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As a consumer category, plant pots aren’t fundamentally different from any other durable good. When comparing products, customers seek maximum value — the biggest bang for their discretionary buck. And when it comes to gardening containers, maximum value unquestionably resides in Smart Pots. Let’s break down key points of differentiation that make Smart Pots the best pots for plants. Room to Breathe: Fabric Pots vs. Plastic Pots Let’s start with the basics. Plastic pots have been in circulation since plastics became ubiquitous in consumer goods. In other words, they’ve been around awhile. Plastic pots provide two distinct advantages. Namely, they’re cheap and lightweight. And that’s where the good news ends. Plastic pots have several distinct downsides that make them vastly inferior to fabric pots. Start with moisture As Isaac Newton famously observed, what goes up must come down. That goes for water flowing through soil, too. Water deposited at the surface is drawn by gravity to the base of the pot. Even if they have drain holes, plastic pots tend to let water accumulate near the bottom of the vessel. Pots without drain holes (and those sitting in drip trays) are even worse off. That’s because overwatering is the single biggest killer of houseplants. Overwatering causes root rot, in part by starving roots of the oxygen they need to survive. When they’re drowning in oversaturated soil, roots can’t respire. So they die and biodegrade. Overwatering invites a host of insect, bacterial and fungal pests that attack roots and make life miserable for plant owners. Ever suffered through an invasion of pesky fungus gnats? If so, overwatering was almost certainly to blame. Now let’s talk about root circling. This is the real knockout punch in the battle of fabric pots vs. plastic pots. In a plastic pot, plant roots will eventually reach the boundary of the container. Once there, they begin circling the vessel in search of oxygen-rich soil. There’s just one problem. Plastic pots aren’t oxygen-permeable. So the roots grow to unhealthy proportions, getting tangled in the process. The result is a root-bound plant that is stressed or dying from lack of nutrition. The Argument for Fabric Pots Now, let’s examine why fabric makes the best pots for plants. First up is moisture control. Fabric pots are permeable, meaning that water and air can pass into and out of the container. When water enters from the top, it permeates the soil and transpires from the sides of the pot. Excess water that reaches the bottom flows through the fabric and exits the vessel. This prevents excess moisture from building up in the container. Goodbye, root rot and overwatering. Next up, oxygenation. As we learned before, roots need abundant oxygen to thrive. In fabric pots, oxygen flows through the container from all sides. When roots reach the container boundary, they sense optimum moisture and oxygen levels. The result is rather astounding. When roots approach the edge of a fabric pot, they form dense, finely branched structures. Notably, they do not circle or become root-bound. The process, known as “air pruning,” produces fine root structures that are perfect for absorbing oxygen, moisture and nutrients. The result is not only a healthier root system, but a dramatically healthier plant. Flowers grow more abundantly. Vegetable yields are off the charts. Plants grow bigger, denser and stronger. When comparing fabric pots vs. plastic pots, there really is no comparison. Smart Pots: The Original Fabric Pot Fabric containers were invented in the 1980s by High Caliper Growing of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Their flagship fabric container, known as the Smart Pot, is the world’s top-selling fabric pot. Over the years, the market has become flooded with knock-off products. So how do Smart Pots maintain their advantage? By being the world’s best pots for plants. Here are just a few of the factors that put Smart Pots over the top: They’re free of harsh chemicals and dyes that could leach into the soil. They’re 100% BPA-free. Every Smart Pot is made in the United States for unmatched quality control. Smart Pots are scientifically designed to release heat, keeping roots healthy. Smart Pots’ fabric is the perfect thickness to facilitate moisture control. They are incredibly durable, lasting five years or more under normal conditions. Smart Pots provide consistent quality from order to order, unlike foreign competitors. Smart Pots are a scientifically proven product, and the world’s original fabric pot. When you factor in plant health, vegetable yields, durability, safety, and quality, Smart Pots are the planet’s undisputed best pots for plants. At retailers around the world, customers ask for them by name. Put them on your shelves today and watch Smart Pots sell themselves.

