Broken pots aren't all bad!

You can pay a lot of money for strange shaped pots and pots with holes for plants to poke out of I got them for nothing.
Think before you dump them.

 

Excellent idea @BB3 . I'm tempted to smash some this afternoon .

 

I wouldn't go that far!

 

Oooo ... nice to see that they are being made useful, but sadly I would shy away from using these as I fell over and badly cracked my forehead open on the edge of a square concrete plant pot 2 yrs ago and know have a scar across my right eyebrow leading to my hairline

 

They can also look good half buried at an angle in a border.

 

I find that the clay pots with broken bits just get worse as the wet and frost get in, so I'm left with shards held together by roots. I haven't found any reliable supplier - they say "frost proof" but they're not.

 

I've had some for quite a few years. The ones that last are quite open after the split. This allows for expansion the next time there's a hard frost after a soaking. The ones that crumble just carry on crumbling. I suppose they were the non-'frost-proof' jobs.

 

Glazed pots tend to be more frost-proof than non glazed. Yorkshire pots are also good.

 

Yes I use them like that too

 

I break em up for crocks for other pots …
I got a refund from our local gc last week for one I bought in July that fell apart last winter .. well they say they are frost proof !! £18 is £18 !!!

 

We also use old ones that have cracked and in pieces for putting in other pots for drainage. We have never thrown away any broken clay pots. We still have MANY!

 

I would turn compost bags inside out, cut off the corners diagonally, and use them to line the damaged pots and retain water before abandoning them completely and breaking them up for crocks.But then, my second name is stingy!

 

Turned upside down they can make nice toad houses as well I read somewhere.

I have a Toad in my garden but I don't think he lives there.

 

Whichford Pottery! They're eye-wateringly expensive but they really are well-made. My 3 are 35 years old and not a crack or blemish to be seen. The caveat? Because of their 'Ali-baba' shape I use plastic pots as a liner for easy repotting. They've still withstood everything the UK and French climates have thrown at them, though