Most nurseries do not buy a catalogue pot. They buy a pot that fits a bench, a trolley, a transplanting line or a retail label, and that usually means a size or a colour that is not on anyone's list. An air pruning container suits that kind of order because it is formed rather than moulded as a solid body: the same wall can be closed into a round, a square or a rectangle, cut to the height the line needs, and produced in the colour the label calls for. The root function does not change, because air pruning comes from the wall pattern rather than the shape.
A container is not a product a nursery sells; it is a component of a growing system, and systems are specific. A propagation line has a trolley width, a retail customer has a brand colour, and a hydroponic bench has a spacing that was fixed years ago. A container that only comes in three sizes forces the system to adapt to it, which is the wrong way round.
Colour is a free choice because the pigment is added at the material stage and does not affect the wall pattern; standard supply is black, and any colour can be matched for an order. Shape is set by the way the panel is closed, so the same wall forms a round, square or rectangular section, and square containers are worth considering where bench area is tight because they leave no wasted corners. Size is the most commonly specified variable: diameter from 15 cm to 200 cm and height from 15 cm to 60 cm, with the base disc matched to whichever diameter is chosen. Because the container is supplied flat, a single shipment can carry more than one size. The same approach runs through the whole root control container range, and for growers working across several crops it sits alongside the shade net and planting bag ranges.
Set a plant grown in a smooth pot beside one grown in an air pruning container and the difference is easy to see and easy to explain to a customer. In the smooth pot the roots run to the wall and turn, forming a dense ring that has to be cut before planting. In the air pruning container the roots branch through the whole volume and the ball holds together when it is lifted. That comparison is worth photographing on the your own crop, because it makes the case for the container to a buyer faster than a specification sheet does, and it is the reason the material is specified as UV protected HDPE where the container will stand outdoors.
| Model | ZF-Pot11 |
| Material | UV protected HDPE |
| Diameter | 15 cm to 200 cm |
| Height | 15 cm to 60 cm |
| Shape | Round, square or rectangular |
| Colour | Black as standard, custom colours matched |
| Service | ODM, customer logo and dimensions accepted |
| Packing | Supplied flat, stacked for export |
The container stands on the floor and, at the smaller sizes, on a bench. Indoors it suits greenhouse propagation and hydroponic media work, where the open wall also helps the medium drain between irrigation cycles. Outdoors it can be set on gravel or on a membrane without a raised tray, which makes it workable for tree stock standing out through a season, and the UV protected material is chosen for that duty. Because the wall is ventilated rather than solid, a container standing in full sun does not build the heat and humidity that a sealed pot does, which matters for roots on the sunny side of a block.
Orders are taken on an ODM basis: customer dimensions, customer colour and customer logo, with samples supplied so the first container can be checked on the actual bench before the run is committed. Minimum order is 1000 square metres with an FOB range of USD 0.35 to 0.99 per square metre, and delivery runs about 15 days after deposit. Payment is accepted by L/C, T/T, Western Union or Paypal. Because a custom size is cut to your figure rather than picked from a list, it is worth sending the container dimensions and the bench or trolley width together, so the two can be checked against each other before production. Trade coverage of how nurseries specify equipment, such as HortiDaily and FreshPlaza, is worth following if you are specifying for more than one crop.
Can the container be made in our own colour?
Yes. Black is standard and custom colours are matched at the material stage, so the wall pattern and the root function are unaffected by the colour chosen.
Can you make a size that is not on the list?
Yes. Diameters from 15 cm to 200 cm and heights from 15 cm to 60 cm are made to order, and the base disc is matched to the diameter. Send the bench or trolley width with the dimensions and we will check them together.
Do you supply samples before a production run?
Yes. Samples are supplied so the container can be checked on the actual bench before the order is committed, which is normally the quickest way to settle a custom size.
Send us the container dimensions you need, the bench or trolley width, the colour and the quantity, and we will confirm the pattern, the base disc and the packing that suit your order.
Mark Wu, Co-founder & Technical Director, Sichuan Zhifang Net Industry. 15 years manufacturing agricultural nettings and nursery containers for growers in 32 countries.
