All of my citrus are in plastic pots because they are less expensive, lighter and easier to handle than clay pots. I try to use taller pots when possible to keep the perched water table as far from the roots as possible. I would like to try air pruning pots, but with all the trees I have, that would be to expensive. I use light colored pots or spray paint them white to help keep root temps from getting too high and damaging roots.

I use half wine barrel size plastic pots for my trees.

Let's see I have the following currently:

6 clay pots (currently housing succulents)

5 plastic wine barrels (the kind from Costco)

4 hanging metal IKEA pots (strawberries are growing happily in these)

2 bamboo pots (my wife just found these at the dollar store)

10 or so plastic pots

Some I have received from other people and some I have purchased. I like the plastic pots for overall weight. I have back issues and lifting heavy clay pots full of dirt is never fun. I am hoping the bamboo pots will work well for all the herbs my wife wants me to grow. They will be tested soon for durability.

edit: I am usually going for what is light and a relatively good price.

I have plastic mostly, but just planted two into fabric pots with soil/perlite (instead of 5-1-1) just to test it out and see how they grow. Its my least two important citrus to me so I won't be devastated if they don't make it. I grow all my herbs and veggies in the fabric pots with good results. I go for plastic because of the weight and cost, I have to move my pots around a few times of the year and having a lighter pot and mix is nice, I just bought 5 new 19in. pots yesterday at HD and they were $10 a pot vs. a lot more if I went with another material, it's still more then I'd like to spend but I haven't found anywhere cheaper yet. My goal is to keep them in plastic pots until they are closer to their mature size 3-5 years from now and then pot them up with a gritty mix and a more decorative pot that will be a longer term home for them. Then I will have to use a dolly or something to move them around but that will be future me's problem.

I am using 5 gallon bucket with holes drilled in them

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1The trees not planted in the ground are 100 percent planted in air root pruning containes manufactured by Rootmaker Corporation.

OJ, just curious, what type of medium do you use in your air root pots?

O.J..How long have you had them in those kinds of pots and how well do they grow? Do you notice a difference verses any other pots. such as clay which is suppose to be very porous? Why do you use them?

Steve, you have always been very creative with pots and know how to save a buck or two. Your pots are also white.

Sammers, I hear yah...I can't believe how much pots are these days..Now I will look at throw away pots at nurseries and get a few. You'd be surprise how many you can get. I have actually bought a plant on the clearance rack for a buck in a very nice pot.lol I don't know why they don't make WHITE pots, at least huge ones, since they would be perfect for my needs. I too hate the weight of clay and too I have noticed certain trees of mine grow very much slower than in plastic because of how cold the clay gets on cooler mornings and nights..But then I like clay because anything in them dries out much more rapidly..You said Fabric pots? I have a few trees in them and now I hate them....I am about to do a re pot into plastic or clay..

BaconEater....You are not fussy that's for sure. I am sure all your plants do great in anything you use, right? Smart thinking about cost.

Nick, any pics? I would love to see what a tree looks like in one. It must be beautiful.

Vladimir...Great idea bot spraying them with a lighter color. Never thought of that! I know, plastic is much cheaper and your trees seem to do fine in them. For some reason, it has always been easier for me to know when to water in plastic.

Mike

Mike I wish they made white pots, or at least lighter color grow pots more readily available. I am having such luck with the fabric pots for the rest of the garden I wanted to see if the citrus tree's would be ok in them. What I noticed from doing a 75/25 mix of soil and perlite with those plants is how quickly they dry out, usually 1-3 days and we haven't even gotten that warm yet, the fabric seems to let a lot of the moisture out quickly which is great for my PNW rainy conditions. I had a post a while back asking if anyone used fabric for citrus and Pac said that he didn't like them with with our rapid temp changes between day to night, I think he uses a 5-1-1 in them, with how fast my 5-1-1 dries out in plastic pots (1-2 days) I didn't think the extra airflow of the fabric pots would be great for them in the heat of the summer so I knew I din't want to try that. I wanted to know in a very non-scientific way if a "normal" soil mix would be able to dry out faster in these pots, not causing root rot, help regulate temperature and give an extra weight to the pot so they don't tip as easily. I am also hoping it dwarfs my plants a bit as they are bound to be larger trees, A washington navel rooted cutting and a Oro Blanco on unknown rootstock. I don't plan on keeping them in the same soil longer than year and if they start to rapidly decline I will repot in the 5-1-1. The only reason I even considered it was because repi-bark went from $13/bag to $25/bag on amazon and I already had extra Root Pouches. I looked into the air pots a while ago and I'd like to try of few of my tree's in them as well, I am happy to see they work for OJ and he likes them.

Sammers, you can get nursery pots about 19 inches diameter for less than $5 each.

I found that some plastics do not hold spray paint well even when painted with paint intended for plastics, although I did not pre-treat the surface, Next time, I will try wiping the pots with mineral spirits.

Mike, I read somewhere that they do not make white plastic pots because they are more susceptible to photodegradation by sunlight.

