Well, not to answer a question with a question, but what kind of plants ?

Some, like staghorn ferns, do well in something that holds onto the water, as opposed to the kind that freely allow water to run through.

Some, like my Clivia, like to have a good drink and then not sit in too much moisture, so terra cotta works quite well, wicking the water slowly out of the soil.

Some, like my sweet potato vine, enjoy the moist soil and terra cotta dries them out so plastic is the way to go.

And, if you're going to plant annuals, there's the issue of weight. Plastic will be much easier to manipulate and re plant as opposed to heavy ceramic.

That's where I'd start. And, if fashion is the driving force and ceramic or terracotta is your thing but you have a moisture loving plant, you can always get a plastic liner for your ceramic or terracotta pot, too.

If you get plastic, I might suggest giving the pot a couple coats of polyurethane. It won't stop the UV rays from destroying the pot, but it will give it a bit more time before it becomes brittle. I had a plastic one last year in my back yard where it got all-day sun and it lasted about 8 months before the sides started cracking and splitting from UV exposure. The thicker the plastic, the better, but eventually the sun will win.

The hardest part is trying to find those dang plasticeramicterracotta pots. I've almost given up looking for them.

MOO

Hi
I grow almost everything in pots,mainly because i have such poor soil and i change the planting scheme around once a month lol. can't think of anything that will hold media that I've NOT used. Coffee cans, buttertubs , dish pans,tree fern, even a couple of flower pots Most often surplus nursery pots because they're free .
One of the best materials IMO is fiberglass has the look of ceramic, weighs about a third and costs about half. have a couple over 25 years old and still going so i guess they last??
Find it interesting that the more I pay for a pot the quicker it disappears in the growth while butter tubs ,coffee cans remain visible for years lol gary

I've even used those big laundry baskets, the kind made of thick solid plastic with two rope handes, in the garden. The make great miny bog gardens and are a lot cheaper then any flowerpot you could buy that would be as big!

Another thing to consider when planting in pots is whether or not you're going to need to bring the plant in due to weather. If you're planting something that you might want to bring inside due to a freeze or bad storm go with plastic or fiberglass. Your back will thank you!

Kara

Thanks for the replies. I love Hibiscus but don't have room to plant them all in the garden so I'm growing them in pot's (apparently, they'll grow happily for years in a pot). In fact I don't have much room in the garden for more plants, so I'll have to start container gardening. I never thought of plastic pot's being rotted by the sun, so thanks for that tip. I like the fiberglass pot's too because they're light and easy to move around.

We found for some cheap pots (as pots seem to be more expensive that what I pay for the plant, clearance at the big Blue box) we use the plastic/rubberish party tubs for drinks sold at WM. They are large, cheap under $5, and have handles to make it easy to move and we end up just drilling drain holes in the bottom, so the plants don't get waterlogged.

I don't know if this is true for all counties but here in Citrus the county landfill has a large container where people can recycle all types of flowerpots. The best part is that they have no proplem with people climbing into the bin to retrieve pots that other people have left there. I've found a wide range of terracotta pots, plastic pots, saucers, trays, and even a nice concrete urn shaped pot.

hi
Here is the largest pot i've ever used,3x3 feet. It is a nursery pot from the city landscape dept so i got it for free
from a neighbor employee. A coat of paint and a homemade dolly. Fortuneately the same neighbor is also easily tempted with alchohol so he did the actual lifting lol
thought it was NEVER going to fill up lol gary