I am Alberto Castillo, in Buenos Aires. I have been using white plastic containers for the bulb collection for some 15 years. They are used 5 gallon/20 litre buckets, well known for selling paint, plaster, etc., and they were tried at first due to the difficulty of finding really big pots. Results have been excellent, the main problem being that their useful life is variable, some becoming dangerously brittle after a couple of years, others lasting ten years with no visible change. This speaking of white plastic buckets. What has been just mentioned by Bob in a previous message on container color and durability is a hundred percent exact in my experience, grey and black buckets seeming eternal. Many of the (white) buckets are in full sun and they are very useful to maintain mixes cooler enough to avoid damage to the plants during our very long very hot summer. Enviado desde Correo<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> para Windows De: Robert Lauf via pbs<mailto:pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> Enviado: domingo, 21 de agosto de 2022 19:28 Para: Rick Rodich via pbs<mailto:pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> CC: Robert Lauf<mailto:boblauf@att.net> Asunto: Re: [pbs] White Pots It is because embrittlement isn't caused by heat; it's caused by radiation-induced cross-linking of the polymer. The carbon black keeps the UV from penetrating deep into the polymer and doing the damage. One can help make lighter-colored plastics more UV-stable by adding ZnO as the white pigment, which is often done in higher-value plastic components like garden furniture, but too costly for the really cheapo things like semi-disposable pots. The more high-value things also typically have a lot more plasticizers in the formulation, which is also largely prohibitive in thin plastic pots. As they say, you get what you pay for! Same reason white plastic labels become brittle after two years (or less) in the sun. Too bad they don't just get wrinkly like we do after years in the sun.... Bob Zone 7, getting some welcome rain and finally cooler temps. A few Lachenalias are waking from their summer siesta. On Sunday, August 21, 2022 at 06:11:26 PM EDT, Rick Rodich via pbs <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: I find that white plastic pots seem to turn brittle much faster. Kinda counter-intuitive. Rick Rodich _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://… _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://… _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> PBS Forum https://…