A Scottish brand has unveiled the world's first plant pot that grows alongside its contents, potentially ending the need for traditional, messy repotting.
POTR's new Helix pot takes inspiration from the folding structures used by engineers at NASA, the United States space agency. The container can increase its soil capacity eightfold, expanding from a compact 0.25-litre vessel into a two-litre pot.
Rather than repeatedly removing a plant and transferring it into larger containers, users can simply twist and expand the pot before adding fresh soil around the existing roots.
Andrew Flynn, co-founder of POTR, told the Daily Mail that the design is meant to remove the stress from indoor plant care.
"Repotting sounds simple, but it actually takes a bit of confidence," Flynn said. "You have to know when a plant is ready, ease it out without damaging the roots and hope it settles into its new home. It's something a lot of people find daunting, especially if they're new to looking after plants."
Space and origami inspiration
The design allows the same pot to support a plant from a seed or cutting through to a more established stage of growth.
The brand, which Flynn runs with his wife Eilidh Cunningham, was inspired by origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, as well as folding structures used in space exploration. In spacecraft design, equipment like solar panels must remain tightly compact to fit inside a launch vehicle before expanding upon deployment.
"We wanted to design a pot that grows with the plant instead of asking people to start the process all over again every time it needs more space," Flynn said. "As the plant develops, the pot simply expands, making it much easier to keep it healthy without the stress of a full repot."
The contraption was developed over almost two years, progressing from initial paper models to 1,132 working prototypes.
"Most pots are designed for one stage of a plant’s life," Flynn said. "We wanted to create one system that could adapt from seed or cutting through to a more established plant. We've spent years refining the design because we felt there was a better way to solve a problem that hasn't really changed for generations."
Self-watering and herb accessories
Alongside the expanding design, the Helix contains a concealed water reservoir and wick. This system allows a plant to self-regulate its own water intake for up to two weeks, reducing the risk of overwatering or drying out.
The pot also includes interchangeable accessories which allow users to grow kitchen herbs and garnishes, including basil, mint, parsley, coriander, oregano and microgreens.
A propagation plate is available to support cuttings as roots develop, while an expandable trellis can be added for climbing plants.
Flynn said the immediate interest in the product shows that people "recognise the problem, that growing plants and herbs at home should be simple, but watering and repotting can make it feel more complicated than it needs to be."
Crowdfunding launch and next steps
The pot has already captured the interest of people around the world after launching on Kickstarter, a global crowdfunding platform where creators pitch prototype projects to the public to secure financial backing.
While pricing is still in the early stages, the standalone pot is expected to retail at around £30 when it goes on general sale in October.
The company has a history with crowdfunding. In 2019, POTR launched its first product through Kickstarter, achieving similar success with a self-watering, origami-inspired flat-pack plant pot.
That original POTR pot was later selected by investor Deborah Meaden, a prominent British business figure best known for her role on the BBC television program Dragons' Den. Meaden chose the design as Sustainable Product of the Year at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, a prestigious annual garden exhibition held in London by the Royal Horticultural Society.
