The best watering cans and misters in 2023

For more watering tools, see our reviews of the best garden hoses and best garden spray guns, as well as our guide to buying the best pressure washer. Alternatively, take a look at our picks of the best water butts, bird baths and solar water features.

Jump to:

• Outdoor watering cans
• Indoor watering cans
• Misters
• What to look for in a watering can
• How to water effectively

The best watering cans and misters in 2023

Outdoor watering cans

Ward 10L Watering Can

For watering on a budget, check out the Ward watering can. This deceptively simple can has a couple of useful features. We love the measures along the side, so you can water precisely, as well as the rose storage, which makes it easy to switch between sprinkling plants and a full flow.

Price: £8

Buy the Ward 10L Watering Can from Argos

Garden Trading 10L Galvanised Watering Can

This simple watering can is all you need to keep your plants well-watered. Made of hard-wearing galvanised steel, with a brass rose, it holds up to 10 litres. You can also buy it in 1.5- and 5-litre capacities if you have a smaller space.

Price: £45

Buy the Garden Trading 10L Galvanised Watering Can from Garden Trading

Haws Bearwood Brook Green Two Gallon Watering Can

Haws is a big name in watering cans, and for good reason. Handmade in Smethwick, this galvanised steel watering can is powder-coated in attractive British racing green and comes with a brass rose. All Haws products have a fantastic 10-year guarantee, and the company has been known to still restore products more than fifty years old. This model holds up to two gallons, or 9L in new money.

Price: £64.99

Buy the Bearwood Brook Green Two Gallon Watering Can from Amazon

Kent & Stowe 9L Long Reach Watering Can

If you struggle to water hanging baskets or the back of deep flower beds, this long-reach watering can might be the one for you. Made from powder-coated galvanised steel, the long arm will help you water all your plants evenly, without treading on your flower beds or veg patch.

Price: £32.28

Buy the Kent & Stowe 9L Long Reach Watering Can from UK Tool Centre

Burgon and Ball Waterfall 5L Watering Can

We love the long arm on this galvanised steel can as well as the one-piece round handle, so it’s easy to use with one or two hands. The rose screws on to ensure a tight fit with no water wasted, and the can has a good five-year warranty.

Price: £34.49

Buy the Burgon and Ball Waterfall 5L Watering Can from Burgon and Ball

Kent And Stowe 4.5L Metal Watering Can

This 4.5L watering can from Kent and Stowe is just right for country-style gardens. It has a copper coloured rose and a folding top handle for easy storage, but if you forget to put it away after use, this attractive cream can will still look great on the patio.

Price: £24.99

Buy the Kent and Stowe 4.5L Metal Watering Can from Amazon

Indoor watering cans

Garden Trading 1.9L Indoor Watering Can

For a high-quality indoor watering can, check out the Garden Trading 1.9L watering can. Offering a large capacity in chalk or stone, this attractive galvanised steel can will help keep your plants healthy for years.

Price: £22.00

Buy the Garden Trading 1.9L Indoor Watering Can from Garden Trading

Elho Brussels 1.8L Watering Can

Made from recycled plastic, the Elho Brussels can has a great 1.8L capacity. Its small spout is ideal for targeted watering, and it has a large filling hole too, so it’s easy to top up from kitchen and bathroom taps.

Price: £12.39

Buy the Elho Brussels 1.8L Watering Can from Amazon

Haws Indoor Plastic 700ml Watering Can

This plastic watering can delivers Haws’ upmarket aesthetic at a lower price. Holding 700ml, it’s great for nipping around the house and keeping your plants topped up, and will look great alongside them on a shelf.

Price: £9.99

Buy the Haws Indoor Plastic 700ml Watering Can from Amazon

Burgon and Ball 700ml Indoor Watering Can

For a simple but attractive watering can, check out the Burgon and Ball Indoor watering can. The handle is made of sustainable FSC beech, and the thin spout is just right for gently watering plants. It’s also available in charcoal, stone, or blue.

Price: £19.49

Buy the Burgon and Ball 700ml Indoor Watering Can from Burgon and Ball

Ward Woodstock 1L Indoor Watering Can

If you’re on a budget, try the Ward Woodstock watering can. This small 1L can is ideal for keeping out on kitchen surfaces so you don’t forget to water herbs.

