i do the ground thing. just dig a hole and put them in. add some soil to native and let them grow. when i do this i dont get great nugs every time. but over the last 20 yrs. iv learned alot. one reason for pots would be wet feet. the other reason is mold moisture in the air. if im planting in a valley i always get my plants off the ground. if the soil is good gravel and sand. i add my soil. and i stretch my plants before i put them out. i get them knee highand take every branch off below that. what this does is it get the plants bud up off the ground as far as they can. helps with bud rot. or i would put them in a container if the soil was bad clay. or wet. this does the same as stretching. you cant strech a plant in a 5 gallon bucket. when the buds grow and they get top heavy they fall over in the wind. i will never us 5 gallon buckets again. they have to be bigger then that. just for strength so they dont fall over....