Best composts for containers

The best compost for containers will help you grow large, healthy vegetables and plants that are covered in flowers all through summer. 

The worst we've tested will cost a fortune and only deliver slow growth, pale leaves and tiny harvests. 

But the only way to tell the good from the bad is to grow plants in the compost and compare the plants - which is exactly what Which? Gardening has been doing for more than 30 years. 

We've pulled out our top composts for containers from our tests in the table below.  

New test results will be available in April 2021. 

Best peat-based compost for containers

Only logged-in Which? members can view our recommendations in the table below. If you're not yet a member, you can get instant access by joining Which?.

Compost	Our verdict	Pelargoniums	Potatoes	Score
Peat content: 80%		★★★★★	★★★★★	85%
	Long flowering This is often a Best Buy in our tests. It’s a high-peat blend with wood fibre and it comes with a packet of controlled-release fertiliser, which we mixed into our pots. This may seem unfair as other composts weren’t fed, but we test the composts as they’re sold. The results were comparable with composts to which we added controlled-release feed.  The pelargoniums flowered well all summer, producing the highest number of flower stems. The potato harvest was one of the heaviest on test. Find out which compost we're talking about - log in now or join Which?
Peat content: 90%		★★★★★	★★★★★	72%
	Good potato harvest This is a high-peat-content compost that also has a small amount of green compost, made from composted green waste. It also has a ‘starter’ fertiliser that lasts longer than many, promising to feed plants for around seven weeks rather than a four-week feed, which is more common.  This mix allowed the pelargoniums to put on plenty of healthy growth early in the summer and to flower well. It also grew the largest crop of potatoes. Find out which compost we're talking about - log in now or join Which?

Not found the right product for you? Browse all our compost reviews. 

Best peat-free compost for containers

Only logged-in Which? members can view our recommendations in the table below. If you're not yet a member, you can get instant access by joining Which?.

Compost	Our verdict	Pelargoniums	Potatoes	Score
Peat content: 0%		★★★★★	★★★★★	43%
	Nutrient poor This mainly ‘green compost’ is made from green-waste bin collections and this year, it was very lumpy with large chunks of poorly milled wood. Within weeks of being planted, the pelargoniums’ leaves were pale with a red tinge. The plants hardly grew in the crucial first weeks and didn’t recover later on, remaining small and flowering poorly. The potato yield was also very low. Find out which compost we're talking about - log in or join Which?
Peat content: Not stated		★★★★★	★★★★★	40%
	Needs supplementing This peat-based compost has controlled-release feed added to the mix. It has scored poorly in the past and this year the pelargoniums were clearly struggling to grow a few weeks after planting. We supplemented with a liquid feed after four months, but they continued to be small with few flowers and the potato crop was also low. Find out which compost we're talking about - log in or join Which?

Patio plants need fertiliser to keep them healthy. Jump straight to our round-up of the best controlled release fertilisers. 

Getting the best from compost

It’s best to buy only the amount of compost you need, and use it up as soon as possible. This is particularly true of peat, which ideally should be used sparingly as it's bad for the environment. If you need to store any compost for more than a month, put it in the shed where it will be cool and dry, or undercover, especially through wet weather. If you can’t use up peat-free compost within three months of buying it, use it as a mulch on your borders.

Why Which? compost reviews are better

Which? is independent and doesn't accept advertising or freebies, so you can trust our reviews to give you the full, honest and impartial truth about a product.

Before testing we send out secret shoppers to buy all our compost based in four locations around the UK, so we know we are getting the same product as you.  We also buy two of each to see if there are any variation in the quality of each bag.

Here's a run through of how we test compost: 

1. We grow ‘Palladian Pink’ pelargoniums, ordered as plug plants and 'Charlotte' potatoes.
2. This year, we decided to alter our feeding regime. The potatoes were fed with controlled-release fertiliser unless the compost bag stated that it contained enough feed to last for the length of the trial. However, we decided to grow the pelargoniums without feed to see how well the compost performed on its own.
3. The pelargoniums were assessed for flowering impact and vigour, which means leaf colour, the size and bushiness of the plant and general health. We carried out these assessments throughout the summer up until early October.
4. The potatoes were harvested in September, when they were weighed and assessed for size and quality. In our evaluation, we only included potatoes that were of a sensible size to use in the kitchen; that is larger than 30mm in diameter.

Our scores are based on how well both trial plants did, weighting the results of both trials equally.

We test all types of compost - here's our round-ups of the best compost for raising young plants and the best compost for sowing seeds.