Advantages to light colored containers

15 years ago

I have been reading through this forum and haven't really seen much of a discussion on this topic, but if I am wrong, I apologize for not catching your earlier comments.

Somewhere on this forum I read that planting in a white container will reflect the sunlight and thus help keep soil temps low during the hot summer days. On the surface, this seems to make sense. Most of the pots I have come from nurseries and are black. My questions are:

1) Is it true that a white or light color container will help keep the soil cooler during the heat of the day?

2) Does anyone paint their black or dark colored containers white for the purpose of colling the temperature of the soil?

3) If you have experimented with lighter colored containers what experiences have you had?

Thanks for the feedback

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Comments (6)

redneck_grower
15 years ago
. . . it is true; soil in white containers will be cooler than black ones. And, yes, I do sometimes paint containers. There are paints specifically made for plastic, but they are not real cheap (Rustoleum and Krylon have them).
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years ago
There can be as much as 40-50* (or more) difference in soil temperatures between black and white containers, depending on how much light actually reaches the container surface. You need only place your hand on a white car in full sunshine before putting your hand on a black car to confirm.

Al
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I painted seven of my injection molded pots off-white. I wonder if white contact papper would work? filix
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They do not rest on the light colored containers.

Advantages to light colored containers

Comments (6)

redneck_grower

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

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