The Ultimate Guide to Selecting Commercial Planters For Your Project

With so many studies on the positive effects plants have on our psychology and wellbeing, planters are no longer an afterthought in design. Today, commercial planters play a significant role in layout, aesthetics, and even strengthening brand identity. They can be used to evenly distribute visual weight in a space, or tie together your design theme. You’ll be hard-pressed to find any commercial space that isn’t taking advantage of the impressive statement and ambiance that plants create. It is no exaggeration to say that plants breathe new life, energy, and a sense of prosperity into any place they touch. 

Like commercial-grade furniture, commercial-grade planters are durable and stand up to excessive use. Commercial planters are superior to planters that are found at local home improvement or greenhouse stores. They will last for years to come, are suitable for all weather conditions, and can be customized to fit your space perfectly.

Elements such as form, color, material, and texture are just some of the ways you can customize your commercial planter to enhance your finished area. Read our guide on choosing the right details, including size, material, and add-ons for your next planter project.

Consider Your Planter Application

The location and function of your planter should be taken into consideration when choosing what options and materials are required. Do you need custom planter boxes for a terrace, foyer, or high-traffic walkway? Will your planter be used to partition dining spaces in a restaurant, create privacy on a rooftop deck, or bring color to a pool's deckside? Will your planters go indoors, outdoors in a covered area, or will the planters be fully exposed to the elements? Are planters big enough for your project, or is edging your outdoors garden with retaining walls a better idea? The application of your planter will dictate many of your decisions on the shape, material, weight, and potential add-ons.

 

Modern Elite Aluminum Planters at The Towers for Brent Cottong

Size Options for Commercial Planters

We carry our ready-to-ship planters in a diverse range of sizes, from containers small enough to place on top of tables to those large enough to comfortably house ornamental trees. When selecting a size, we provide the exact measurements of all dimensions, making it easier for you to plan spacing and layout. Our largest ready-to-ship vase planter reaches 82 inches in height—big enough to be its own centerpiece.

Modern Elite custom planters at BXV Villas for Studer Design Associates

Our planters can be ordered to any size or texture specification to suit both intimate, residential settings or large-scale commercial use — indoors or out. Transform drab concrete areas into your own jungle or forest with planters large enough for multiple ornament trees and shrubs. Our longest planter length is 9 ft due to shipping restrictions, but we can send modular planters to be bolted together for a longer length or divide into smaller sections and butt-join them.

Best Commercial Planter Material

Our materials are designed for strength, durability, contemporary aesthetics, and low environmental impact. Depending on your climate, design, and application, there may be a specific material that is best suited for your needs. When deciding between materials, you’ll need to think about weight, shape, color possibilities, and what elements your planter will be exposed to. We offer samples that allow you to feel and see our different metal finishes and the corresponding sheen up close. 

Here are the materials available for custom planter designs as well as ready-to-ship pots:

Powder-coated aluminum:

We use marine-grade aluminum because it is specially alloyed for strength and resistance to corrosion, even when in contact with seawater. They are lightweight with high strength to weight ratio compared to steel and other planter materials. For planters that need to withstand frost, wet environments, UV rays, or underwater areas, marine-grade aluminum is the choice. 

One of our sustainable business practices includes using recycled aluminum, which saves 90-95 percent of the energy needed to extract aluminum from bauxite ore. Also, the powder-coating process produces near-zero volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can be harmful to humans and the environment. Powder-coating gives aluminum an extremely durable finish that extends the life of your metal and is superior to fiberglass.

For powder-coating, we only use TIGER Drylac(r) Series 38 powder coating. TIGER Drylac® is VOC-free and made for industrial applications such as military equipment and communication towers. It is also proven to be weather and UV-ray resistant. According to the manufacturer, “Based on 5-year Florida exposure, TIGER Drylac® Series 38 exhibits 5.0 (Hunter) color change and > 30% gloss retention.” Finally, TIGER Drylac® Series 38 also complies with the American Architectural Manufacturing Association’s specification AAMA 2604.

