What is The Best Pot Size?

It is sometimes difficult to visualise just how large – or small – a pot is, so we have created this page to help our customers gain a better understanding of what all these numbers and capacities mean.

  • Typically our biggest pot is 75 litres, which generally holds trees of between 12 and 14 feet in height. They are best handled by two strong people or a robust sack truck.
  • A 35 litres pot is manageable by one person but is still a load better shared by two.
  • The 1litre little square pots are the smallest and you can fit them into your pocket – but don’t forget to pay first!
  • Sometimes we will have a monster 200 litres pot, and these require machinery every step of the way. Please follow best lifting practice at all times and don’t be a hero!

98% of the material our black pots are made from was another pot in a former life. Because we operate Landscaping and Forestry divisions to our business as well as having a nursery and plant centre, we have a lot of used pots returned to the site. Each year we send upwards of 100 pallets of these pots back to the maker, where they are shredded and reformed.

We keep all the bigger pots – which are not cheap – and scrub and disinfect them before putting them back into plant production. If you have a backlog of toppling pots at home or in your storeroom, first find a child in need of pocket money, then get them to remove all the old labels and knock out any dry compost. Teach them the rudiments of space-saving stacking and you are then more than welcome to bring the results back to us. We will send them off for recycling. Oh and you pay the children, not us!

As a rule of thumb, anything over a 15 litre pot and you will be struggling to get many into the boot of your car. If you do bring a trailer that hasn’t been used for a while please check it is roadworthy and bring a tarpaulin to protect your plants from 60mph winds!

If you would like further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.