Menards here always has white pots. I have several white hanging ones as well and I will agree, they do seem to suffer more sun damage than the colored ones. they become brittle and crack much faster.

I now stick to clay pots. Had used the cheapo black plastic pots but had to cover them with plastic to stop them from over heating. Now clay pots only.

Sammers I use a mixture of 70 percent Miracle Grow Garden Soil and 30 percent Pahroc Giant Exxxpanded perlite size 4. Especially made for aeration and moisture control. Mike, sorry I can't rightly tell you how long they have been in the air root prunning containers. It has been so long that I no longer recall the number of years. Guess ever since Root Maker has been manufacturing them.

I use plastic pots. I now buy them in beige colors to minimize the heat to the roots. I make sure they have a rim so they are easier to lift.

Vladimir, yes I originally had all my plants in the black nursery pots but I am moving them to a hotter part of the yard this year to maximize the sun they get and didn't want the roots to suffer, the new pots I got ended up being bronze colored so I am not sure that they will help with the heating but they look a bit nicer and that makes my boyfriend happier about having them out where people can see them.

OJ, thanks that's great to know. I went with a 75/25 mix of potting soil and coarse perlite in my root pouches and I am curious to see how they do.

Clay..., no way. They dry out much too quickly outside in full sun and heat. I would not be able to keep up with the watering in the hot season (and I am home in the Summer). I don't know what they are made of but it's a light weight material that has the look of ceramic. Clay is also too heavy for larger, containerized trees. I only use clay for bromeliads, cacti, and some succulents,

My calamondin, which is my only citrus outdoors, has a two plastic pots: the smaller one it's potted in, and that small one fits in a tall pot. I did also attach two thin ropes as a handles if I need to lift the inner pot out to inspect the plant.

The tall outer pot has coarse gravel in it, which keeps the setup off from getting top heavy and tipping over. And the pots are just beneath the walls of our balcony so roots don't get full sun all day long.

My indoor plants has metal pots from IKEA or plastic pots with water reservoir for underground watering. It just plays a role as drip tray for me. Even though some of my planta has grown roots in the reservoir. Need to give them bigger pots..

In the future, I've planned to swich to clay pots. I like their appearance more.

If you want white, and cheap, you can't beat a bakery bucket. You can get them round, square, rectangular. 1 gallon to 6 gallon. And free, if you're lucky. They take UV exposure pretty well, although if you lift by the ridges on the outside, those do eventually break. The square and rectangle ones are not as strong as the rounds, but might be ok for a 5-1-1 mix?

I haven't tried the plastic spray paint stuff. I would try a light sanding of the surface if you have adhesion issues. The bakery buckets are pretty smooth, I wonder how they'd take the paint. I'd rather have a light color other than white.

You know, I have found that the 'clay' looking colored pots are very much easy to find and they work better than the white since the color and pot never fades..They last forever.. made a stop at the nursery and picked up a for for re pots and I will post pics as soon as I get home for you. I love them!

I found my fabric ones drying out way to fast and the black potted one are over heating. Once I get time, I will color those up for future use.

Amanda, I wish I had a Menards around here. I hear they sell a lot of good stuff)

Mikey Really Really large expensive plastic pots , a shame the pots cost more than the plants .

Brian

It can be the same way with picture/art frames - paying a lot more for the frame.

It's 'only June' , but keep an eye on the stores for clearance. The big boxes stores you can even check prices online. I find lowes is the best - decent pots and discounts. But stock numbers are sometimes wildly inaccurate. HD does markdowns but I am not sure if they always show up online.

I also look at Target.

Brian, you are not kidding! I'll bet one of those beautiful pots you use like the one you just re potted into cost over 40 bucks!! I know and I can never afford them. Now I could afford the ones that Steve uses!! I wish they sold white 5 gallon buckets rather then the stupid Orange or Blue ones at Lowe's and Home Depot. What I can tell you is that if you used clay, you would need a tractor to help lift up your gorgeous trees up bud! I have one of mine in a 5 gallons pot and I can barely lift alone. I know it's due for a re pot..I need your help buddy..

I am going to take a pic and tell me if you think I should go to a bigger pot or just cut back? In fact, I wish anyone here would give me an idea. I am so stuck on this one!! I scared to do it but I know it's due..

I might even post help on the container forums for good measure(

Mike

New white 1 and 2 gallon paint buckets (not there yet size wise) that I drill holes into from home depot, cheap, readily available and they come with a handle. At 3 gallon size I splurge for a terra cotta color plastic that i drill holes into to match my other jumbo terra cotta color plastic container plantings for dwarf pears, apples, etc..

