, White, Yellow
  • Material: Ceramic
  • Glaze finish: Glazed
  • 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: 2014
Dimension
  • 3 inches in diameter and 3.35 inches tall
Plants that love this pot
  • Succulents and cacti
  • Pothos
  • Peperomia
  • Snake plant
  • Hoya
  • ZZ plant
  • Philodendron

Potting the Convex

  1. Drop a 1-inch layer of small stones or LECA pebbles in the bottom. Optional, but it helps airflow around the roots.
  2. Add a well-draining potting mix suited to your plant. Not garden soil, whatever tradition says.
  3. Transplant from the nursery pot, leaving about half an inch at the top so watering does not overflow the curve.
  4. Set the pot on its matching saucer, which is doing more work than it gets credit for.
  5. Water until it runs out the drainage hole into the saucer, then empty the saucer once the plant has taken what it needs. That is the whole system, mathematics not required.

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.

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Wholesale Inquires

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Convex Ceramic Pot With Drainage Hole And Saucer - Chive Ceramics Studio - Pots - Chive US

We Printed a Piece of Mathematics

The Convex was the first pot we made when we decided it would be interesting to hand a laser 3D printer a piece of mathematics and ask it to print the result. That is a sentence that made complete sense to us at the time and makes slightly less sense every year since, which has not stopped us from being quietly proud of it.

The mold cost approximately two thousand dollars to produce. At the time, that felt like a significant and slightly reckless investment in a very specific idea, the kind of number you justify to yourself in the moment and explain to no one afterward. The same job, today, would cost about thirty-five dollars at a copy shop on a slow afternoon. We try not to think about this too often, and we fail, regularly.

Here is where the accounting lands. The pot is still beautiful. The mathematics still work, and the curve still does the thing it was always supposed to do. The two thousand dollars is gone, and is not coming back, which is itself a piece of mathematics, just not the fun kind. We have made our peace with the trade. We got a pot we are still showing off years later. The printer got a story. Everyone involved came out ahead except, strictly speaking, the bank account.


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.

Convex Ceramic Pot With Drainage Hole And Saucer - Chive Ceramics Studio - Pots - Chive US

The Rest of the Pot Range

The Convex is one shape among dozens, some restrained, some, like this one, the result of an expensive idea. The full plant pot range rewards a slow scroll.

Shop all plant pots

Pots with drainage by chive studio

Drainage Is the Whole Point

Underneath the mathematics, the Convex has a center drainage hole and a matching saucer, because a beautiful pot that drowns its plant is just expensive sculpture. The full drainage range keeps roots healthy the same way.

Shop pots with drainage

Water It Like You Mean It

The Convex drains the way it should, which only matters if the watering keeps pace. A proper can or mister makes that easy, and ours look the part beside a pot this considered.

Shop watering cans & misters

Even the Huntington Appreciates Expensive Mathematics

Designed by Chive Studio, the Convex is part of an in-house catalog that occasionally indulges an expensive idea purely to see it through. Our ceramics are carried by botanical garden shops across North America, including the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens and the Atlanta Botanical Garden. The Convex came out of a two-thousand-dollar experiment in printing mathematics, and it is held to the same standard as everything in those shops, because the studio keeps one standard regardless of how the shape was arrived at. We design everything we sell, keep our work in independent retailers and our own stores rather than big-box chains, and ship to more than forty countries. The math that produced the curve was costly and is long since paid off in stories rather than dollars, but the pot it produced still earns its place on a serious shelf, which is the only return that ended up mattering.


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 Convex best suited to?

The Convex 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 ceramic pot, the Convex 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.

Does the Convex pot have a drainage hole?

Yes, the Convex 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 Convex keeps watering simple.

What plants grow well in the Convex?

The Convex 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 an indoor plant pot, size up by about an inch when you repot so roots have room without swimming in soil.

Does the Convex come with a saucer?

Yes, the Convex 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 Convex reads as one considered object rather than a pot with a random tray underneath.

Is the Convex pot ceramic?

Yes, the Convex 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 Convex is glazed to seal the surface, so it wipes clean and keeps its finish on a sill, shelf, or table.

How do I water a plant in the Convex?

To water the Convex, 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 Convex good for snake plants?

The Convex 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 Convex covers both looks and function. Match the nursery pot to the opening and the plant settles in without fuss.

Is the Convex a good gift for a plant lover?

The Convex 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 Convex 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.