How to fill tall planters. Tall garden planters are not just décor. Not only can they be moved from place to place, but you can use them indoors too.
That’s why it is important when purchasing a tall planter that it has been constructed well enough to remain upright.
There are alternatives to filling up your tall planter with soil plant a tree using Oasis foam, for example or fill the center of your planter with pine cones for a winter display.
How to fill tall planters
There are a variety of household containers that can help to make storing and finding items at the home used for many different purposes easier.
Such household items include crushed aluminum cans, plastic milk jugs, plastic water bottles, plastic soda pop bottles, and crunched-up pots and planter soil bags.
Calculate measurements
Determining the exact measurements of your plant pot is crucial in knowing how to properly fill it with soil and not make it look lopsided.
After doing some measuring on your own, subtract the amount of space used by the planter that you have chosen for this purpose from the height of its contents once everything comes together in a neat garden display.
As an example, our 21″ tall planter was filled only with 7″ worth of soil so we needed to ensure that we added at least another 14″ worth to provide it with a healthy foundation.
Cut up your scrap wood
Your pot should be filled about 3/4 of the way with scrap wood if you’re using wood that is ¾ in. wide x 6 in. long pieces.
We used 2-in. x 4-in. boards to fill our pot, but they are a bit taller than the 1½ –2-in.-thick boards we had initially cut.
Because of this discrepancy and the fact that I happened to have them lying around my house, I made some cuts to even it out and make it fit snugly into the pot.
Make drainage holes in your pot
Mosquitoes aren’t that much of a problem during the colder months as they are only out at night when they can’t be seen, but in the summertime, it becomes a bit of an issue as we have all become accustomed to avoiding them whenever possible.
Drilling drainage holes into your pots prior to setting them up will make your plants portable if need be and furthermore, drilling drainage holes will help get rid of any standing water or water buildup within the pot itself which is so easy for these little bloodsucking creatures to feed in.
We recommend you drill some extra drainage holes just in case. After doing this, you can place a few pieces of charcoal (not too thick) on top of pebbles or otherwise towards the bottom inside the pot itself; shaping your pot as if you were creating that makeshift terrarium from earlier.
You can add some gravel
Add some gravel to the bottom of your planter so that it’s sufficiently weighted. We found these planters were a bit top-heavy and had a tendency to topple over and spill their contents, so adding the gravel base goes a long way in reducing this from happening and ensures your hard work goes on display.
Put a plant on top
You’ve got to place the plant on top because these pots are all the same size. This eliminates any guesswork about which pot is the better fit for your plant. The thing you need to watch out for, though, is selecting the wrong type of soil.
I love how these ferns look in these simple and inexpensive black pots that can be moved around at any given time without causing them stress or worry about their roots being disturbed from your repeated rearrangement of things.
Add more potting soil
Every plant will require a different amount of water to thrive. Some plants are well adapted to average amounts of watering, but others thrive when watered daily.
Summer days can get very hot and this should be factored in when determining how often you need to water your plants.
Add more potting soil around the plants, water them according to instructions, and place them in an area where they will get plenty of sunlight.
Planting in pots correctly
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