A quality container that looks good is almost as important as the plants it will hold :).

But I also find that each successive year of use 'weakens' the pot and so is more and more susceptible to breakage :(.

That stinks. Hope you are able to find a new favorite pot, but the prices always seem to shoot up way faster as the pot gets more interesting.

If it helps I'm usually the one who breaks the pots here and it's probably easier to share the stupid and mad feelings between two people rather than having to put them both on oneself.

It's shocking how expensive large containers are unless they're plastic and on clearance but it's almost Valentine's Day and your hubby might feel a little guilty. : )

You beat me to the punch @christinmk z5b eastern WA ie quality containers are crazy pricey.

Because of this I further justify getting cheaper plastic as I say it is the plants that make the display :).

Yes, the plastic is cheaper but I love nice pottery, the more interesting the better.

I found some incredibly high quality seeming glazed ceramic containers at Ollie's about a year ago. They were huge - maybe 20 gallons - and only $30. Once full of sand (mainly plan to use them for some aloes and other tender succulents) they will need to be moved with my front end loader attachment, but that's fine.

As with everything like that at Ollie's, I'm sure they only lasted a couple days.

Haha, same here with the Ollie's pots. I still stop in every now and then but now Ocean State Job Lots is my go-to for containers. Glazed ceramic and terracotta in all sizes and pre-tariffs you could get them for ridiculously low prices especially mid summer when they went on clearance. They were still reasonably priced last year but never went on clearance and the supply was down.

I felt downright giddy going to the register one year with a cart full of glazed ceramic pots and the total was under 100.

I know the feeling katob. About 18 months ago when I 'discovered' Ollies, what I bought in bulk were bamboo stakes. HW store prices are getting outrageous. These were marked down 1/4 the 'list' price, making them actually reasonable. Pennies a piece, which is what they should cost!

I love ceramic large pots but they are so heavy. We're not moving those in and out of the basement if we can help it any more. I've been buying fiberglass? Or something similar for awhile. Very lightweight and attractive enough. As much as it pains me, I hate to buy anything plastic. Natural materials is always my go to. Even these are pretty expensive too.

Some years, I don't have the time or the energy to work with a lot of containers. Not last year and this year is going to be another. Life changes. Oh well.... lol

You could use a plastic pot inside the ceramic pot and just put the plastic pot in the basement. That's if ceramic can survive your winter outside. Maybe wrapped snuggly and kept dry?