Bowl Planters

What grows well in a bowl planter

A bowl gives you width without depth, so it favours plants that root shallow and spread. Succulents are the obvious winners: echeverias, sedums and crassulas planted as a living mosaic will fill a 60cm bowl in a season and cope with the fast drying soil. Seasonal colour, herbs, native violets and trailing dichondra all work the same way. Bowls are also the traditional home of bonsai and clipped shapes, which is why the Pompeii Bonsai Bowl and the Izumi oval pots sit in this collection, and a single clipped ball of buxus or westringia in a wide bowl remains one of the easiest formal moves in gardening.

The trade off is water. A bowl holds less mix than a tall pot of the same diameter and presents more surface to the sun, so it dries fast. Plant tough species, use a quality potting mix, and expect to water more often than you would a deep pot.

Water bowls, ponds and cauldrons

Several pieces here are made for water rather than soil. The Atlantis Lotus Pond, the GRC Lorraine Pond and the Old Stone Wide Sala Pond suit a dwarf waterlily or a pot of sedge with a still reflective surface, and a bowl pond is the fastest way to bring water into a courtyard without excavation. The cauldron shapes, from the Pompeii Cauldron up to the carved Thai limestone pieces, work either way: planted hard with succulents or filled as a water feature. Check the individual listing before you buy, because plantable bowls drain and pond bowls are sealed.

Choosing size and material

On a table, 30cm to 45cm is the useful band. On a step, plinth or beside a seat, go 45cm to 60cm. On open ground a bowl needs width to register, so start at 60cm and do not be afraid of the metre plus pieces; the GRC Wok Bowl and its giant siblings are built exactly for broad, low plantings at landscape scale. For material, Italian terracotta from $10.95 is the classic and breathes well for succulents, terrazzo and glazed finishes suit modern spaces, and GRC and StoneLite give big diameters at manageable weight. There are matching taller pieces in the large pots collection and more classic clay in the terracotta pots range.

Common questions

Do bowl planters dry out faster than normal pots?

Yes, noticeably. Shallow mix and a wide surface mean more evaporation. In summer a planted bowl in full sun may need water every second day, so lean on succulents in the hottest spots.

Can I use a bowl planter as a pond?

Only the sealed pieces. The pond and water bowl listings are made for it; a drained bowl will simply empty itself. A 70cm to 90cm pond bowl comfortably holds a dwarf waterlily plus a marginal plant.

What should I plant in a large wok bowl?

One structural plant off centre, a carpet of two or three spreading species, and something to trail over the rim. In frost free areas mixed succulents are close to zero maintenance; in cold districts sedums, native grasses and prostrate rosemary do the same job.

How does delivery work?

Bowls are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and no minimum order. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost. For statement height rather than width, see the urns and jars collection.