Large Pots

What a large pot will actually hold

Large in this range means roughly 50 to 80cm across the opening, which is genuine tree territory. A 300mm or 400mm nursery pot drops straight in with room to grow, and the biggest vessels here take a 45 litre root ball. This is the size for a lemon on a paved terrace, an olive or frangipani as a courtyard centrepiece, clipped topiary flanking a front door, or a privacy screen grown in troughs along a balcony rail where no garden bed exists.

The sizing rule from smaller pots still applies, just scaled up: give the plant 10 to 15cm more width than its current nursery pot. A tree planted into vastly more mix than its roots can occupy sits in cold, wet material through winter, and that stalls establishment. For screening in planters, choose troughs over rounds. A 100cm trough plants three screeners at practical spacing where three round pots would sprawl across double the length.

Weight decides more than looks

Have this conversation before you set your heart on a pot. A planted 60cm ceramic weighs 70 to 100kg once the mix is moist. Cast concrete and limestone run heavier again, and none of it moves without a trolley and two people. So position first, plant second, and if the pot sits on a deck or balcony, check the structure can carry a concentrated load of that size, spread across pot feet.

This is exactly why lightweight concrete and GRC dominate the collection, with more than 40 designs between them. Fibre reinforcement gives the mass and finish of concrete at well under half the weight, which is the difference between a two person lift and a machinery hire. If the pot will ever move, or ever sit above ground level, start with these materials, or with terrazzo, which splits the difference between presence and portability.

Materials at this scale

Aged ceramic brings a warm, weathered, handmade finish that suits Mediterranean and relaxed coastal gardens, and it only looks better as it ages. Double fired glazed ceramic, including the Premium Glaze tree planters and temple jars, holds deep colour for decades and resists frost, the safest bet for cold climate gardens inland and south. Terrazzo reads contemporary and architectural. Carved limestone sits at the top of the range as a permanent, single position statement. Timber troughs are the lightest way to plant a long run, with a shorter working life outdoors than stone or fired clay.

Filling and drainage

Budget mix honestly: a 50cm pot swallows 50 to 60 litres, a 70cm pot up to 150. Use a premium potting mix rather than garden soil, which compacts into an airless block inside a container. Do not add a gravel layer in the base, it lifts the water table into the roots instead of lowering it. If a purely ornamental planting does not need full depth, an upturned empty nursery pot in the base saves mix and weight, but keep at least 40cm of mix depth for any shrub or tree. Stand every outdoor pot on feet so the drainage hole stays clear, and refresh the top 10cm of mix each spring rather than repotting.

Placing large pots well

One well sized large pot beats five apologetic ones. Use a single statement vessel to end a path or axis, a matched pair to frame an entry, or one large piece as the anchor of a cluster with a couple of medium pots stepping down from it. In open or windy positions, wide based forms with a low centre of gravity are far more stable than narrow footed urns. The full pots and planters range is worth a browse if you are building a group across several sizes.

Common questions

Can I put a large pot on a balcony?

Usually, with care. A planted 60cm pot concentrates 80kg or more on a small footprint, so choose glazed ceramic in a smaller size, or lightweight concrete and GRC at full size, stand the pot on feet to spread the load and protect the membrane, and confirm any body corporate weight rules first.

What potting mix do large pots need?

A premium standard mix suits most plantings, and citrus or natives appreciate their specific blends. The quantity is the surprise, not the type: have 60 to 150 litres on hand depending on pot size, and water it in stages as you fill so the profile wets evenly.

Will a tree in a large pot outgrow it?

Eventually, and that is normal. Most trees hold happily in a 60 to 80cm pot for five years or more with an annual feed and a top up of fresh mix. When growth slows noticeably, root prune and refresh the mix rather than hunting for an even bigger vessel.

How do large pots arrive?

Boxed and padded, delivered Australia wide with delivery from $29.95 and no minimum order. Check the outdoor pots collection if you want the weather ready subset of this range in one view.