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Nursery pots buying guide

Updated: October 2026

You are looking at plastic packs on amazon.co.uk, and every title throws a centimetre number at you. Before a ten-pack or a hundred-count box goes in the basket, that figure has to match the job this week: sowing in the greenhouse, rooting a cutting on the sill, or moving a seedling up one size. A high star average shared with another diameter does not answer that. This nursery pots buying guide walks through diameter, open drainage and wall thickness on a UK bench. When you want the packs side by side, use the [nursery pots comparison](/hub/plant-accessories/nursery-pots).

You are looking at plastic packs on amazon.co.uk, and every title throws a centimetre number at you.

Our top picks

Happy Pots Happy Pots (15 cm, 5)

Best overall

Happy Pots Happy Pots (15 cm, 5)
8.7/10about £10.49
View offer
Muzhira Muzhira (6 cm, 10)

Best value

Muzhira Muzhira (6 cm, 10)
8.4/10about £6.64
View offer
Whitefurze Whitefurze (15 cm, 3)

Alternative

Whitefurze Whitefurze (15 cm, 3)
7.9/10about £5.50
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the centimetre on a nursery pot means
  2. 2.Which diameter fits seedlings, young plants and potting on
  3. 3.Open holes and a wall that keeps its shape
  4. 4.Pack size, saucers and colour
  5. 5.Which check decides the pack

What the centimetre on a nursery pot means

On UK listings the number in the title is usually the top diameter, but a 9 cm pot is not always the same measurement. Some charts mean the inside rim. Bullets often give outer width and height. One hundred-pack lists about 10 cm outside and about 8.5 cm inside, and several UK reviewers measure closer to 8.5 cm across. If you expected a true 10 cm row for tray spacing, goods that are not as described are a point with the seller under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. A line of 10 × 10 × 10 mm also appears on pots that are clearly six or seven centimetres tall. Treat that as a catalogue error. When the title, the size field and the bullets disagree, measure on arrival and judge the pot against the job.

Which diameter fits seedlings, young plants and potting on

Seedlings and cuttings need a small root zone. RHS school sowing notes treat roughly 7 cm as a normal first pot, so a 7.5 cm or 6 cm ten-pack belongs there and a 1.75 litre 15 cm pot does not. A practical UK band, with volumes approximate, puts about 7–9 cm with seedlings and cuttings, about 10–11 cm with young plants, and about 15 cm with bedding or herbs. When white roots show and the plug holds together, step up about 2.5–5 cm in width. Gardeners' World uses that lift test for cuttings. A jump from 7.5 cm to 15 cm is wider than that RHS step. Buy an intermediate size, or water more tightly.
Happy Pots Happy Pots (15 cm, 5)

Testsieger

Happy Pots Happy Pots (15 cm, 5)
8.7/10about £10.49
View offer

Open holes and a wall that keeps its shape

Drainage marked yes still includes a thinned membrane you punch before the first water. UK reviews on a low-priced 15 cm three-pack often say exactly that. Punch from the outside, check that light passes through, then use peat-free compost. RHS planting-up guidance says not to cover small holes with crocks. Thick UK-made pots cost more, about £2.10 each in a five-pack at about £10.49, and they survive firming. Thin black pots at about 11 pence each are for one season if you fill them in a tray. One UK report on a hundred-count line claimed holes in only 17 of 100. That is one delivery. Inspect the bag. Clear PET lets you see roots, though most written reviews here are orchid repotting. If water pools, the base may need opening.

Pack size, saucers and colour

Buy a saucer only for a windowsill, and empty it after watering. Most nursery packs here omit one. A six-pack with saucers sits nearer decorative flower pots, and its review file mixes other colours and sizes. From 31 March 2026, Simpler Recycling in England is written around non-black rigid pots in PE, PET or PP above 40 mm in two dimensions. Carbon black blocks infrared sorting. Cardboard stays out of the plastic stream. GOV.UK excludes compostable and biodegradable items. That choice is on plastic or fibre plant pots. Two UK-made sizes share 4.5 from 664 reviews. Both clear multi-packs share 4.6 from 916. Treat each average as a family score.

Which check decides the pack

If you are sowing, stay near 7–9 cm and open the hole before you fill. If you are moving bedding or herbs up one step, look at about 15 cm and a wall you can firm, and bridge a wide gap with an intermediate size. Add a tray only for a sill, and empty it. A thin wall is enough for one supported season. A pot you will wash needs thickness, and black plastic is not a safe assumption at every English kerbside.

Common questions

What diameter nursery pot do I need for seedlings?
For most seed and cutting work on a UK bench, stay in the roughly 7–9 cm band until the roots hold the compost, then move up a few centimetres, not straight to 15 cm. Modules suit fine seed. Individual pots suit larger seed and anything you will pot on soon.
Is the listed size the inside or the outside?
Often the title is the top diameter, but listings disagree. Measure the inside rim if you are spacing trays. Compare the outer width if you are fitting a cachepot, which is a different job.
How do I know the drainage holes are actually open?
Hold the base to the light, poke any membrane from the outside, and water once on the bench before you commit a whole sowing. Closed holes fail faster than a missing saucer.
Should I buy a thick pot or a thin one?
Thick walls suit reuse and potting on. Thin walls suit one sowing year at a low unit cost if you fill them while they are supported. Which packs in this comparison sit in which band is set out with the seedling pots.
Can I put a black plastic pot in the recycling bin in England?
Black pigment still defeats many kerbside sorts. Reuse first, then check your council page for non-black rigid pots. Never put biodegradable fibre in the plastic bin.

Related pages

Best nursery pots

Pots for seedlings

Nursery pots

How to pot on seedlings: timing and the next pot size

Plastic or fibre plant pots: reuse or plant them out

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures captured for these eleven listings. Last checked 22 October 2026.

  1. RHS: Growing plants in containers (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. RHS: How to plant up a container (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. RHS: Retail peat-free from 2026 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: Simpler recycling in England (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. HTA: Explanation of RAM for members (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. RHS: How to go plastic-free in your garden (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. West Sussex: Plant pots (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Plant pot sizes: a UK guide (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  9. Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved 22 October 2026)