Wholesale & Commercial Support

The original fabric growing container—made for people who grow and sell.

Smart Pot began in commercial tree production more than four decades ago. Today, we help garden centers build a trusted American-made assortment and help professional growers choose proven systems for better root architecture.

Talk with our team Explore professional products
Prefer to talk now? 1-800-521-8089 info@smartpots.com
Grower standing between commercial-scale tomato plants in 100-gallon Smart Pot containers
Made for real growing operations From a garden-center shelf to acres of nursery production, the same grower-first thinking is built into every Smart Pot.
The original Fabric growing container
Since 1984 Invented by an Oklahoma tree farmer
Made in Oklahoma City American materials and labor
Independently tested BPA and lead free fabric

Two businesses. One standard.

Built for the shelf. Proven in the field.

Choose the path that best describes your business. Either way, you will reach people who know the products and understand horticulture.

Smart Pot retail display in a garden center

Retailers and garden centers

Give customers a product with a story worth carrying

Stock the original—not another anonymous grow bag. Smart Pot gives your team an American-made product with four decades of recognition, a broad assortment, food-growing confidence, and a real sales team behind it.

  • Planters that merchandise beside plants, soil, seed, and fertilizer
  • Raised beds, specialty planters, compost products, and seasonal programs
  • Retail packaging and merchandising options
  • Direct help choosing the right opening assortment
Build a retail program →
Commercial nursery shrubs growing in Smart Pot containers

Commercial growers

Choose a production system built around the roots

Smart Pot was invented to solve a commercial nursery problem. We still work directly with growers on above-ground and in-ground production, crop fit, irrigation considerations, harvest, transport, and custom requirements.

  • Tree farms and production nurseries
  • Greenhouses and controlled environments
  • Food, cannabis, and specialty-crop operations
  • Commercial farms, rooftops, and acreage growers
Talk with a grower specialist →

The fabric is the product

A grow bag is only as trustworthy as the fabric it is made from.

For food crops, field soil, and long production cycles, what surrounds the root zone matters. Smart Pot uses clean, specified virgin fabric and maintains control through American manufacturing.

Independent testing. Clear documentation.

Smart Pot's published Safety Data Sheet reports no BPA detected, no lead detected, and identifies the geotextile fabric as phthalate-free. It also reports no hazardous components at or above threshold values.

Read the Safety Data Sheet Why Smart Pot
American-made Smart Pot fabric containers
Made in Oklahoma City American materials. American labor. Hands-on quality control.
01

Clean, specified virgin fabric

Material consistency matters. Smart Pot does not rely on an unknown recycled blend that can change from batch to batch.

02

No BPA or lead detected

Independent laboratory testing cited in the published SDS found no BPA and no lead; the fabric is also identified as phthalate-free.

03

Engineered for root behavior

The fiber texture and fabric density are designed to balance air pruning, drainage, heat release, and working durability.

04

Made and inspected here

Smart Pots are manufactured in Oklahoma City with American materials and labor, close to the people responsible for quality and customer support.

Buy with confidence

Five questions worth asking any fabric-container supplier

  • Where is the container manufactured?
  • Is the fabric made from a specified virgin material or an unknown recycled blend?
  • Can the supplier provide current BPA and lead test documentation?
  • Was the fabric engineered for drainage, heat release, and air root pruning?
  • Can a real production team help with crop fit, sizing, and custom requirements?

Research-backed performance

Better roots are visible. These results are measurable.

University and commercial-nursery research has examined production time, root-zone temperature, nutrient loss, root architecture, and shoot growth in specific crops and operating conditions.

Viburnum nursery trial comparing Smart Pot and conventional plastic production

UF/IFAS · Viburnum suspensum

3 months earlier

Reached the study's 7-gallon market specification sooner

After both groups were shifted to 7-gallon plastic, plants started in 3-gallon Smart Pots reached the nursery's market specification in two months. The conventional-plastic group required five months.

Florida nursery trial · identical media · overhead irrigation adjusted to maintain moisture

Read the UF/IFAS study →
Washed fibrous root system produced in a Smart Pot professional container

HortScience · Dwarf Burford holly

6°C cooler

Lower maximum substrate temperature near the container wall

Across two 31-week experiments, fabric containers also showed 30% lower average nitrogen loss and 47% lower average phosphorus loss. The paper explains the higher irrigation requirement and full methodology.

