But seriously, what do you put in the bottom of them? I have used newspaper pots in the past which are good for vegetables but I am not good enough at origami to make smaller ones for annual flowers.

It seems like wrapping paper rolls would be alot thicker.
Paper towel rolls are thin and could be cut into 3-4 "planters". Why not ask some local place that has a public bathroom to save them for you? You could ask the local Starbucks to save them along with the coffee grounds for your compost! NT

There are Aldi's grocery stores around here, sort of like warehouse stores, dont' know if they're nationwide or not, but I imagine there's something similar in your area. The items are not placed individually on shelves, they're just left in the boxes, you might be able to scrounge some dividers there , they allow people to take the empty boxes, don't know why they wouldn't want to get rid of the dividers too.

Or maybe somewhere like a dollar store? It seems their glassware would have protection of some sort.

katrs5, I haven't used TP rolls, but I probably would cut mine in half, just because I don't go through that much TP or paper towels. I also winter sow and transplant as soon as real leaves appear, so my roots do most of their growing when planted.

happycthulhu is right, too, about having more room for roots if not cutting the tube. I love that in gardening there are many right answers, depending on your own needs/preferences.

Finally, I ask my friends, family, and especially fellow gardeners to save their cell packs for me each spring and I use them the next season. (I know! Some people actually *pay* for stuff, lol!)

Finally, try curbside shopping. Find out what day of the week trash is collected from the most ritzy area in town and then drive by the evening before or morning of that day during the height of spring planting. I used to garden for others and many folks in upscale neighborhoods hire someone to, at the least, put in some annuals. This means lots of trays and cell packs are thrown out, not to mention pots, often not even in trash bags. (Of course, others garden and discard cell packs also, but upscale neighborhoods offer higher "hit" ratios, plus larger quantities per house.)

In threads in previous years, people have also said to check the dumpsters of nurseries and big box stores who will throw out dried up annuals (cell packs and all).

Monica