An Expert’s Observations on Smart Pot Plant Containers Download as PDF Tyler Strait takes horticulture seriously. At age 11, he began working at his father’s landscaping and tree service company. The passion he developed there propelled him to the horticulture program at Michigan State University. Eventually, he landed the position of Sales Manager at GrowGreenMI, one of Michigan’s largest horticultural supply stores. With 18 years of industry experience, Tyler has a keen eye for gardening products. And he’s had a front-row seat to Smart Pots’ success in the indoor-growing industry. “GrowGreenMI has been around for six years, and we’ve been selling Smart Pots since day one. It’s no coincidence they represent 95% of our fabric pot sales.” Winning Over the Sales Team with Superior Plant Pots One advantage of Tyler’s sales job is the constant stream of free samples. Tyler and his sales team are avid growers, so they get to test a never-ending supply of new products. “It seems like there’s someone in here every day trying to sell us a new fabric pot. Occasionally, our guys try them out. I’ve personally tried over 10 different brands of fabric pots. But we all keep coming back to the Smart Pot. It’s just a whole different level of quality.” Key Differentiators Put Smart Pots Ahead of the Game Tyler manages a portfolio in excess of 10,000 products. And he’s always on the lookout for merchandise that sells quickly, generating an attractive ROI. Smart Pots offer distinctive differentiators that make their products stand out. “For starters, it’s 100% American-made. In Michigan, that’s huge. I don’t have to worry about some Chinese manufacturer using a toxic dye. Then there’s the construction. Smart Pots use a thin fabric that dries quickly and evenly. Their competitors use this thick fabric that stays damp. You might as well be growing in a wet diaper. It totally defeats the root pruning advantage you’re supposed to get with fabric pots. And the packaging is excellent. It looks great on the floor.” Towering Inventory – and Sales In addition to dominating its own product category, Smart Pots have been one of the hottest overall products at GrowGreenMI for many years. “You know the mantra in sales: ‘Stack it high. Make it fly.’ We keep 100 cases stacked up on the floor, and we go through five to ten a day. To give you an idea, that’s up to 500 Smart Pots each and every day. When customers come looking for a fabric pot, they walk out of here with a Smart Pot 95% of the time. And the cross selling is effortless. When you sell Smart Pots, you WILL sell soil, tomato cages, bamboo stakes, fertilizer… It’s really a no brainer.” With attractive packaging, American craftsmanship, and high-quality fabric construction, Smart Pots have solidified their place in GrowGreenMI for years to come. Find a DistributorWant to Sell Smart Pots?

The “Smart” Container Herb Garden by Marty Gottlieb For many years, I’ve been growing my culinary herbs in garden containers. As an amateur cook, I appreciate having fresh herbs readily available. More often than not, it’s usually when I’m in the middle of preparing a recipe that I realize I need a sprig of thyme or a few leaves of basil or parsley. This meant a hurried trip to the “back forty garden” where my veggies and herbs were planted. Planting my culinary herbs in garden containers and placing them on my lower deck, just a few, short feet away from my kitchen door, makes them much more accessible. The container herb garden also adds another degree of beauty and interest, as it set alongside the flowering annuals and fig tree container gardens. About five years ago I started switching my container herb gardens from traditional, hard-sided containers to Smart Pots, which are “soft-sided” containers, made of a geo-textile type fabric available in a wide variety of sizes. I was initially interested in these unique garden containers because of their fabric sides, where I can plant more than just the top. I could plant the walls as well by cutting “X’s” and placing young plants anywhere I wanted. My experiment that first year worked so well that my “Smart Pot Culinary Container Herb Garden” has become my standard way of growing these plants every year since. It has become win-win both for the herbs and myself. I have a conveniently located, beautiful herb garden supply and the plants literally flourish in the Smart Pots. “Smart Pots” have been used by commercial tree growers for more than twenty-years. These professional growers prefer using these containers because their trees develop better, more efficient root systems which help produce stronger, healthier, faster growing trees. The Smart Pot’s fabric sides actually “air-root prune” the longer roots causing them to develop masses of lateral ones, rather than the fewer ones found in hard-sided containers. The Smart Pots fabric material also provides excellent drainage and as most gardeners know it is often the lack of adequate drainage that kills herb plants or causes them to do