Hey Mikey your not kidding those pots cost me almost $90.00 with the tax each I could have bought 2 tree's. Mikey thank goodness that I have family members to rely on to give me a hand lifting those pots because they weigh a ton .Mikey I am usually pretty accurate knowing when its time to repot,I find if the water ponds on the top of the mix for a length of time and has a hard time sinking through the mix its probably time to repot and of course the sign of no new growth or very slow growing new growth . If you don't want to change the pot then sounds like you would have to do some root pruning and of course trim the tree a bit this is going to be my dilemma in a few years not looking forward to that . Hope that you enjoyed that heat wave that we all just went through it felt like living in a oven the temperature is much more comfortable now . Cheers my friend

Brian

@Mike- I was just reading through some posts and saw your comment about using buckets for growing, as opposed to pots; wishing HD or Lowe's sold them in white. My mom and sister work in the bakery dept. @ Wal-Mart and have brought home some 3-5gal. buckets the icing was packaged in; they are round or rectangle in shape and, I'm unsure about your local stores, but they only charge $1 per bucket here. They are sold to the public here and used to be free, but they figured out many ppl wanted the empty buckets. My dad and I used a few last year to grow some pepper plants on our back porch. It would be worth a try to ask the bakery dept. in your local stores if they have any empty icing buckets that you can have for re-purposing; they might be just throwing them away. :)

Very nice pot and tree's Sunshine l really love that purple and blue. The fig looks so happy very nice.

Brian

Sunshine, very nice looking. Come to think of it, I have seen some good sized nice looking plastic waste buckets even white and I think I will have a look. Good idea. I might even check out a paint store to see if they have 5 gallon white buckets for industrial painters!

Brian, wowowow. I can't believe 90 dollars! I am guessing it is worth it though for such massive beautiful trees but not for a simple fig tree. I think the color was a nice choice. Who would of thought a red pot of all colors would look so classy. I love it buddy!

Billie, thanks for that tip! Will do. I would of never thought of that. I will let you know what happens. What a great idea.

Billie P, I just bought all white 5 gallon buckets in Home Depo last night. They were next to the orange buckets. They say they are food safe. Just like the orange ones but all white.

Cory

As you know I use 2.5 and 5 gallon white buckets like Steve. However, I think I made a mistake with not drilling enough or large enough drain holes. I am going to redrill them all this summer. After doing post mortems on all my trees that died over winter (there were quite a few this year) I think I had major salt build up problems so drainage was obviously an issue. I could actually see salt crusting the holes at the bottom of the pots. Most of the trees' roots were nice and white and had travelled all the way to the bottom of the pots so I didn't have a root rot problem so at least the mix is working.

I will also keep them in tighter pots moving forwards. Even though I had good root development the pots were probably still bigger than they needed to be. I will save space and mix now by keeping them potted smaller. My healthiest trees came through winter growing well in the smallest pots where I could flush them the best.

So it's terrible they died but I think I have it figured out for this year! And I'm happy that I don't have a mix or lighting problem. I will also test my water this year as per John's suggestion about the softener.

Hobby, you got it exactly right :) The larger the pot, the larger the holes should be. I imagine the bottom of my pots having holes that are many and also almost half of the area of the bottom should be the drilled holes. With potting soil that I use, I have to have that ratio for drainage holes, otherwise my plants will be in trouble in the winter months. Also if the bottom of the pot has "peaks and valleys", if you look inside the pot and see "valleys" you have to make more holes there, becase the water gets trapped in those areas and its very bad for the roots in the winter time (see the strategically placed holes in my blue bucket in the picture I posted above :))

The only time drainage and aeration is a problem is winter cold season. That can be help with plenty of light, air movement (fan), and a vacuum cleaner with vacuum chamber.

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6b Steve

Life support machine :))

Hi Hobby nice seeing you back. Hope that your having a terrific summer .

Brian

Thanks Brian and you too! Yes I am finally getting caught up on all my garden stuff so I am feeling less panicky lol. Citrus are starting to leaf out so I am happy to see them taking off.

Thanks Sunshine and Steve... yes I had WAY too few holes then. Steve mine were the size of yours but I only had say 10% of how many you drilled so there you have it.

55 gallon plastic barrels are cheap about $15 on craigslist. They sell them for rain barrels, food storage, etc. You can cut out two pots of the size you need. I am going to do that this year for couple of my larger plants. They are heavy duty and very sturdy. Paint would not stick though as almost nothing sticks to HDPE based plastics.

I just checked Home Depot on line and Lowes and a couple of other stores in person and boy are their pots ugly (and some are expensive)! I am looking for a 20 inch pot/planter.

Vladimir do you have an Ocean State Joblot near you? This spring they had some plastic large planters at decent prices. They might be sold out now though, or maybe on clearance.

Brian gets his big ones from Costco.

Billie, I'm on my way there today to grad a few! Thanks

Hobby, thanks for the info and sharing. I think I will put afew holes on the bottom of my buckets once I get them even though I may not have to because I use the 5.1.1 mix. Lately I have been a bit lazy using bagged mixes which has always been a no no in my mind..

Brian, the heatwave only lasted a couple of days. I am having a very strange summer. If it is not humid and it feels like September weather. I remember growing up summers were always hot and humid, but not mine anymore, therefore the lack of thunderstorms..I'd be lucky to see more than one a summer now(