Peer-reviewed container study · two experiments · irrigation and leachate measured

Read the HortScience paper →
Flowering plant growing in a three-gallon Smart Pot

Texas A&M · Knock Out shrub roses

About 5× less

Root deflection and circling across two substrates

Roses grown in Smart Pots produced stronger shoot growth across both tested substrates. During hot conditions, the fabric containers also maintained cooler measured root-zone temperatures.

Shrub-rose study · two contrasting substrates · root and shoot responses measured

Read the Texas A&M study →

Research results are crop- and system-specific—not a guarantee for every operation. Follow each source for container sizes, substrates, irrigation practices, locations, sample sizes, and study duration.

Professional product families

Start with the system. Then talk through the operation.

Use the catalogs to understand the product families—not to guess your way through an order. Our team will help match the container, size, and purchasing path to your shelf or production plan.

Smart Pot retail planter assortment in multiple sizes

Retail assortment

A complete family for the garden-center floor

Build around the original Smart Pot planter, then add larger formats and specialty products that solve real growing needs and create useful companion sales.

  • Original fabric planters in practical retail sizes
  • Raised beds and urban growing systems
  • Specialty, hanging, pond, and hydroponic planters
  • Compost products, packaging, displays, and merchandising programs
Download retail catalog Ask Sales about retail
Dense root ball produced in a professional Smart Pot growing system

Commercial production

Four systems developed for working growers

Choose above-ground, in-ground, or container-liner systems based on crop, harvest method, production cycle, transport, and how the finished plant will be sold.

  • Smart Pot Pro above-ground aeration containers
  • Root Control Bags for in-ground tree production
  • Pot Pruners that turn rigid pots into root-pruning systems
  • Tree Collars and custom manufacturing capabilities
Download commercial catalog Ask Sales about production
Smart Pot founder Ralph Reiger inspecting a tree root ball at his Oklahoma nursery

Invented by a grower

The first Smart Pot solved a problem in Ralph Reiger's own tree field.

Ralph was a World War II fighter pilot and Oklahoma tree farmer—not a container salesman looking for another product. In 1980, he began sewing porous fabric into in-ground containers because skilled ball-and-burlap crews were difficult to find and Oklahoma summers made harvesting unforgiving.

The 1982 harvest proved the idea. In 1984 he founded Root Control, Inc. That grower-first habit still guides the company: listen to the operation, solve the root problem, honor commitments, and keep improving the product.

  1. 1980 First fabric-container experiments at The Tree Farm
  2. 1982 The successful August harvest proves the root-pruning idea
  3. 1984 Root Control, Inc. begins serving professional nurseries
  4. Today Smart Pot is made in Oklahoma City and used from garden centers to commercial acreage
Read Ralph's story →

Meet the people behind Smart Pot

Upcoming trade shows

Scan the schedule, open a show for details, and come talk through your retail program or growing operation with our team. Only confirmed Smart Pot appearances are listed.

AUG 26 August 26–28, 2026 Farwest Show 2026 Portland, Oregon · Oregon Convention Center Booth 10016
Smart Pot and High Caliper Growing team meeting horticulture professionals at a trade show

Retail and commercial support

Bring us the shelf plan or production challenge.

Dates
August 26–28, 2026
Location
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon
Find us
Booth 10016

Farwest brings wholesale growers, retailers, landscape professionals, and horticulture suppliers together in Portland. Visit the Smart Pot and High Caliper Growing team to handle the fabric, compare root systems, explore retail and professional products, and talk through your operation with people who understand horticulture.

Bring your retail program, crop plan, irrigation questions, root-production challenge, or custom-container requirements.

Official show detailsAdd to Google CalendarPlan a conversation at the show →

Talk to the people who make them

Tell us what you need, where it needs to go, and when you need it.

Give us the shelf, crop, application, destination, and timing. A member of the Smart Pot team will help with product fit, current quantities, fulfillment guidance, and the next step.

Call 1-800-521-8089 Email our team
Edvin Flores
Edvin Flores President - Sales & Marketing
Kurt Reiger
Kurt Reiger Chief Executive Officer
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