A tray this size is bought for a different job from the large propagation trays. At 21 by 11 cm it fits a windowsill, a small bench or a shop shelf, which makes it the format for a grower raising a few hundred plants rather than a few thousand, and for a retailer selling trays as a finished item rather than a bulk input. Being small, it is also the tray that gets handled most: picked up, carried, stacked and washed by hand rather than moved on a trolley. PVC is chosen for that reason, because it stays flexible when it is cold and takes a knock without cracking at the cell rims.
Small trays are not simply small versions of large ones; they are used differently. A propagation tray in a commercial nursery never leaves the bench except on a trolley. A tray at this size is picked up by hand, carried to a windowsill or a shop shelf, and washed in a sink. That changes what the tray has to survive, and it is why the material matters more here than in a tray that is loaded and left alone.
At 21 by 11 cm the tray sits comfortably in places a full propagation tray will not: a kitchen windowsill, a small greenhouse bench, a balcony shelf, or a retail display. That makes it the format for a grower raising a few hundred plants for a market garden or a household, and for a garden centre selling trays as a retail item rather than a grower buying them by the pallet. The footprint is also convenient for a school or community project, where a tray has to be carried between rooms. None of these are bulk applications, and the tray is not designed as one; it is designed to be handled often and stored in small spaces. The same range logic 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.
The tray is used as a seeder: medium is filled and levelled, seed is sown into the cells, and the tray goes onto a warm bench or a mat to germinate. Because the tray is small, the usual approach is to sow one cultivar per tray and label the tray rather than the cell, which keeps a small collection organised without a lot of labelling work. Once the seedlings are up they stay in the tray until they are large enough to move on, and because the tray is shallow it is worth planning that move before the roots reach the base of the cells. For a small grower the whole cycle from sowing to potting on usually fits inside a few weeks.
| Model | NP-001 |
| Material | PVC |
| Size | 21 x 11 cm |
| Colour | Black |
| Use | Seed sowing and seedling raising |
| Packing | Nested for export |
| Price Range | USD 1.2 to 1.6 per piece |
PVC stays flexible at low temperature, and a small tray is the one most likely to be carried outdoors or left in an unheated shed, so it is the tray most likely to be dropped or knocked. A flexible wall bends and recovers where a stiff one can crack at the cell rim, and the cell rim is where a tray fails first. That is the practical reason small trays are commonly moulded in PVC rather than a stiffer polymer. It also takes washing, which matters for a tray that is reused between sowings, and it does not become brittle in the way an unstabilised material can after a season near a window.
For a retailer the tray can be packed as a finished item rather than a bulk input, and because the trays nest, a carton of them takes very little shelf or stockroom space. Minimum order is 500 pieces with the price range shown for this model at USD 1.2 to 1.6 per piece, samples are available, and delivery runs about 15 days after deposit with L/C and T/T accepted. Where a shop sells several sizes, ordering them together keeps one lead time across the range. Trade coverage of how small growers and retailers handle propagation, such as HortiDaily and FreshPlaza, is worth following if you are specifying for more than one crop.
What is a 21 by 11 cm tray used for?
Sowing and raising seedlings in small batches, and as a retail item. The size suits a windowsill, a small bench or a shop shelf rather than a commercial propagation house.
Why is this tray made in PVC?
PVC stays flexible when cold, so a small tray that is carried and handled often bends rather than cracking at the cell rim.
Can the trays be reused?
Yes. They take washing between sowings and nest for storage. Tell us the crop and the batch size and we will confirm the format and the packing.
Tell us the batch size, the crop and how the trays will be packed, and we will confirm the size, the material 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.
