Quick answer: Big plastic pots for the garden are light, frost-proof and weatherproof, ideal where weight matters, such as balconies, roof terraces and moveable displays. Modern stone-effect and ribbed finishes look convincingly premium. Choose thick-walled pots 40cm or wider with drainage holes, and add gravel or a brick in the base for stability in wind.

Plenty of gardeners turn their nose up at plastic, and forty years on the allotment has taught me they are usually wrong to. Large plastic garden pots do a job that stone and clay simply cannot. They are light enough to shift when your back is playing up, cheap enough to buy by the half-dozen, and they laugh off the sort of frost that splits a fired pot clean in two overnight. For a fair few jobs outside, plastic is not the cheap option. It is the shrewd one.

I still reach for clay where it counts, mind. But when I want a big pot that survives our winters, moves without a sack truck and does not cost the earth, plastic wins nearly every time. Here is when to grab it and how to buy well.

When plastic beats clay outside

Plastic is not right for everything. For these jobs, though, it is hard to beat.

  • Anywhere you need to move the pot. Full of wet compost, a big clay pot is a two-person lift and a bad back. Plastic you shift on your own.
  • Frost-prone spots. Good plastic flexes as the compost freezes and thaws, instead of cracking. Clay and cheap glazed pots often do not.
  • Growing food. Spuds, tomatoes and courgettes could not care less what the pot is made of, and plastic holds moisture nicely in a dry spell.
  • Balconies and roof terraces. Weight limits are real up high, and plastic keeps the whole display light.

Start with the plastic pots range for the material itself, and the outdoor pots and planters collection for the bigger weatherproof shapes.

Growing food in big plastic pots

This is where plastic truly earns its keep. For potatoes, nothing beats a deep bag or tub you can tip out at harvest. The Bucket-of-Spuds Grow Bag is exactly the kind of thing I mean: light, deep, cheap enough to run a few at once, and you just roll the sides down to dig your dinner. There are few finer garden jobs than that first tip-out. The Royal Horticultural Society has good guidance on growing potatoes in containers if you have not tried it.

For thirsty crops that hate drying out, a self-watering plastic design saves you a heap of grief in July. The Self-Watering Window Trough keeps a reservoir underneath, so the roots stay evenly moist even when you have not been down to the plot for a couple of days.

What to look for in a good plastic pot

Not all plastic is equal, not by a mile. A flimsy, thin-walled pot goes brittle and cracks after a summer or two in the sun. Look for the signs of a pot that lasts.

  • Thick, rigid walls that do not flex when you squeeze the rim.
  • UV stability, so it does not go chalky and brittle after a season of full sun.
  • Proper drainage holes already moulded in, not just dimples you are meant to drill.
  • A wide, stable base so it does not tip the moment a tall plant catches the wind.

A well-made plastic pot outlasts a cheap clay one by years, especially through repeated frosts. Gardeners' World covers the practical side of planting up containers whatever the material.

Making plastic look the part

Like the look of stone or terracotta but want the practical wins of plastic? You are in luck. Modern stone-effect and terracotta-effect pots have come on no end, and grouped up on a patio most folk cannot tell from a few feet away. Sit a couple among real clay pots and nobody is any the wiser. For the fuller picture on choosing pots for outside, our outdoor pots and garden planters guide runs through materials, sizing and frost properly.

The bottom line

Large plastic garden pots are the workhorse of a sensible garden: light to move, tough through frost, kind on the wallet and brilliant for growing food. Buy the thick-walled, UV-stable ones with real drainage holes, lean on grow bags for potatoes and self-watering designs for thirsty crops, and dress them up with stone-effect finishes if you fancy the look of clay without the weight or the winter cracking. Do not let the snobbery put you off. Plastic, chosen well, does the job.

FAQ

Are large plastic garden pots frost-proof? Good-quality plastic copes with UK frost far better than clay because it flexes as compost freezes and thaws rather than cracking. Choose thick-walled, UV-stable pots and they will last through many winters outside.

Is plastic bad for growing vegetables? No. Plastic pots and grow bags are excellent for food crops like potatoes, tomatoes and courgettes. The plant only cares about compost, water and drainage, and plastic holds moisture well while staying light enough to move.

How do I make plastic pots look more expensive? Choose stone-effect or terracotta-effect finishes, group several together, and mix in one or two real clay pots. From a few feet away the plastic reads as stone or terracotta, and the grouping looks deliberately styled.

About the author Ted Mullins — Forty years with muck under his nails Ted has kept the same allotment plot in Sheffield for the best part of forty years and grows more than he and his neighbours can eat. He's potted on thousands of plants and has strong, hard-won opinions about frost, root rot and cheap plastic. He mentors newcomers on his site every spring. Writing for Potty for Plant Pots UK.