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With indoor plants, you want to be sure not to plant them in a pot that is too large. Myers explains that the planter should be about an inch or two larger than the root ball as most indoor plants don’t like a lot of excess soil. Self-watering planters are often heavy-grade plastic, which is a good material because it can hold up to the elements, and you don’t have to worry about soil or water damaging it. Resin, cedar, and treated metal are other options. These can be more expensive and heavier to move than their plastic counterparts, but they often resist rusting, warping, and fading. Our best overall option, the Plow & Hearth Sussex Self-Watering Resin Pot Planter is made of durable resin but is stylish enough to display on a front porch. This self-watering planter features a foolproof way to give your plants exactly what they need, when they need it. Just use a gardening hose or watering can to fill the reservoir with water. The roots will soak up water from the bottom, and the gauge at the top indicates the plant’s level of hydration. You can find plenty of seed starting kits that include soil, seeds, and plastic trays for single-use, but if you are looking for a self-watering planter that you can use year after year, we recommend the Judith Bloom Seed Starter Tray. Aside from being reusable, we love this seed-starting tray's modern, stylish design, and we think it will look great on any kitchen countertop or table. Made of terra cotta and ceramic material, this planter is available in two colors: white/terra cotta, and gray/terra cotta.
Traditional self-watering planters: despite their magical ability to keep your plants well-watered, traditional self-watering pots are also surprisingly low-tech. Designed with a small reservoir of water at the base of the planter, sub-irrigation is once again employed so that a plant can sip on water when it’s thirsty. Alongside a reservoir, some self-watering planters have an external hosepipe with a water level indicator which is attached to a water source.
Rustic Copper Herb Planter Trio
The advantages of self-watering planters are invaluable for those who frequently travel, go away for the weekend, or are swamped with the demands of daily life; these small to large outdoor plant pots are a smart system you won't be able to live without once it's set up. Whether it's a spontaneous trip or the occasional forgetfulness, these planters ensure your plants remain vibrant and healthy, eliminating the worry of returning home to wilted or parched flowers or produce. Material and Durability: Think about where you want your plants to live. Inside or outside? Keep the material’s durability in mind, and where you want to put it, before making your final selection. There’s also a bottom plate to collect excess water and keep the floor clean. However, for indoor use, you might want to add something a little bigger—after all, this one plate is collecting the excess water from 15 plants. Contemporary and chic, the Glowpear Self-Watering Urban Garden Planter is the right size to grow a handful of plants while fitting on a small outdoor patio. With this planter, you can grow vegetables, fruit, herbs, plants, flowers, and even take indoor plants outdoors since it comes with a clip-on drip tray.
To use, fill the tray with a seed-starting soil mix, and plant two or three seeds per pod. Then, fill the reservoir with water, and place it by a sunny window. Fill the reservoir with water about once a week to ensure your seedlings have sufficient water to grow.
The lamp also has a built-in timer and easy-to-install arm extensions so the lights raise as your plants grow. While it does come with an app, we didn’t find it very useful. "You can learn more about your plant pods on the app, but that’s about it," says Sassos. Indoor planters usually have a drainage hole, though some planters have more than one and others have none. Ideally, you should look for a planter with at least one drainage hole. Some include a plug that you can either leave in place or remove, depending on your watering routine. Since poor drainage is a common reason houseplants die, this is not a feature to be overlooked. Self-watering: Some indoor herb gardens have timers to automatically water according to a schedule, while others require manual watering. If you're the type to forget to water your plants, you'll want to invest in an automatic machine.
And if by chance you overfill it or if it rains, there’s a drip drain. Made of polyethylene, it’s BPA-free, food safe, and UV/ corrosion resistant. It’s also modular, so you can add on another unit and expand your garden plot. This affordably-priced set of three pots is perfect for small indoor plants—in fact, it likely costs less than the plants themselves! Available in a number of sizes and combinations, you’ll get plenty of value out of this set, especially if you’re planning to bring multiple plants indoors. Each pot features a self-watering saucer, which attaches to the pot but can still drain the water away when tilted. You can also remove it to dry out the bottom of the pot and roots when needed. A good self-watering pot will allow a plant to drink at its own pace and massively reduces the guessing game of when to water,” Besheer says. “The thing we like to tell our customers is that most plants like wet feet and dry ankles. The soil mass should never feel soggy, and with a good self-watering set-up the top layer of soil usually gets somewhat dry.” Made of polyethylene, the planter is also lightweight and durable. But because it seems to have it all, you’ll pay extra—it’s more expensive than other options on our list.Besheer adds that it’s important to look for a system that allows oxygen to flow freely to the roots and actually allows you to easily monitor root health by simply lifting up the planter. In this way, the plant’s roots grow down into the reservoir and are easy to keep tabs on.
It also comes with an all-natural coco soil to be used as a potting mix. Made of 100% organic, coconut shell fibers, it helps provide a perfect combination of moisture and oxygen to the plant’s root system for it to thrive. Self-watering planters are a great way to reduce maintenance and extend the time between watering,” says gardening expert Melinda Myers. “They also take away the overwhelming fear factor of buying a plant and then watching it yellow and wilt weeks later.” For a neutral look that lets your plant shine, you can’t go wrong with this minimalist design from Fox & Fern. While pricey, it’s made of high-quality materials that look at home in your living room or shared office space. The proprietary fiberstone is lightweight enough to move around if needed and UV-resistant. Even if you have a sun-loving plant that needs to be by a window, you can rest assured knowing this pot will maintain its color and finish. The frost-free resin accounts for a higher price point, but this quality material should hold up for the long haul, so we think it’s still a great value. You should look forward to years of growing in this planter without having to worry about warping, fading, or other damage. It is styled to resemble copper but at a fraction of the cost and with the convenient addition of the self-watering feature. Whether you’re a new gardener worried about over- or under-watering or are just looking to make life easier, self-watering planters take the guesswork out of watering your plants.Alfred Palomares, vice president of merchandising and resident plant dad at 1-800-Flowers, recommends thinking about the watering requirements of your plants when choosing a planter: “Planters such as terracotta are porous and allow air to circulate in the soil and draw away excess moisture.” Water-Level Indicator: If you can see the water’s level, it’s an extra layer of insurance for the truly plant-challenged, says Bryan Clayton, CEO of GreenPal. This article was researched and written by Katie Begley, a freelance writer who specializes in home and family products. Begley has been writing for The Spruce since 2019. An avid home gardener, she has grown herbs, flowers, and vegetables in container gardens from seedlings. She considered dozens of self-watering planters for this roundup, evaluating them on size, material, water reservoir and drainage features, design aesthetic, and value. When we tested this unit, we found the plants grew in the recommended time frame listed on the pod and the lights worked on the recommended schedule. No additional soil is required, as it comes with liquid plant nutrients, and there’s an indicator to remind you to fill up the water and add the plant food. We found that it was very easy to set up and appreciated the lighted reminders to add plant food and water. Myers recommends buying a quality potting mix for indoor or outdoors that not only holds moisture, but will provide air space for sufficient drainage. Beneficial potting mixes include perlite, vermiculite, or organic matter.
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