What does potting mean?
Potting usually means placing a plant into a container so that its roots are held in soil or another growing medium. Gardeners commonly use the term when moving seedlings into individual pots, replacing old soil, or preparing plants for transport, protection, or eventual planting outdoors. The phrase “potting on” can also mean moving a plant into a larger container as it grows. Beyond horticulture, potting can describe placing food in a pot for preservation and, in electronics, sealing components in resin to protect them from moisture, dust, vibration, or mechanical damage. The word comes from the older verb “pot,” which itself was borrowed from French. As a noun, potting usually names the activity or process and is treated as an uncountable gerund, especially in gardening. Its practical meaning varies with context, but the underlying idea is consistently that something is being placed or secured within a protective container.
To place a plant in a pot or other container and secure it with soil or another growing medium.
"They spent the morning potting young tomato plants."
The horticultural use is especially common in British and American gardening. “Potting on” means transferring a plant to a larger container.
To place an object in a pot or seal an electronic component within a protective material.
"The unit was potted in resin before installation."
The electronics sense normally describes permanent encapsulation in resin, wax, or a similar compound.
The process or activity of placing plants in containers, preserving objects in pots, or encapsulating components in protective material.
"Potting the seedlings took longer than expected."
This use is generally uncountable and is most common in horticultural and technical contexts.
A pot gives a plant a movable home, allowing a seedling to be protected from frost before it is planted outdoors.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does potting come from?
The word derives from “pot,” which came into English through Old French pot, ultimately from a late Latin word referring to a drinking vessel. In gardening, the meaning developed through the verb “to pot,” meaning to place a plant in a pot. The related forms “potter” and “pottery” developed around the practice of shaping clay into vessels, while “pottage” was historically food prepared or boiled in a pot.
Related word forms
How potting is actually used
The horticultural sense is the most common. In electronics, potting usually refers to permanently sealing a component in resin or a similar protective material. As a gerund, the word is common in gardening instructions but is not normally used as a finite verb on its own.
Easily confused with potting
Potting concerns plants or objects placed in containers, whereas plotting concerns the planning or concealment of a course of action.