Dollar Tree Stackable Planters: Review and Tips

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Finally! I managed to score a set of 7 Dollar Tree stackable planters for my garden. We totally missed out in 2021 when I first saw them available and I basically stalked the store until the stacking pots came back a year later. Even now, I am excited that Dollar Tree released smaller sizes of these beloved pots, like the mini stacking planters!

Have you got your stackable tier planters from Dollar Tree yet?

I noticed if we take care of them, we can get a few seasons out of them, so that is definitely good!

Dollar Tree Stackable Planters in tan / ecru color
Dollar Tree Stackable Planters in tan / ecru color – So excited to have these cool stacking planters!

Our oldest daughter especially loved planting in the stacking planters Dollar Tree sold for $1.25 each. She planted lettuce, spinach, and arugula for a cool little salad garden!

Here’s our review of Dollar Tree stacking planters.

What are the best things to grow in Dollar Tree stackable planters?

Dollar Tree stackable planters are ideal for growing lettuce, spinach, arugula, herbs, strawberries, pineberries, or individual annual flowers. Decide whether you prefer a colorful display of flowers, a salad garden, or a functional herb garden to guide your plans.

Use your gardening creativity to find just the right plants or flowers for your tier planters.

These stacking pots aren’t huge, so keep that in mind. They are likely not ideal for accommodating large crops such as zucchini, pumpkins, or squash.

Lettuce and arugula planted in Dollar Tree stacking pots in our 2022 garden
Wondering what to plant in Dollar Tree stacking pots? Here’s our lettuce and arugula planted in Dollar Tree stacking pots in our 2022 garden.

Dollar Tree Stackable Planters Review

We had wanted the stackable flower pots Dollar Tree sells for our 2020 and 2021 gardens but couldn’t find them.

So, for 2022, I set about hunting them down early!

I managed to score 7 gray tier planters from Dollar Tree early in the spring.

Dollar Tree tier planters stacked five high
Dollar Tree tier planters stacked five high

The quality seems decent enough to get a few seasons out of these.

(That is, if the squirrels don’t chew the plastic as with my other outdoor pots!)

So far, I am loving these convenient stackable planters. I really like that you can change them to suit your needs. We originally stacked the pots 6 high, but then we switched it to 3 sets of 2 planters before a big storm.

I figured Dollar Tree’s stacking planters would be safer from the wind and heavy rain in a shorter stack.

That’s the beauty of these versatile planters!

Salad greens growing in Dollar Tree stacking pots
Salad greens growing in Dollar Tree stacking pots in our 2022 garden

Dollar Tree Stackable Planter Ideas

Do you love salad and herbs? That was one of our first Dollar Tree stackable planter ideas during our inaugural growing season using these cool value planter pots.

Now, here are a few tips that we came up with when using the tier planters from Dollar Tree.

Soil in tier pots
Soil in tier pots

Adding Drainage Holes to Stacking Planters (Dollar Tree, etc.)

This method will work with just about any plastic planters, including the Dollar Tree stacking tier planters. It’s a little trick I stole from winter sowing!

  1. Plug in a hot glue gun and wait a moment for it to heat up. DO NOT leave the hot glue gun unattended!
  2. Place the point of the glue gun up against the perforated drainage holes on the bottom of the stacking planters.
  3. Allow the hot glue gun to melt a drainage hole into the bottom of the planter.
  4. Repeat the process for each intended drain hole.
  5. Unplug the hot glue gun and allow it to safely cool.

As a side note, I did try poking the drainage holes out with a screwdriver or similar tool. Some of them came out cleanly while others cracked in a weird way.

I feel the melting process worked best for my needs, but your mileage may vary.

Suit yourself!

Stacking Planters Dollar Tree sold in 2021 and 2022
Stacking Planters Dollar Tree sold in 2021 and 2022

Reducing Soil Use

Since the tier planters stack on top of each other, the centers will only hold plants if it’s on the top of the tier.

Rather than fill in every single planter to the top, we made a clever alteration. Try our tip!

Soil Saving Hack for Dollar Tree Tier Planters - center pot full of seashells
  1. Begin filling the Dollar Tree stacking flower pots with potting mix.
  2. Place a 3-inch nursery pot (or similar) inside the center of the stacking planter.
  3. Fill soil in all around the center pot, but not inside it.
  4. Fill the center pot with seashells, river rocks, or another filler.

    Seashell filler in the center of stacking planters helps to save on soil use
  5. Gently press down to compact the soil. Add more if needed.
  6. Moisten the soil and prepare for planting.

This method saves at least one small pot’s worth of soil per tier. It worked out great for us!

Soil saving hack for Dollar Tree Stacking Pots
Soil saving hack for Dollar Tree stacking pots

Final Thoughts: Dollar Tree Stackable Planters

All in all, I do really like the stacking planters Dollar Tree sold and I am glad we got some.

I would recommend them for use on your deck or outdoor surfaces.

Get creative with what you plant inside the Dollar Tree stackable pots!

I truly love our salad garden, however, if we had more planters, I would probably play around with different flower combinations.

Seedlings in tier flower pots
Seedlings in tier flower pots

A stacking herb garden would also be fun!

The possibilities are pretty endless, so have fun planting in these innovative and convenient stackable planters.

Feel free to ask questions or share your own plan for how to use these useful planter pots!

Happy Gardening!

09.29.23 – Updated to freshen the content for 2023. Added another step to the soil hack plus two photos for clarification on the center pot.

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8 Comments

  1. Hi. Just got 8 stackables from Dollar tree today!
    I was wondering if the top ones shade the bottom ones too much? I will put in full sun but was just wondering how yours did.
    I have seen some that have a little platform with wheels but if I don’t have to rotate them then I’m not going to get that.
    Thank for all your info!
    Sandy

    1. Hi Sandy! SCORE! Nice that you got 8 of the stackable planters for your garden! In my uses, I found the lettuce did really well! I think anything that cascades over the edges would also do quite well. I haven’t splurged on the ones with wheels yet but I am keeping them in mind for sure. For now, these Dollar Tree planters are just too affordable and handy so I like them for the time being. I did end up making 2 shorter stacks toward the end of the season, which also worked out well. The problem for me is always the bunnies or groundhog coming to eat whatever I grow. I think if you put them in full sun, they should do great! Wishing you all the best. 🙂

  2. In order to get the large quantity I desired, I ordered mine online at Dollartree.com. If you don’t want the minimum order of 36 you can always split with someone else.

    1. Hi Robin, thanks for dropping by! I am so glad to hear you were able to order the stacking planters at Dollar Tree online. Great tip – I am sure friends / neighbors would love to split a pack. Wishing you lots of success with whatever you decide to grow in these! (Feel free to check back and let us know how it goes!) Happy Gardening!

    1. Hi Amelia, thanks so much for your thoughtful comment. I chose food-safe HDPE for my raised beds for that very reason. I did not give as much thought to my containers, but you bring up a good point. I’ll need to do some more research on this. What are your thoughts?

    1. Hi Talia, thanks for your comment. I don’t have a video yet but I added two photos. I reread the post and added a line that I think will help clarify. After writing the post, a year later I decided to fill the center cups with seashells! It really worked out – you can use something else too if you don’t have shells on hand. We just have an abundance, being a family of beach loving girls. 🙂

      Here is the new line:
      Fill the center pot with seashells, river rocks, or another filler.

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