I was just reading an old thread about potting up by satellitehead. Good stuff. My question was about how much to jump in size to next pot. Seems like a good rule of thumb to double or triple.

Next question: where do buy cheap pots of all sizes? Till now, honestly, I've been pretty good at hawking around the curbs in spring when landscapers or gardeners chuck the pots for all their plantings. This year, I need to supplement.

Do nurseries typically sell bulk nursery pots? Online any specific websites?

Thanks.

I'm not sure where you are at in NJ, but griffin nursery supply is where I go. They are in Ewing twp. They sell in bulk. I get my pots, pitting mix and fertilizer there.

http://griffins.com/locations/index.asp

Cool thanks - I'm about an hour north of Ewing. I have to assume nurseries everywhere sell them, but I guess I just never noticed.

Do they have the larger sized pots as well? For example, I see these online and the price is good: https://www.hydroponics.net/i/137320

They have any size you need. The biggest I bought was 25g. They told me they can get bigger if I wanted... I think was 130$ plus tax for 10 25g pots. Under publications on there site they have catalogues with prices. They more you buy the cheaper it gets. At the time I checked around online and there are better prices for pots, but the shipping killed it.

I have gotten sleeves of 1 gallon containers from Griffins on Long Island.  They shipping kills you when trying to by these online.  I also get my coarse perlite and ProMix HP from them.

Try amazon.com they usual offer free shipping on orders over $50

You might ask at various nurseries if they sell used pots.  Last summer I got some 7-10g pots that were very rugged, sturdy for about half the cost per pot that I saw flimsy new ones sold for in the same store.  They were obviously used, but I am not worried about the appearance.

In answer to the first question, for younger plants I've gone from 1 & 2 gallon to as large as 7 gallon with no problems.

I'm taking 2 years to get from cuttings into 15 or 25 gallon pots (whatever the biggest I can find is) if that are going to be kept in pots permanently. Plants being trialed or to be planted out will probably max out at 7 gallon for ease of moving and costs of soil.

Part of the answer will depend on your potting mix, though.  If it is very moisture retentive it can be hard on a small plant in a big pot due to waterlogging, just be aware of that.

Root up some Hardy Chicago, Mission, Verte (whatever you have) and offer to trade for pots at a local nursery. Like Ed stated, looks do not make a difference, I have some pots that I have used over and over for years.

That's a really good idea. I was thinking of asking some local farms or nurseries if they wanted to sell some rooted cuttings and share the profit...

Hopefully they get rooted well :)

You can also search on craigslist in your area.  There are lots listed for around my area.

When I operated a fruit-tree-selling nursery business, I incremented pot sizes from 1, to 5, to 15, and then 25. Hopefully they sold at 5 gallon because 15 gallon is more maintenance.

Beyond the needs of nurseries and into my own yard, I go straight from 1 or 5 gallon into either the ground or a 25 gallon. My opinion is that incremental pot size upgrades is not the best conditioning for roots.