12 Best Extra Large Outdoor Planters Under $60 That Don't Look Cheap
Cheap extra large outdoor planters that look like stone, drain properly, and won't crack by spring: the twelve under $60 worth buying.
Some links here are affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, and I only point to things I'd actually consider for my own home.
How I picked
I don't test planters in my yard, I compare. I read the listings for the boring numbers (diameter, height, soil capacity, empty weight, where the water goes) and I drop anything that won't give them. Every size and material below comes straight from the maker's own listing. Where a maker leaves a number out, I say so instead of guessing.
The one thing I cut on purpose: glazed ceramic and solid terracotta in the really big sizes. They're gorgeous in a store. Filled with wet soil they weigh more than you can move, and if water sits in the wall over winter, they crack. Everything here is resin, plastic, a stone composite or metal and wicker, and you can slide it across the porch when it's full.
At a glance
| # | Planter | Price | Best for | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bloem Terra 20-Inch Planter, Pebble Stone | about $37 | Best all-rounder | 20.5 in wide, 17 in high |
| 2 | HC Companies Prima 20-Inch Round Planter, Clay | about $26 | Terracotta look for less | 20 in wide |
| 3 | HC Companies Romana 28-Inch Planter Box | about $32 | Cheapest rectangular box | 27.75 in long, 9.75 in high |
| 4 | Devoko 24-Inch Tall Resin Planter | about $33 | Cheapest tall planter | 24 in high |
| 5 | GROWSCAPE 20.5-Inch Whiskey Barrel Planter | about $40 | Rustic look, featherweight | 20.5 in wide, 12.5 in high |
| 6 | Flamaker 24-Inch Tall Planters, Set of 2 | about $48 for two | A matching pair for the door | 24 in high |
| 7 | Tierra Verde Citadel Self-Watering Planter | about $50 | Least watering | 13.5 in wide, 26 in high |
| 8 | Veradek Lane 24-Inch Bowl Planter | about $50 | Widest, lowest bowl | 24 in wide, 6.5 in high |
| 9 | HC Companies Prima 20-Inch Planters, 2-Pack | about $54 for two | Best set | 20 in wide, 16 in high |
| 10 | Keter Signature Conic Planter | about $55 | Best for a small tree | 20 in wide, 23.8 in high |
| 11 | La Jolie Maison 24-Inch Tall Planter | about $56 | Best concrete look | 13.8 in wide, 24 in high |
| 12 | SUNNYPARK 30-Inch Rattan Planter Box | about $59 | Biggest rectangular box | 30 by 12 in, 16 in high |
Bloem Terra 20-Inch Planter, Pebble Stone
This is the one I'd put by my own front door. The Bloem Terra is a plain tapered round, 20.5 inches across the top and 17 inches tall, in a matte resin Bloem calls pebble stone. From the street it reads as a stone pot. Up close it's still clearly not plastic-shiny, and the matte finish is made to shrug off scratches and fingerprints.
It holds 13.5 gallons of soil, enough for a dwarf citrus, a big fern or a full summer mix of annuals, and the drainage holes are already there. One gap in the listing: Bloem sells it for indoor and outdoor use but doesn't call it UV-resistant or all-weather, which every other listing here does in some form. On a spot that bakes all afternoon, that's the reason to look at #9 instead. A deck or a painted porch will want a saucer, sold separately. And it's the price that makes a pair affordable, which is really the trick with big planters: two of these flanking a door look planned, one looks like an afterthought.
HC Companies Prima 20-Inch Round Planter, Clay
Terracotta color, none of the terracotta weight. The HC Prima is a 20 inch round with a thick rolled rim that looks like a classic clay pot and doubles as a handle when you need to drag it into the sun. It's UV-resistant plastic that HC says won't crack or fade, with drainage holes already in the bottom.
Don't expect it to age like clay, though. Plastic won't pick up the chalky white bloom real terracotta gets after a couple of summers, and some people want exactly that. If you're after the stone look instead, go back to #1 for about $11 more.
HC Companies Romana 28-Inch Planter Box
Long and low is what a patio edge or the base of a fence wants, and this is the cheapest way to get it. The Romana measures 27.75 inches long, 11.25 deep and 9.75 high, on raised feet that let air under it, with a removable drainage plug.
