Article: Design Notes: The Cylinder with Saucer, Second Generation
Design Notes: The Cylinder with Saucer, Second Generation
Seven years after the original Cylinder put us on the map, we went back to the drawing board with one question: what would make this ceramic planter with drainage even easier to live with? Here's what changed, and why.
Pictured: The Cylinder with Saucer in Black, all six sizes
When we first introduced the Cylinder, it became the planter most people associate with our name: a straight-sided, high-fired ceramic form with a drainage hole and matching saucer, sized to actually fit a grow pot instead of forcing you to guess. This is the Cylinder with Saucer, Second Generation. Same silhouette. A reworked saucer, an expanded size range, and a clay body built for both indoor rooms and outdoor patios.
Pictured: The Cylinder with Saucer in Black, 14", by the door, with a second Cylinder Cachepot on the staircase behind it
How do I size a ceramic cylinder planter to fit my plant?
Most large ceramic planters are sized by their outer diameter, which tells you nothing about whether your plant will actually fit. We size the opposite way: each Cylinder is named for the nursery grow pot it's designed to hold, so a plant in its original grow pot slides in with room to spare and no repotting required. This generation runs from 6" to 17" interior diameter, which puts it among the largest ceramic cylinder planters available at this scale, big enough for a fiddle leaf fig or an olive tree, not just a tabletop succulent. If you're between two sizes, size up. A little extra clearance around the grow pot makes watering and airflow easier, especially in the larger diameters.
Pictured: The Cylinder with Saucer in Black, 17"
What makes the two-piece drainage and saucer system different?
A ceramic planter with drainage is only as good as its saucer, so that's where most of the redesign work went. The Cylinder with Saucer is a two-piece, detachable set: a centered drainage hole in the base of the planter, paired with a saucer that catches runoff without trapping it against the ceramic. The saucer now has three integrated stabilizing feet molded into its underside, keeping the planter level and preventing wobble, which matters most in the 14" and 17" sizes where weight and water volume are both higher. Those same feet create airflow channels beneath the pot, so water doesn't sit trapped against the base after watering, supporting healthier root systems over time. The saucer separates cleanly for watering at the sink or outdoors, then seats back into place without adhesives or fittings.
Pictured: the drainage hole and REVIVAL stamp on the 17" base, and the saucer's three stabilizing feet
Is the Cylinder with Saucer frost-proof for outdoor use?
The clay body for this generation sits between our original Solid Goods cylinders and the first Revival line: lighter in hand than most comparable ceramics at this size, but ring-true and structurally dependable. It's high-fired vitreous stoneware, which means it's dense and glassy rather than porous, and it's frost-proof when paired with proper drainage and sensible seasonal care, making it a genuine option for an indoor-outdoor ceramic planter rather than one that needs to come inside every winter.
What colors is the Cylinder with Saucer available in?
A lighter interior glaze improves the overall exterior finish across the board, and the palette holds to four colors: Black, White, Mustard, and Forest Green. Each piece is hand-finished, so expect subtle variation in glaze depth and tone from one planter to the next.
Pictured left: The Cylinder with Saucer in White, 14", paired with The Bell in Gray and The Rancho in Terra. Pictured right: The Cylinder with Saucer in Mustard, 12"
Cachepot or drainage and saucer, which one do I need?
A cachepot has no drainage hole and is designed to hold your plant in its original grow pot, which you lift out to water at the sink. The drainage and saucer version has a true drainage hole in the ceramic itself, so you can water the plant directly and let excess drain into the saucer below.
The Cylinder with Saucer, Second Generation, is available in six sizes and four colors, all with the two-piece drainage system built in.
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