Price: £5.66

Buy the Ward Woodstock 1L Indoor Watering Can from Amazon

Elho Plunge 1.7L Indoor Watering Can

We love the ingenious design of the Elho Plunge because it’s a watering can disguised as a vase. It also offers a capacity of 1.7 litres, so it’s great if you’ve got a lot of plants to water.

Price: £15.95

Buy the Elho Plunge 1.7L Indoor Watering Can from Amazon

Misters

Ziuheoa Plant Mister

The pattern on this mister gives it a vintage, almost Edwardian feel. The bottle is glass and the mister pump is plastic, offering quality while keeping it affordable, and it’s available in seven colours.

Price: £8.99

Buy the Ziuheoa Plant Mister from Amazon

Dunelm Ceramic Black and White Plant Mister

This simple, black-and-white, ceramic plant mister will look fantastic in contemporary homes. With a generous capacity, it’s ideal if you’ve got lots of tropical house plants.

Price: £10

Buy the Dunelm Ceramic Black and White Plant Mister from Dunelm

Haws Mist Sprayer 300ml

This attractive brass mister is handmade in Smethwick in the West Midlands. It looks great on a shelf, and, if you’re giving it as a gift, can be engraved with your choice of text for an extra five pounds.

Price: £22

Buy the Haws Mist Sprayer 300ml from Farrar and Tanner

Patch Mister

Patch Plants has given the humble mister an intriguing redesign. Designed to create a super fine mist and therefore higher humidity, it avoids wetting plant leaves and has a hand trigger rather than a button. Made from attractive amber glass, a silicone base will prevent the glass bottom from scratching surfaces.

Price: £10.00

Buy the Patch Mister from Patch Plants

What to look for in a watering can

The type of watering can you need depends on your plants and their location.

To water plants growing outside in borders or large pots, you'll need a watering can with a capacity of around 10 litres to help you water everything efficiently, without having to constantly refill.
If you struggle to carry heavier watering cans, choose a smaller option, but bear in mind it will mean more refills at the garden tap. Plastic cans are lighter than metal ones, but you may prefer a metal watering can for environmental or aesthetic reasons.

If you’re caring for plants inside your home or greenhouse you're unlikely to need a large watering can, and a capacity of around four litres should be enough. Indoor watering cans are more likely to be on show than those used in the garden and are often designed with appearance in mind. There are lots of colours, materials and styles to choose from, with designs catering to personal aesthetics as well as practical needs.

For Tropical plants that love humidity a mister is the way to go. These little bottles usually have a capacity of 300-600ml and spray with a mist to simulate humid rainforest conditions.

Wherever you're watering there are a number of features to consider:

• A watering can with a long spout is useful for watering high places such as hanging baskets and tricky spots like the far side of a flower bed.
• A watering can sprinkler - or ‘rose’ - over the spout helps distribute a gentle spray of water that's less likely to damage plants or disturb compost, and is most useful for watering seedlings, cuttings and very young plants.
• Roses come with differently sized holes so you can choose the best spray to suit your plants. A universal rose tends to be made of rubber and should fit most cans, whereas brass roses are crafted to fit individual watering cans.

How to water effectively

Outdoor plants

To water established plants in containers, flower beds and vegetable patches use a can without a rose and water plants individually, aiming the spout around the base of the plants towards the roots. Give them a good soak so that water penetrates deep into the soil to encourage plants to root deeply. In summer, try to water in the early morning or late evening so that precious water doesn’t evaporate in the heat of the day.

House plants

Many house plants should be watered at the base, to avoid splashing their leaves and so water is targeted directly at their roots. However, carnivorous plants need damp roots, and cacti, succulents and cyclamen are prone to rotting at the base of the stems, so should be watered from below, either by standing them in a sink of water or watering the saucer they're standing in.

For more on this, check out this fascinating discussion between Arit Anderson and water expert Janet Manning on the BBC Gardeners’ World podcast.

• Find out more about our Growing Greener podcast series

This product guide was last updated in July 2022. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.