Read that height again before you order. At under 10 inches deep in soil terms, it's a box for herbs, trailing flowers and a line of lavender, not for shrubs. For anything with real roots, the rattan box at #12 is deeper by six inches. The upside of shallow is weight: filled, you can still pick one end up and move it.
Devoko 24-Inch Tall Resin Planter
Height does more for an entrance than width, and 24 inches of it for about $33 is hard to beat. Devoko's tall taper is polypropylene with a woven rattan texture, UV-resistant, with eight small drainage holes and a removable inner pot, which is the useful part: you lift the plant out to repot or clean instead of wrestling the whole thing.
What the listing doesn't give is the width, so don't count on it for a tree. Treat it as a tall, slim stand for a fern, a grass or a spiller. The inner pot also means you need far less soil than the height suggests (more on that in the fill section below).
GROWSCAPE 20.5-Inch Whiskey Barrel Planter
A real half barrel is heavy and rots at the bottom. This one weighs 3.45 pounds empty. GROWSCAPE's resin barrel is 20.5 inches across the top, 12.5 high, in a distressed oak finish with pewter colored bands, and it comes with drainage holes already open.
The color is protected by a UV coating, which matters, because a faded brown barrel looks worse than a plain black pot. It's squat, so it suits a mound of flowers or a tomato plant more than anything tall. And it belongs with a farmhouse porch or a cottage garden. Next to a modern black door it can look like a theme.
Flamaker 24-Inch Tall Planters, Set of 2
Two tall planters, one on each side of the door, is the single most expensive-looking thing you can do to an entrance, and this set does it for about $24 a planter. Each one stands 24 inches, in resin with a rattan finish, and the body widens into a T shape at the base so a tall plant in wind doesn't tip it over.
The drainage is doubled up: a wide hole in the bottom plus a removable inner tray with eight more holes, so you can fill the whole pot or just the tray. They arrive assembled. Like the Devoko, the listing skips the width, so read these as a pair of tall accents for grasses or boxwood rather than a home for a real tree.
Tierra Verde Citadel Self-Watering Planter, 26-Inch
Big pots in full sun dry out by lunchtime in July. The Citadel fixes that with a water reservoir in the base that feeds the roots from below, plus a drainage plug you pull outdoors so a rainstorm doesn't drown them. It's a tall square taper, 13.5 inches wide and 26 high, made in Canada from recycled rubber and plastic and rated for all-season use.
At 16.5 pounds empty it's the heaviest pick here, and that's a feature on a windy balcony: it stays put. It's narrower than it looks in photos, so give it one upright plant rather than a crowded mix. If you travel in summer, this is the one.
Veradek Lane 24-Inch Bowl Planter
Is a 6.5 inch planter really extra large? Across, yes. The Lane bowl is 24 inches wide, the widest on this list, in a plastic-stone composite with a subtle texture that reads as cast stone. Veradek rates it from minus 20 to 120 degrees, with drainage holes already drilled.
That shallow depth decides what it's for: succulents, a low carpet of annuals, a seasonal display of mums and pumpkins on the steps in fall. Not a shrub, and not anything thirsty. On a low table or a wide step, it looks like a much pricier piece of garden decor than it is.
HC Companies Prima 20-Inch Planters, Sandstone, 2-Pack
Same pot as #2, in sandstone, and two of them for about $27 each. Each Prima is 20 inches across and 16 high with ten drainage holes, UV-resistant, and made in HC's Ohio factory. The sandstone finish sits closer to the stone look of the top pick than the clay one does.
I like this set for the classic pair by the door, or at the two corners of an outdoor rug where the edges want to curl. If you only need one, buy #2 single instead and pick the color. Plan on a saucer each for a wood deck, since ten holes let a lot of water out.
Keter Signature Conic Planter, 24.5 Gallon
For a tree, soil volume beats everything, and this one holds 24.5 gallons, the most on the list. The Conic is 20 inches across and 23.8 tall, in a wood look resin (rosewood here) that doesn't peel, dent or rust, and Keter says it stands up to sun, rain and cold without cracking. A Japanese maple, a dwarf olive or a patio fig fits.
Two things to know. It goes together in about five minutes rather than arriving in one piece. And the drainage holes are optional: the base has a water reservoir, so outdoors you'll want to open those holes before you plant, or a wet spring will sit in the bottom. With a tree in it, it's also heavy, so a plant caddy with wheels under it saves your back.
