Watering your plants efficiently is easier said than done. Even if you remember to do the job regularly, you still run the risk of under- or over-watering, particularly if your planter doesn’t have drainage holes. Happily, self-watering pots can solve the problem.
From elegant indoor designs you can place on your windowsill to robust options for your garden, there are plenty of different shapes and styles to browse. We’ve rounded up our favourites, with a focus on eco-friendly choices.
Best indoor self-watering planters
LSA Canopy Self-Watering Planter
- Buy now from Amazon (£90.00)
With its gleaming glass construction and sleek curves, here’s a self-watering pot that’s just as beautiful as the plants it holds. It’s part of LSA’s collaboration with the Eden Project, inspired by Cornwall’s famous domed biomes and their eco-friendly focus.
Mouth-blown recycled glass makes up the majority of the planter, and it’s delivered in recyclable packaging featuring organic ink.
Simply fill the bottom with water and add your plants and soil to the top. The rope, secured with a sustainably sourced rubber bung, will carry water from one section to the other. When the lower section is empty, you can lift away the top to refill it.
If this 22 x 24.1cm planter isn’t quite right for you, try the smaller or larger versions.
Origami Self-Watering Eco Plant Pot
If sustainability is your top priority, you can’t beat these pretty origami-style self-watering planters from POTR Pots. The brand has scrutinised every aspect of their production, materials and delivery to make sure they’re environmentally friendly.
Thanks to the pots’ lightweight flat-pack design, their carbon footprint is around one hundred times smaller than that of ceramic or concrete alternatives. The planters are made from recycled plastic using a low-energy process called die cutting, and all the parts are completely recyclable. The makers have even added handy symbols to help you recycle them responsibly.
Inside, the cotton cord absorbs and distributes the water to keep the soil moist.
Self-Watering Terracotta Bottle Planter
Creating a quirky plant display, this planter offers the chance to get creative with some at-home repurposing. Just grab a used bottle (wine bottles work particularly well) and slot the terracotta planter over the neck. The suspended rope will suck water from the bottle up into the pot to keep your plants hydrated.
These self-watering planters look great on windowsills with a selection of different bottles. Add them to your greenhouse as part of a collection of smart terracotta pots.
Flo Self-Watering Ceramic and Glass Planters
With their minimal design featuring borosilicate glass reservoirs, these smart self-watering pots are perfect for modern homes. You get three choices - standing, hanging and wall-mounted - and they come in a range of pastel colours. You can also choose between clear and misted glass.
A recycled cotton wick takes the water from the glass container into the opaque pot inside, so it’s easy to spot when the reservoir needs refilling.
White Self-Watering Plant Pots with Saucers
- Buy now from Amazon (£26.99)
For a no-fuss planter with a contemporary design, try these self-watering pots. Combining a matte white exterior with a brown-toned base, they’re perfect for neutral, modern homes.
Like many of the best self-watering planters on the market, this option opens up into two halves and locks securely back into place. But it also comes with a useful watering tab to refill the reservoir at the bottom without taking the pot apart.
A cotton string keeps the soil damp, while clever drainage holes underneath let excess water drip back into the reservoir.
Best outdoor self-watering planters
Recycled Self-Watering Grow Pot Tower
Specifically designed for plants such as tomatoes, peppers and sweet peas, this self-watering pot comes with a 1.5m aluminium frame to support tall stems as they grow. There’s even room to add an optional bamboo cane in the middle for extra stability.
As for the pot, there’s plenty of room for plants to spread out and develop healthy roots, thanks to the 11L capacity. Underneath, you’ll find a 3L water tray, which feeds the planter above.
The best bit? There’s a clever float indicator, so you can check the reservoir’s water level without having to take the planter apart.
Plus, all the plastic used in the pot is BPA-free and recycled.
Eco Garden Sonata Recycled Rubber Plant Pot
- Buy now from Amazon (£34.75)
Although these self-watering planters may look like they're made from plastic, they’re actually created using recycled rubber tyres. As a result, they can withstand extreme temperatures without cracking like other pots - and they’ll never fade or rot.
According to the makers, 2.5 billion tyres are produced every single year, and they take 80 years to start decomposing, so recycling them can significantly reduce waste.
As the water reservoir is contained inside the bottom of the planter, there’s no need to fill it separately. Just water your flowers as normal and any excess will drip down into the tray for the plants to drink later.
Recycled Plastic Self-Watering Trough Planter
- Buy the Paros planter from Gardenesque (£34.99)
- Buy the Capri planter from Gardenesque (£16.99)
These elegant Italian planters are made from recycled plastic and are 100% recyclable. We love this moss green colouring, but the pots also come in ‘clay’ and ‘ash’. They’re all UV-resistant and keep their shape in extreme temperatures from -30°C to 60°C.
To preserve the clean design of the planter, the removable tray sits inside the container, collecting excess water that drips through the soil to feed the plants later on.
Use these pots to create pretty windowsill boxes filled with flowers or herbs, or stack them together for easy storage.
Lechuza Plastic Self-Watering Plant Pot
- Buy now from Wayfair (£66.49)
Monochrome styling and a tactile matte finish give these self-watering planters a contemporary look. Not only do they have a removable liner to keep the insides nice and clean, they also arrive with the plant substrate, so you can start potting up your flowers straight away.
Feed your plants as you would with any other planter, and the water will trickle into the tray at the bottom. You can see if it’s full at a glance, thanks to the integrated water level indicator that sticks out of the top of the pot.