I wonder how long coil ( which has to be shipped half way across the planet , so not really that eco friendly )pots would take to fall apart on a production line being lifted, placed on a belt, filled with compost, inserted with a plant and being lifted off the other end. That's before it's put onto a rack, loaded onto a lorry , delivered, offloaded and moved into place in the garden centre. My guess is it wouldn't last that long.
We recently bought two plants in pots made of coir, they were loosely woven hairy coconut husk coir. The labels along with the plant details had a name that referred to the pots. Size was about 5 inches or 12.5 cm. One pot was falling apart, the other not so bad, but I did not feel it would last long if I wanted to keep it for a bit until deciding where to plant or grow on a little. They were supported and displayed in a plastic pot holding tray as these size pots often are. No feelings either way. Good try. But I re-potted both plants into old plastic pots when we got home. I could imagine this particular style and material not standing up to the test of a weekend of plant shoppers lifting and replacing to choose the best plant, as we often do. I re-use plastic pots and trays too.
I have had some coir pots ... I liked them and the plants were lovely and healthy, but the pots didn't last long and certainly wouldn't lend themselves to being re-used ... other than the way we recycle them here which is to break them up a bit, wire them to a trellis in the early spring and let the blackbirds help themselves ... they love it as nesting material.
“I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh
When I was little, 60 years ago, my dad and I would buy bedding plants from a family run little shop round the corner, which sold petfood and garden supplies. The plants were grown in wooden seed trays, and the shopkeeper dug out however many you wanted with a little trowel and wrapped them in newspaper. Those were the days. The petfood was sold the same way, birdseed scooped from a bulk container onto the scales, then poured into a paper bag; horsemeat or Fido meat (a blend of slaughterhouse waste, minced and pressed into a slab) sold by weight and wrapped in newspapers.
Why are new inventions so quick to catch on, but so slow to be eliminated when they prove harmful?
It was a wise person who said ."There is no such thing as progress, merely the replacement of one set of problems by another."
Some on line nurseries that I use, already send out plants without pots. They wrap the plants in damp newspaper. It suits me, because I already have a vast supply of plastic pots to put them into on arrival.
Southern trees bear a strange fruit Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Some on line nurseries that I use, already send out plants without pots. They wrap the plants in damp newspaper. It suits me, because I already have a vast supply of plastic pots to put them into on arrival.
Perhaps there could be an small incentive to bring your own pot(s), like taking your own coffee mug or water bottle. If I knew I was going plant shopping for 9cm or 1 or 2 litre pot sizes, I could easily chuck a few in the back of the car.
I agree and wish new plants were not sold in plastic pots so frequently. If my council would take them for recycling or we could return them to the garden centre, it would be far more sustainable. I recently bought a plant in a bio degradable pot that was intended to be planted too so that the root ball wasn't disturbed. Sadly this is a more expensive process at the moment but let's hope we see more of these pots in the near future.
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My guess is it wouldn't last that long.
Size was about 5 inches or 12.5 cm.
One pot was falling apart, the other not so bad, but I did not feel it would last long if I wanted to keep it for a bit until deciding where to plant or grow on a little.
They were supported and displayed in a plastic pot holding tray as these size pots often are.
No feelings either way. Good try. But I re-potted both plants into old plastic pots when we got home.
I could imagine this particular style and material not standing up to the test of a weekend of plant shoppers lifting and replacing to choose the best plant, as we often do.
I re-use plastic pots and trays too.
Why are new inventions so quick to catch on, but so slow to be eliminated when they prove harmful?
It was a wise person who said ."There is no such thing as progress, merely the replacement of one set of problems by another."
It suits me, because I already have a vast supply of plastic pots to put them into on arrival.
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root