I have two 18 inch decorative plastic pots that are for the outside.I haven't figured out yet what I want to put in them so for the time being I've put 2 foot christmas trees in each. Both pots have a drainage hole in the bottom of them.I live in the northeast and it gets pretty cold here in the winter. The pots sit on my driveway. I'm wondering if the plastic will crack in the winter because of the cold or will they be ok seeing as they have no soil in them? Thanks of any help.
if the pots are more than a year they'll probably crack, if not they should do fine
Do ypu expect the trees to grow without soil?
Plastic pots are not a success outside,as sun frost is not kind to them. I buy the cheapest ceramic pots terracotta pots for outdoors. The do OK on a covered porch/pergola.
I work in research for the plastics industry, so here is the short answer. You should take them in. They are most likely made of ABS, which is a rubberized styrene (a brittle plastic). Even though they don't have any soil in them to expand and crack the pots when frozen, the plastic can succumb to thermal shock and crack anyway. Certain plastics like HDPE and PET (food containers), can be frozen no problem, but unfortunately your pots are probably not either one of those materials. If you must keep them outside, keep them from freezing to the ground by completely covering them with a tied-off plastic bag to keep the moisture off
