3 gallon pots preferable over 5 gallon pots in Zone 6b?

Hello All,
 
From searching this forum, I see that the 3 gallon pots versus 5 gallon pots topic has been much discussed here over the years, so I'll try to keep my current question on the topic brief.
 
In one of the discussions from several years ago here, on the topic of container gardening, I read some were of the opinion that 3 gallon pots were preferable in the more northern growing zones (USA), while 5 gallon pots (or larger) were preferable in the more southern growing zones.
 
Do you agree with this opinion?
 
I am in Zone 6b.  In your opinion, would I be better off growing hot peppers in 3 gallon pots as opposed to 5 gallon pots?
 
Thank you.   :)
 
Malarky said:
i'm in 4b/5a and 5ga works fine for me.
 
Zone 3 here. Agree with Malarky on the 5-ers, I'm going much bigger with a few this season. I have a few 20 gallon fabric pots for my beloved Aji Amarillo and varieties yet to be determined, and There's a 40-gallon for a BIG-UN....
 
have used 3-gallon pots to some success, but fives are a good round number up here, especially with the winds we get on the open Tundra...
 
bigflies said:
Hello All,
 
From searching this forum, I see that the 3 gallon pots versus 5 gallon pots topic has been much discussed here over the years, so I'll try to keep my current question on the topic brief.
 
In one of the discussions from several years ago here, on the topic of container gardening, I read some were of the opinion that 3 gallon pots were preferable in the more northern growing zones (USA), while 5 gallon pots (or larger) were preferable in the more southern growing zones.
 
Do you agree with this opinion?
 
I am in Zone 6b.  In your opinion, would I be better off growing hot peppers in 3 gallon pots as opposed to 5 gallon pots?
 
Thank you.   :)
 
I'm in the 5 gal. pool. I don't know of that discussion (Could you post a link?) but my reason is media volume. As the plant gets BIG, see below'
 
 
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The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:
 
I read through that  topic and it does touch on smaller-north/larger-south without getting into detail as to why:
 
 
But I would assume it's a temp related issue, that smaller is needed to warm up the plant & larger will help cool.
 
 
Also, maybe the idea that in shorter seasons up north the plant will fill out the 3g sooner and therefore produce sooner, while the 5g may produce slower, but more?
 
I'm confused. Why would a smaller pot ever be better? The only sane reason I can think of is if you're moving them around. Otherwise, surely the more soil the better?
 
I'm in the middle of British Columbia. When I grew in soil I found that the big 5g pots stayed wet far too long in my neck of the woods. The plants would never really develop a good root ball either. This was compounded when I tried to grow super hots since they take so long to produce. 

I've since switched my whole process and really only grow in coir now. Fabric 3g pots seem to be an excellent balance for size and root ball development in my situation.
 
I would also recommend plastic Air-pots. They drain like fabric and air prune the roots like them too. Plus they're UV stabilized for durability and the root tips don't grow into the plastic like they do in fabric.

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