poorly. Smart Pots also offer container gardeners another advantage – they keep the roots much cooler than hard-sided containers during the hot, summer days alleviating heat stress. The herb containers’ porous, fabric material allows the container to “breathe” actually allowing heat to escape by evaporative cooling. I also played around with various garden planting mixes in the Smart Pots. As a horticulturist I was familiar with potting soils and knew that the better ones were developed to provide good drainage. Realizing the Smart Pots’ excellent drainage characteristic I said to myself maybe I could grow my container herb gardens with a heavier, less expensive potting mix, one that actually holds more water. Again, my reasoning was right. I was able to save a few bucks and the herb plants seemed to love practically any growing mix I used. When planting my container herb gardens I fill the Smart Pot with the potting mix and next decide where I want to cut my “X’s” in the walls. I make about 6- 8 “X’s” spaced evenly around the garden container staggering the height of the “X’s” from around one half to three quarters the wall height. In these cavities I plant the prostrate or creeping herbs like thyme and rosemary and even the tiny leaved basil. Curly parsley growing out of the walls is striking. For the container’s top, plant the upright growing herbs like mint, Italian Parsley, sage, etc. You can even try mixing in a few garden annuals like Petunias or Lobelia to add a little color. Just use your imagination. You can’t make a mistake. About the author: Marty Gottlieb lives in upstate New York, where he has been gardening and cooking for over 40 years. He earned a horticulture degree from Cornell University way back in the ’60s. Long ago, he was a New York State Coop Ag Extension agent. Marty has been active in the Horticulture and Nursery business his entire career.

Have you ever tasted fresh dug potatoes? Have you ever tasted a freshly picked-from-the-vine tomato? Cherry tomato? Green Pepper? You don’t know what you’re missing! The problem is that not everyone has room for a garden. There’s a solution… fabric container gardening Traditionally, container gardeners have struggled to grow fruits, vegetables & edibles. Plastic containers get too hot for optimum vegetable growth. A study at the University of New Hampshire showed that on sunny, 80-degree days in New Hampshire, temperatures inside plastic containers can be up to 125 degrees. Potatoes and other vegetables do not grow when container temperatures reach the cooking range. Roots do not grow in 120-degree soil, and if the roots do not grow, your plant will not grow. Smart Pot fabric containers release heat Heat release makes growing vegetables in containers possible. With fabric Smart Pot containers your potatoes and vegetables continue growing all season long. And heat cannot build up in the Smart Pot. We have had great success container growing these plants with the Smart Pot. Support plants from the roots up A look at the mechanics of containers explains why the Smart Pot is better for these touchy plants. The Smart Pot allows air to flow through the sides of the container and your soil mixture. With this aeration, roots become more naturally fibrous. With more fibrous roots you can use a heavier, more water retentive mix that seems to support these plants better. You can use a mix that has some soil content. Example Fruits and Vegetables Using Smart Pot Containers: Learn how to grow tomatoes with our step-by-step guide : How To Grow Tomatoes Thinking about an herb garden? Check out this success story: The “Smart” Container Herb Garden

Perennials have never been extremely popular plants with container gardeners. Short flowering times for a plant that stays in a container for years might hardly seem worthwhile. The Smart Pot, however, is ideal for growing perennials. In the Smart Pot the root structure of a plant stays healthy and vibrant for a long period of time. That’s because the Smart Pot was developed for and is used extensively in large tree production. The time frame of most commercial growers is two to four years in the Smart Pot. The root structures develop and thrive in this time period. The plant is healthy and growing. The problem with container perennials In a black plastic container, growing plants in the same container for a long period of time can be problematic. Roots circle around the inside edge of the plastic without lateral development. Temperatures can also be a problem. A study at the University of New Hampshire showed temperatures inside a plastic pot will easily top 120 degrees on a sunny day. Roots do not grow in 120-degree soil, and when the roots do not grow, your plant will not grow. The Smart Pot solution The Smart Pot gives you a longer time frame for container gardening perennials. We hope you will try some perennials in the Smart Pots. Even trees species are viable container garden plants with the Smart Pots. Example Perennials Using Smart Pot Containers: