Choosing a plant and choosing a pot are the same decision

A plant's condition over time comes from two things together: how it's watered, and what it's sitting in. A sealed pot with no drainage hole holds water against the roots long after the surface of the compost looks dry, and a plant can sit in that trapped water for weeks before a single leaf changes colour. By the time the leaves yellow or the roots turn soft and dark, the cause usually traces back to the container.

Size has the same delayed effect. A pot much bigger than the current root ball holds more damp compost than the roots can take up, so the soil at the edges stays wet while the plant can only reach what's near the centre. Terracotta and unglazed ceramic let some of that moisture escape through the pot wall as it evaporates; a glazed or plastic pot keeps it all in, so identical watering produces a different result depending on which one the plant is standing in.

None of this looks urgent while it's happening. A plant in the wrong pot tends to slow down, dry unevenly, or develop brown tips. Working out the material, size and drainage that suit the plant in front of you removes most of that guesswork before the first watering decision is even made, and the care guidance for each plant is written with that in mind.