Aluminum planters can be made into any geometric shapes with 90-degree corners, (or cylinders with flat bottoms). They can be powder-coated and cured in a huge range of colors that you can find in our RAL color book.

COR-TEN weathered metal:

COR-TEN, or Corten, is a naturally oxidized steel alloy that is highly sought after for outdoor projects due to its unique look and weather resistance. COR-TEN is designed to resist corrosion with a protective patina that forms on the surface. This stable rust-like appearance makes them a stylish option for enduring moisture and the elements without losing their strength. 

When you first receive your COR-TEN planter, it’ll have the look of raw metal but will begin to patina once placed outside and exposed to wet-dry cycles. By request, we can speed up the patina process by pre-treating your planter before shipment, but it will need to go outside once you receive it to complete the oxidation process. 

Before purchasing planters made from COR-TEN weathering steel, know that it will most likely bleed onto the supporting substrate after heavy rain or watering and cause staining. 

Fiberglass:

Fiberglass planters are lightweight, durable, and versatile. They come in a variety of colors and designs, with matte, glossy, or faux stone finishes as well as metal-infused that will patina over time. While lightweight, fiberglass is still long-lasting and difficult to break, and highly resistant to cracking or warping. Fiberglass is resistant to mold, frost, and color fading from UV rays.

When it comes to custom shapes, fiberglass has the greatest range in shape possibilities but requires a much longer lead time than aluminum or metal. To avoid a longer lead time, we have a large selection of planter shapes and sizes in stock.

Choosing Custom Colors for Your Commercial Planters

People make strong connections with color, both through first impressions and psychology, but also through brand recognition. Color can evoke a specific mood or influence, from bold and invigorating to innovative and modern, or calming and trustworthy. Custom colored planters are one way of making your plantscape an integrated and purposeful part of your design.

Because the exact hue can vary between computer monitors, we highly recommend requesting a color sample. We can provide samples of our stock colors for the metal and fiberglass planters, so the color chosen matches the desired space. The specific colors we stock for fiberglass and metal come in their own innate sheen, but if you would like a different sheen, then you would choose a custom color. If a different color is desired than what we stock, please select any color on a RAL color guide.

It is also important to note that the material that the color samples come on vary from product to product. All Modern Elite Aluminum Planter color samples are on a similar gauge aluminum to what is used for the Modern Elite Planters (Final project gauge will depend on project needs). All color samples planters from our PurePots line are on a plastic color chip, not fiberglass. Though the material is different from the final product, the sample does accurately reflect the color and sheen that will be on the final product. All other planter color samples come on pieces of fiberglass, which accurately reflect the final color, sheen, and texture of the final product. 

Depending on your chosen material, we use a few different coloring methods. Fiberglass and aluminum have the largest range of colors -- any color in the RAL color guide can be chosen for fiberglass or aluminum. For fiberglass, we use BASF auto-grade paint for a highly resistant and durable finish. For aluminum planters, we use a powder-coated finish that is sprayed on and then cured in an oven. The curing process creates a hard, long-lasting finish that needs minimal upkeep. 

Some important considerations for color: 

• Paint on fiberglass is not going to have the exact same look as paint on aluminum. If you plan on placing planters right next to each other, we suggest going with the same material for a perfect match
• There are no returns on custom colors or made to order metal planters.
• The fiberglass is primed and then painted. It is important to note that we paint our fiberglass planters in a paint booth (similar to professionally painted automobiles), and we use automotive, commercial-grade paint on all fiberglass planters
• We use low-VOC paint, which means fewer fumes and solvents released into the air after painting

Custom Commercial Planter Shapes

Modern Elite custom aluminum and PurePots fiberglass planters - 15th floor Rockefeller 

The shape of your planter can help create contrast, balance, or serve as a circulatory element in your design. The right shape or built-in commercial planter can also improve the functionality of your space by directing foot traffic or creating attractive partitions and boundaries.