La Jolie Maison 24-Inch Tall Planter
Here's the one that fools people. The La Jolie Maison tall planter is made from polyethylene, stone powder and fiberglass, so the surface has a real concrete texture, finished with spiral ribs up a tapered body. It measures 13.8 inches wide and 24 tall, holds 10 gallons, and has half-inch walls, which is what keeps it from feeling hollow when you knock on it.
No other maker on this list names frost alongside sun and cracking. The catch is that the bottom isn't drilled: there's a marked spot where you make the drainage hole yourself, plus rubber plugs. Do it before you plant. Inside sits a removable shelf inside to raise a small plant without filling 24 inches of soil.
SUNNYPARK 30-Inch Rattan Planter Box
The most soil for the money in a long shape: 30 inches by 12, 16 high, 2.5 cubic feet. SUNNYPARK builds it on a rust-resistant metal frame wrapped in PE rattan, with a fabric liner that keeps the soil off the weave and lets water through. It ships flat and goes together from instructions.
Use it where you need a low wall of green, like a privacy line along a railing, a divider between the table and the grill, or a vegetable box that doesn't look like a vegetable box. Woven rather than stone is its whole look, so pair it with wood and wicker furniture, not with the concrete look of #11.
What to look for in cheap extra large outdoor planters
The gap between a cheap extra large outdoor planter that looks good and one that looks cheap comes down to four things, and none of them is price.
Drainage. A pot outside without a hole is a bucket. Rain fills it, roots rot, and in a freeze the trapped water can split the pot. Check the listing for drilled holes, a plug, or a marked spot to drill. Several on this list use plugs so the same pot works indoors, which means you have to remember to pull them outside.
Weight once it's full. Wet potting soil is heavy, and a 20 inch pot holds a lot of it. Resin and plastic planters weigh a few pounds empty and let you move the pot at all. Solid concrete and glazed ceramic in the same size are a one-way trip.
Sun. Cheap plastic fades from black to gray and from terracotta to pink in one summer. A UV-resistant or UV-coated finish is the line item that prevents it, and eleven of the twelve here claim one.
The tells. Thin walls that flex when you squeeze the rim, a glossy surface, and a molded seam down the side are what give a budget planter away from ten feet. A matte, textured finish (stone, pebble, concrete, wood grain) hides all three.
Resin, fiberglass, concrete or terracotta: what holds up outside
Resin and polypropylene are the default for a reason. They're light, they don't crack when they're dropped, and they take a stone or wood texture well. Their weakness is thin walls on the cheapest ones, which you can often spot in the photos: a rim that looks paper thin usually is.
Fiberglass and stone composites sit in the middle. Blended with stone powder, they carry a convincing concrete surface without concrete's weight, and they're usually rated for wider temperature swings. The La Jolie Maison and the Veradek bowl on this list are both this kind.
Real concrete looks the best and weighs the most. A small concrete pot is lovely on a table. An extra large one filled with soil stays wherever the delivery driver left it.
Terracotta breathes, which plants love, but it also absorbs water, and water that freezes inside the wall cracks it. In a cold climate, a big terracotta pot either comes inside every winter or eventually breaks. The clay colored resin at #2 gives you the look without the worry.
When a listing says all-weather, read that as sun and rain. Frost-proof is a separate claim, and only trust it when the maker writes it out.
Tall, wide or rectangular: picking the shape
Wide round planters, 20 inches and up, are the most forgiving. They take a mixed arrangement, a small tree or a big single shrub, and they look right almost anywhere on a patio.
Tall outdoor planters do a different job: they put the plant at eye level, which is why they belong next to a door or at the top of the steps. Most tall ones are narrower, so they suit one upright plant rather than a crowd. The one trick I keep coming back to is buying them as a matching pair and setting one on each side of the door. It's the fastest way to make a front porch look designed.
Large rectangular planters outdoors are for edges and lines: along a railing, the base of a fence, between two zones of a patio. Measure the depth, not just the length, because a long box that's only 10 inches deep limits you to herbs and flowers.
Whatever mix of shapes you end up with, keep the planters in one family, all stone tones or all black, and let the plants be the variety. Mismatched pots are what make a patio look like a garden center.
