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In February I decided to try my hand at growing pawpaw seeds and realized I needed much deeper pots than your standard milk jug could provide. Like many native plants, pawpaws have deep taproots, but they put a lot of energy into growing roots before the first sprouts ever emerge from the soil. Some anecdotes I read suggested the roots could start growing 1-2 months before the first sprout ever emerges! So, I wanted to make sure those roots had ample room to grow.

While I probably could’ve gotten by making pots out of 2 liter soda bottles, I don’t drink soda and I already had 12 seeds to plant so I needed the deepest pots I could find as quickly as possible. That led me to these 12 inch tree pots on Amazon. Full disclosure: I don’t know if these are THE cheapest tree pots on Amazon, but they are pretty darn cheap regardless. At the time of this writing, 50 pots cost $21.99, which is about 44 cents per pot! I was fine with getting 50 pots even though I only had 12 seeds to plant because I hope to use them in the future to grow other tree species like oaks and maples. I’m hoping they will last a long time.

These pots had really mixed reviews so I wanted to give a thorough review in case others are looking for cheap tree pots as well. Mostly the reviews complained about how thin the pots were and how unstable they were, and many reviews also complained about them having a strong chemical or smoke smell. Based off of the smell complaints, I decided to open my pots outside, but it really wasn’t too bad. Now I do have a poor sense of smell thanks to year-round allergies, but I didn’t notice any smell at first. When I started separating the individual pots, I did get a strange smoky odor, but I felt like it quickly dissipated after leaving the pots outside for a few hours. In fact, as I’m writing this I’m sitting about a foot away from the pots (my office is the warmest room in my house for germinating seeds) and I can’t smell anything.

I honestly think how difficult it is to separate the pots is one of the biggest drawbacks they have. These pots are thin, and as you can see from my first photo, they are crammed together. I could not separate a single pot with just my hands. I wound up having to use my feet to hold on to the pots, and then pull pots out of the middle with both hands! Once I figured out that technique it was easy to pull the pots apart.

Like I said these pots are THIN. A lot of reviews complained about this, so I at least knew what to expect. They are extremely flexible and bendable and they honestly seem kind of strong – like they would not be easy to break or rip. Though it remains to be seen whether they will become brittle from sun exposure like traditional plastic pots do. They are much more similar to plants bags than they are to pots though. As you add soil to them, they cease to be square and become more circular instead.

Many reviews complained that the pots were not able to stand up on their own once filled with dirt but I did not have that problem. The pots stood up on their own without issue, but seeing as they are 12 inches tall, they are extremely easy to knock over and I wouldn’t, for example, leave them free standing on a windy day. I placed mine in a tray with raised walls and added a brick on one side to help hold them up and make them easy to transport (because these seeds will have to stay in my house until the weather warms up).

One mild disappointment I noticed is that not all pots had the drainage holes fully cut out in the bottom. You could tell an attempt was made but it’s like the blade wasn’t sharp enough to cut through. It’s annoying, and it probably would’ve been easy to fix with by punching a nail through, but I didn’t bother since the pots also had drainage holes on the sides. I don’t love the drainage holes on the side either. I always add coffee filters over the drainage holes of my pots to prevent the dirt from falling out and that is surprisingly hard to do when the drainage holes are on the side of the pot. If I was keeping the pots outside, I wouldn’t have minded as much (and I’m sure that the manufacturer intended them to mainly be used outside), but this first round of pawpaw seeds has to stay indoors until the temperature starts staying consistently in the 70s.

Overall, am I happy with my purchase? Yes. I needed some super deep pots quickly and did not have a way to DIY any myself. They get the job done. This is very much a “you get what you pay for situation.” There’s a reason they are so cheap. Hopefully I get more than one growing season out of these pots, but I also won’t be upset if I don’t.

If you’d like to purchase these pots, click here: RunNico 50pcs Plastic Deep Plant Nursery Pots,12.2”Tall Tree Pots,Black Deep Seedling Container Pots with Drainage Holes for Indoor Outdoor Gardening (4.72″ Wx12.2 H)

Let me know what you think! Have you purchased these pots and want to share your opinion? Do you know of better quality tree pots available for a good price? Let us know in the comments!