We provide an assortment of shapes including rotund, square and rectangle, round, and square tapered, cylinder, and other geometric shapes. Many of our planters also feature textural details such as ripples, facets, lattices, etc. Due to shipping restrictions, the longest length we ship is 9 ft, but we can ship multiple modular planters to be bolted together if a longer length is needed or divide into small sections and butt-join.

If you have a custom planter shape in mind—talk to us! We can create any geometric shape and some curves in our metal materials or use fiberglass for curvier designs. We offer large custom metal bottomless edging planter systems as well. Our custom welded shapes have the highest level of detail you’ll find in the industry, leaving behind perfectly smooth and seamless edges—no welding beads and perfectly tight seals.

Some details on ordering custom shapes: 

• Any shape can be made of fiberglass, but a plug (mold) has to be made first, and the process can take up to 4-5 months
• Aluminum can be made in pretty much any geometric shape and some curves just not a tapered curve
• COR-TEN can be formed into any angular geometric shape (no round shapes)
• Bolt-together planters are available in aluminum if a continuous run open trough of planters is desired
• Large bottomless edging planters are available in powder-coated aluminum and COR-TEN weathering steel. 

Custom Options/Add-Ons For Commercial Planters

Aluminum planters with wood cladding - Image supplied by the client

The sky is truly the limit. You design it, and we will do our best to make it happen. Not only can you specify your shape and color stated above, but you can send us an image, drawing, or sketch of a planter that you like with lighting, toe kicks, or even wood cladding, and we will figure out how to incorporate your custom options into the planter. Depending on the size of the order, we will send a mock-up so you can see it and approve it.

Add-ons are especially easy to add when using powder-coated aluminum. Aluminum planters are easy to fabricate and have the tensile strength necessary to hold the chosen add-on, such as lights. This superior material has the durability, longevity, ease of customization is affordable, and can meet quick turnaround times.

Additional planning time needs to be spent on what type of drainage your planter will need, as well as what fill you will need. Many times a tall planter is specified, but the available space is not required for plant growth. Other fill materials, such as non-biodegradable packing peanuts, could be used instead of heavy and expensive soil.

If the planter is outdoors and will be exposed to rain, snow, or sprinklers, it is most likely best to have drainage holes. For indoor planters, it’s best to have completely sealed bottoms to prevent any risk of leaking or the need for saucers. We are able to customize the planters to have or not have drainage holes based on the planned location and function of the planters. 

Our complete list of add-ons: 

• Casters (wheels)
• Trellises or Platforms for growing vines, living walls
• Wood clad siding — combining the organic feel of wood and the industrial feel of metal
• Toe kicks to create a floating planter
• Adjustable planter feet
• Lights 
• Built-in speakers
• Self-watering inserts (Ollie Plant Sippers)
• EZ Fill-ter void filler bags. 
• Internal shelves 
• Trays saucers
• Planter liners
• Metal panels
• Artistic cuts
• Metal borders
• Engraving 
• Customized add-ons— if you would like to add a feature that is not listed above, contact us, and we will work with you to find a solution. 

Wholesale Commercial Planters 

PureModern is constantly seeking opportunities to value engineer projects to provide our clients with high-quality products to ensure our customers receive the best possible solutions at a competitive price point. Join our Wholesale and Trade Program to purchase wholesale commercial planters and receive a 20% to 40% discount depending on the size and the scope of your project. You will gain a customer-centric, collaborative supplier that can deliver in full and on time – every single time.

With this guide as a reference, you should have a much stronger idea of what elements you need in your planter. We’ve worked with numerous industries, private residences, and companies of all sizes to help them select the perfect planter for their project. We provide full design assistance if your an expert landscape architect, landscape designer, plantscaper, or if your commercial property owner or interior designer new to designing planters, we can help!

If you have questions on any of our products or would like advice on choosing the right size, shape, material for your needs, please contact us.