Extra large planters for trees
A tree needs a pot at least as wide as its root ball plus a few inches of room, which in practice means 20 inches or more for a dwarf tree, and the bigger the soil volume, the less often you'll water. That's why the Keter at #10, with 24.5 gallons, is the tree pick here.
Two details matter more with a tree than with flowers. First, drainage has to be open and working, since a tree sits in the same soil for years. Second, you'll want to move it eventually, for winter or for sun, so put the planter on a rolling plant caddy before it's full. Trying to add one afterwards is a two person job.
How to fill a large planter without buying a truckload of soil
You don't need to fill an extra large planter to the bottom with potting mix. Most plants only use the top 12 to 18 inches.
- Drop a nursery pot inside. Leave the plant in its plastic grower pot and set it inside the planter, raised on something stable. It's the cheapest trick there is, and it makes swapping plants each season a two minute job.
- Use the built-in shelf or insert if your planter has one. The Devoko, Flamaker and La Jolie Maison all do.
- Fill the bottom third with something light. Empty plastic bottles with their caps on, crushed plastic nursery pots, or packing peanuts sealed in a bag take up space and weigh almost nothing. Put a layer of landscape fabric over them so soil doesn't wash down.
- Skip the gravel. It adds weight and doesn't improve drainage the way people think.
How much to spend (and when they go on sale)
About $25 to $40 buys a single large resin planter that looks good and lasts several seasons. That's where the top pick, the single HC Companies pot and box, the Devoko and the barrel all sit. From $45 to $60 you're paying for something specific: a pair, a reservoir, a concrete texture, or a lot more soil. Past $60 the category mostly changes material, into real fiberglass or cast stone, and the catalog store versions of the big stone-look pots cost several times as much as anything on this list.
Timing matters as much as budget. Large outdoor planters go on sale at the end of the season, from late August through October, when stores clear summer stock. If you're planning for spring, buying now is how you get the stretch pick at the budget price.
FAQ
How much should I spend on a large outdoor planter?
For a single extra large planter that holds up outside, $25 to $60 is the realistic range. Under $25 you mostly get thin plastic or smaller sizes. Over $60 you're paying for heavier materials, not for a better pot for your plants.
Where is the cheapest place to buy large planters?
End of season sales are the cheapest time, whichever store you use. The big box stores sell their own house brands, and garden centers discount hard in the fall. I stick to Amazon here because every one of these twelve ships to your door, and a 24 inch planter doesn't fit in most cars anyway.
Which of these planters are under $60?
All twelve, at the price shown when I checked. The two sets count by the set: the Flamaker pair and the HC Companies 2-pack are both under $60 for two, so under $30 a planter. Eight of the twelve are under $50 on their own.
What are some inexpensive ideas for large outdoor planters?
Buy one plain resin planter in a stone color and repeat it, rather than several different pots. Fill the bottom with lightweight filler instead of soil. And if you really don't want a planter, a large fabric grow bag slipped inside a woven basket gets you through a season.
What do you fill the bottom of a tall planter with?
Something light that takes up space: empty plastic bottles, crushed nursery pots, or packing peanuts in a sealed bag, topped with landscape fabric so the soil stays put. Or set a nursery pot on top of the filler and skip most of the soil altogether.
Do large outdoor planters need drainage holes?
Yes. Outside, rain fills a pot with no hole, the roots sit in water and rot, and in a cold snap the trapped water can crack the planter. If a planter comes without holes, or with plugs, open or drill them before you plant.
The verdict
If you want one extra large planter that just looks right, get the Bloem Terra 20-Inch Planter at about $37, and buy two if there's a door to frame. For that pair in tall form, the Flamaker 24-Inch Tall Planters come as a set for about $48. Planting a small tree? The Keter Signature Conic Planter holds the most soil here at about $55. And if you'd rather not water every day in August, the Tierra Verde Citadel Self-Watering Planter does most of it for you. Affordable, never cheap-looking.
If your planters are going on a patio with an outdoor rug, set one on each corner that likes to lift. It's the same trick from my outdoor rugs I'd actually put down.
The planters are sorted, now the rest of the patio.
A pair of big planters does a lot, but the patio still needs a rug, some color and a little glow to feel finished, so I rounded up the budget patio decor ideas that pull it all together.
See the full gallery: Patio Decor Ideas on a Budget
