Painting my pots...

Ed of Somis · February 3, 2015

In my studies and what I hear form experts...container growing can be sabotaged by pots getting hot from the sun and stressing the roots. I believe this. Therefore, I decided to paint my black nursery pots (plastic) white. It actually was fast and easy. I got some old latex exterior flat white that we had left over. Then, I simply used a 7" roller. It came out fine. I am not needing perfect here...just good enough to reflect the hot sun. I am expecting better results this season...

KarenO · February 3, 2015

So interesting how we all have different problems according to our climate. Black pots are great up here for heat-loving plants like eggplant as they warm up faster in spring.

KarenO

Ed of Somis · February 3, 2015

yes, that is so true.

Sun City Linda · February 3, 2015

I painted a bunch of 15 gallon black nursery pots year before last. They were new and I purchased the special spay paint for plastics. In fact the picture on the paint can shows it being painted on outdoors plastic furniture. The paint begain wearing off the first season.

peppero · February 4, 2015

I have been thinking about using aluminum foil on the eggplant containers that are black so I can have the best of two worlds. I would restrict this to my early ones as I use white buckets mainly. I will see how it goes.

jon

Salsacharley · February 4, 2015

I use 5 gal black plastic bags. I was afraid of too much heat and considered putting each one in a white bag but after careful observation I determined the sun didn't effect the bags much due to less area per bag as well as foliage protection.

However, I use black plastic produce flats...the kind that the sides fold in when not in use, and they were baking my tomatoes at the market so I painted them white and it is amazing how much cooler they are when white.

Ed of Somis · February 4, 2015

Just using common sense here...I believe the smaller the pot...the more dramatic effect dark colors will have on damaging roots with heat. That being said...this fix of mine took very little time and money. Like I said...it does not have to be perfect. On a fast horse it actually looks better than the black plastic. haha

ddsack · February 4, 2015

There are reversible black plastic nursery bags with a white interior, so you can use either side out. Or you could start them in the black-out bag and later when it gets hot, double bag it into a white-out bag. Like Karen, I use black bags/pots all summer since we are in the northern climes. But I hand water often and thoroughly. So far, I have never used the white side of the bags.

Blueaussi · February 4, 2015

I needed something to plant some flowers in last summer that was, well, nicer than black plastic; but that was all I had. So, I sprayed them white, then put another coat of turquoise that's thinner in some places to give it some color variation. It worked. As long as you're not looking too closely, they're fine.

In the vegetable garden, I did notice that the pots on the southern side did get pretty hot. I didn't want to spray paint since they already had plants in them, so I wrapped the pots with a bit of aluminium foil. That worked, too.

Ed of Somis · February 4, 2015

Well, it seems as though we are all working through our climate "issues"...

Gardeneer · February 14, 2015

The color of pot can play a role.
In our PNW, black pot not only is not harmful but it can be beneficial. We have cool summers and a lot of rainy and overcast skies.

gardendoc · February 14, 2015

Just a point to make with discussion, large commercial nurseries use black plastic pots regardless of their location

Gardeneer · March 23, 2015

One more thing to consider :
Not all of the pot exterior is exposed to sun. Half of it is on the opposite side. Then the sun shines at an angle most of the time that does not hit the pot, add to this the shade of the plant itself.
But having said all that a light color can reduce heat absorption quite a bit in places like The South , CA, FL, AZ, TX, ..etc. But where I am heat is wanted.

Stvrob · March 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by gardendoc

Just a point to make with discussion, large commercial nurseries use black plastic pots regardless of their location

White polyethylene is not very durable when exposed to UV, that might be the biggest reason why they use black.

Stvrob · March 23, 2015

http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/3298

February 3, 2015	#1
Ed of Somis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Somis, Ca Posts: 649	Painting my pots... In my studies and what I hear form experts...container growing can be sabotaged by pots getting hot from the sun and stressing the roots. I believe this. Therefore, I decided to paint my black nursery pots (plastic) white. It actually was fast and easy. I got some old latex exterior flat white that we had left over. Then, I simply used a 7" roller. It came out fine. I am not needing perfect here...just good enough to reflect the hot sun. I am expecting better results this season...

February 4, 2015	#5
peppero Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: selmer, tn Posts: 2,944	I have been thinking about using aluminum foil on the eggplant containers that are black so I can have the best of two worlds. I would restrict this to my early ones as I use white buckets mainly. I will see how it goes. jon Last edited by peppero; February 5, 2015 at 08:25 AM.

February 4, 2015	#8
ddsack Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3 Posts: 3,231	There are reversible black plastic nursery bags with a white interior, so you can use either side out. Or you could start them in the black-out bag and later when it gets hot, double bag it into a white-out bag. Like Karen, I use black bags/pots all summer since we are in the northern climes. But I hand water often and thoroughly. So far, I have never used the white side of the bags. __________________ Dee **************

February 14, 2015	#12
gardendoc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Ocean Springs, MS Posts: 8	Just a point to make with discussion, large commercial nurseries use black plastic pots regardless of their location __________________ Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden. Orson Scott Card

February 3, 2015	#2
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,932	So interesting how we all have different problems according to our climate. Black pots are great up here for heat-loving plants like eggplant as they warm up faster in spring. KarenO

February 3, 2015	#4
Sun City Linda Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: SoCal Inland Posts: 2,705	I painted a bunch of 15 gallon black nursery pots year before last. They were new and I purchased the special spay paint for plastics. In fact the picture on the paint can shows it being painted on outdoors plastic furniture. The paint begain wearing off the first season.

February 4, 2015	#6
Salsacharley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: New Mexico Posts: 2,052	I use 5 gal black plastic bags. I was afraid of too much heat and considered putting each one in a white bag but after careful observation I determined the sun didn't effect the bags much due to less area per bag as well as foliage protection. However, I use black plastic produce flats...the kind that the sides fold in when not in use, and they were baking my tomatoes at the market so I painted them white and it is amazing how much cooler they are when white.

February 4, 2015	#9
Blueaussi Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: South Carolina Zone 8a Posts: 1,205	I needed something to plant some flowers in last summer that was, well, nicer than black plastic; but that was all I had. So, I sprayed them white, then put another coat of turquoise that's thinner in some places to give it some color variation. It worked. As long as you're not looking too closely, they're fine. In the vegetable garden, I did notice that the pots on the southern side did get pretty hot. I didn't want to spray paint since they already had plants in them, so I wrapped the pots with a bit of aluminium foil. That worked, too.

February 14, 2015	#11
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,922	The color of pot can play a role. In our PNW, black pot not only is not harmful but it can be beneficial. We have cool summers and a lot of rainy and overcast skies.

March 23, 2015	#13
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,922	One more thing to consider : Not all of the pot exterior is exposed to sun. Half of it is on the opposite side. Then the sun shines at an angle most of the time that does not hit the pot, add to this the shade of the plant itself. But having said all that a light color can reduce heat absorption quite a bit in places like The South , CA, FL, AZ, TX, ..etc. But where I am heat is wanted.

March 23, 2015	#15
Stvrob Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,413	http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/3298