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Pots and Planters - Fibreclay or Plastic?
craigrachel777
Posts: 6
We are having our garden changed a lot. We have trying to save some of the plants we have had established for quite some time by moving them into pots / planters rather than into the skip.
The garden is very contemporary - straight lines and right angles, predominantly light grey and we would like dark grey or even black pots / planters.
The challenge we face is we have done the tour of the local garden centres and online, found items we like in stone or fibreclay but everyone complains about the chips and damage. Even in the garden centres, just for their delivery the damage is really bad, so when we get it home any accidents will leave them in a right state, which we would not be happy with.
This has led us to rethink plastic for its durability. We are leaning towards the Capi Urban range, but we are thinking its very pricey for, well... plastic! The 50cm is £90!
Are we being a bit naive? We are spending £1,000's on the garden work and concerned about a few £100 on plastic pots.
What is the collective wisdom of the forum in this matter please?
The garden is very contemporary - straight lines and right angles, predominantly light grey and we would like dark grey or even black pots / planters.
The challenge we face is we have done the tour of the local garden centres and online, found items we like in stone or fibreclay but everyone complains about the chips and damage. Even in the garden centres, just for their delivery the damage is really bad, so when we get it home any accidents will leave them in a right state, which we would not be happy with.
This has led us to rethink plastic for its durability. We are leaning towards the Capi Urban range, but we are thinking its very pricey for, well... plastic! The 50cm is £90!
Are we being a bit naive? We are spending £1,000's on the garden work and concerned about a few £100 on plastic pots.
What is the collective wisdom of the forum in this matter please?
-1
Posts
Mine are in a more or less permanent position, arrived undamaged and have remained so. I guess if they were being moved around a lot there might be more of a risk - is that what you're planning?
Have you considered corten steel? It's also expensive, but might suit the look you're after and be less easily damaged.
I'm assuming you've already done a fair bit of looking around online etc, as well as in GCs? I'd say that the curved one you show, while very attractive, could be limiting for osme types of planting, so you need to bear that in mind when choosing too.
I have a few of the resin ones which look like terracotta. The advantage is the weight, but I'm afraid they don't last long, although that could be down to our weather here. One fell apart completely last year, and the others developed holes which I patched up, but I doubt they'll last much longer. I bought them 6 years ago, so they haven't lasted much longer than decent terracotta.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Restricting the size of the pot / plant is kind of the idea. It's about low maintenance for us... we learnt the lesson on bamboo which looks lovely but went mad spreading (there is never a panda around when you need one).
We've visited all the online sites that google suggests (like primrose and getpotted etc) which is what has brought us to the Capi Urban range. We've also seen the Capi Urban in person at a garden centre, which has made us think about the value given the high price for plastic.
We like the stone look cube, but the concern is the damage from delivery. Wayfair have good reviews for the clayfibre cubes but many say they arrive damaged, but wayfair replacement them immediately.
It's a kind of a circular argument, hence looking for some guidance.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'd recommend Ecopots, they are made in Holland and out of recycled plastic and they are amazingly well made and are very thick so should last for years. The exterior finish is really good too. Wish they were a bit cheaper but they are they only ones I'd buy when I can't have a ceramic one. They use the inherent texture of the material for the surface finish so if they get scuffed it's still the same colour all the way through.
https://www.ecopots.eu/
The one I ordered did come chipped with a few scratches but I got a part refund so well pleased and was a good price for it's size.
Zinz ones do come cheaper.
They are tapered.
The price of the fibre type do vary, but it's the easy damage that is the problem. Getting a refund of any size does not replace a damage pot and the damage is not acceptable, especially when paying so much for them.