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How do I Choose the Best Plastic Planters?

B. Miller
B. Miller

Plastic planters are excellent choices for use both outdoors and in, and can even be designed to look like they are made of more expensive materials such as stone or terra cotta. To choose the best plastic planters, determine what you want to plant in them, where you want to place them, and if they will need to hang from the ceiling or be mounted on the side of the house. Consider also the type of design you want; if you are looking for certain colors or designs on the planters, or if you want them to look like decorative stone.

Determining how you will use the plastic planters is the most important first step, because it will help you to decide on the size and shape of the planter. For instance, if you want to pot a tree in a plastic planter, you will need to choose a larger size than if you want to plant some smaller flowers or vegetables. If you will be hanging the planter from the ceiling, particularly indoors, you will want to choose one with a plastic tray underneath that can still allow the soil to drain, but prevent the water from dripping onto the floor.

Some plastic containers are designed to look like terra cotta clay planters.
Some plastic containers are designed to look like terra cotta clay planters.

If you plan to mount plastic planters on the side of the house, you will likely want to choose window boxes or smaller pots that can be held up with brackets. The benefit of plastic planters is that they are very light, and may be easier to move around even when they are full of dirt. For people who want to create container gardens to grow vegetables on a patio, or who want to plant trees inside, this can be very beneficial. Of course, the lighter weight of plastic pots also makes them more likely to blow over during windstorms, which is important to remember.

One of the benefits of plastic planters is that they can be designed in any color or pattern you choose. These planters are often decorated with additional images or shapes, such as vines or flowers, and are available in bright colors or more muted colors. Planters designed to look like stone, granite, or terra cotta can be great choices because they look fancy, but are actually much less expensive than the alternative. From a distance, they can be almost impossible to tell apart from the real thing, and they are also much less likely to break or crack if they fall.

Discussion Comments

honeybees

I have two large plastic urn planters on each side of my front door. The containers have a pretty, decorative design and when filled with bright colored flowers, really stand out. I receive many compliments on these containers.

It is so easy to keep them watered and because I plant annuals in them every year, I have colorful blooms all season long. I gave up doing much outside gardening a few years ago, but still like to have a few flowers around in the summer to look at and take care of. The decorative plastic containers are perfect for what I want to use them for.

myharley

There are so many styles and colors of plastic containers to choose from that you will have no trouble finding ones that fit your style. I enjoy using plastic containers so much more than the heavy ceramic ones.

I always have several containers of flowers on my porch, and the plastic planter pots are very handy for that. They are also not very expensive, so if you have to replace them you are not out as much money.

I have a pair of cement flower holders that have sentimental value because they belonged to my grandparents, but they are sure heavy to move and if they get dropped would break in half.

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    • Some plastic containers are designed to look like terra cotta clay planters.
      By: Sergey Skleznev
      Some plastic containers are designed to look like terra cotta clay planters.