Thinking of buying a planter? Consider this.

pansyface

How long would you expect a big terracotta pot to last (barring accidents)? 

I have some that must be over thirty years old. Not a bad return on my initial investment.

Have you ever thought of buying one of those grey planters that look a bit like lead? They are a lot lighter than clay but they aren’t cheap.

How long would you expect one of those to last? The same as a clay pot?

I have just discovered that a square grey fake-lead planter that I bought about ten years ago is disintegrating. The sides are crumbling away and I can see the soil inside, through a lattice work of netting.

They are made, I now learn, from a mixture of recycled materials, mostly glass fibre, clay and paper pulp.





Just something to bear in mind.

Posy

I think you did well to get 10 years! Mind you, I don't get that for most of my clay pots. I think a lot may depend on how often you have to move/empty them. Or I may just be clumsy.

Loxley

Those fibre clay pots always seemed a bit thin and flimsy, I think ten years was a good run. Real lead would last a lot longer but many times the cost. I have some fibre reinforced concrete planters which aren't great either, the main problem is a lip on the inside which makes removing a pot bound specimen impossible without damaging the planter! When I repot my bamboo I'm going to have to smash them out ...

Fairygirl

The resin ones don't last any longer here than terracotta ones. Good terracotta last quite well if you protect it. 

Woodgreen

I bought one of the grey faux-lead ones last year in which to plant a rose. The young delivery chap was struggling to carry it along my driveway  from the van. The packaging stated it weighed 2 kg! Naughty.....
I found it heavy to put into place when empty, and couldn't possibly shift it now it has soil in.
I've seen a tiny crack on one edge, so I'll be searching for the guarantee I think, to notify the company in case it gets worse.
But if I get a few years out of it I'll be satisfied. The wet winters here are hard on pots other than plastic. I've paid extra for guaranteed frostproof terracotta a couple of times and so far they're surviving but they're smaller and I can move them about.
I'm pleased with the planter but if I looked for faux-lead again, I may choose plastic, as it might weather better than plastic fake terracotta....

Posy

I have a couple of reconstituted stone. They are indestructible but weigh a ton. They aren't very big but I can only inch them along a few feet, no question of picking them up.

pansyface

When I bought the planter I had no idea that they were so readily biodegradable.

I mean, it’s good, but I do think that there should be a warning label on them to say that they will literally fall to bits in a few years.  I don’t know how I’m going to deal with the climbing rose that’s in this one.

(sorry, my photos have suddenly started to appear on their sides for some reason. I never had this problem before last week.)

Woodgreen

Mine has a ten year guarantee @pansyface. Maybe that's the expected life of this type of material. 
I wonder if pressure from the roots expanding has caused it?
Not easy to re-pot, as you say. 

Edited to add -- apart from the disintegration, it does have a nice look to it. Such a shame -- but if the mesh is holding, maybe it could be repaired with something? Waterproof grey tile grout perhaps?

Fairygirl

I used spent teabags for small cracks in mine. PVA-d and then I painted them, which has helped. The insides were done with PVA too.  Mine were terracotta ones. It's a shame because they're certainly lighter than the equivalent in real terracotta. 
One has been ok-ish but another is a bit dodgy, and one fell apart completely after a few years. No rhyme or reason to it really - all in the same sort of site and exposed to the elements in the same way. Not sitting on wet ground either, or with plants that needed more watering than any other. 

pansyface

Maybe you should write to the makers and tell them about your tea bags, fairy.😁

Fairygirl

pansyface said:

Maybe you should write to the makers and tell them about your tea bags, fairy.😁