Attractive planting pots

[NancyMc]

What do you use to plant your marginals? Because they are somewhat above water, I would like to have attractive pots.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I use plain black pots, but sometimes dull green or tan. All my pots stay underwater and eventually blend in with the liner anyway.

 

[addy1]

All of my marginals are in ex home depot or lowes plant pots. Don't even see them after awhile. The pot rim is under water. Even ones that say crown above water end up being under water and do well.

 

[j.w]

Whatever I have that fits cuz after awhile all turns green and unseen. I have a white one in there and can't even see it at all!

 

[max384]

I've thought about making my own pots out of stones and cement so that they would blend in well and not even look like pots at all. Rather they'd look like the plants were growing out of a clump of stones. I haven't done it yet, but I think I will this year after I get my new pond built. I HATE the look of pots in my pond. For me, it just breaks up the serenity seeing the pots. Obviously others don't mind it as much, but it just bothers me quite a bit.

 

[Fishylove]

Same as the others here, or I plant them bare root in the rocks

 

[Tula]

My pond doesn't lend itself to marginal plants, as it's a straight drop down the sides. I have a resin whiskey barrel and I'm placing it in a garden beside the pond to make a marginal plant planter. I stopped by the fish hatchery today and they told me I could just pop and airstone in it to keep anaerobic bacteria from forming.

 

[j.w]

Same as the others here, or I plant them bare root in the rocks

Except you have that exclusive neat way of being able to plant them sideways w/o all the innards falling out too

 

[addy1]

My pond doesn't lend itself to marginal plants, as it's a straight drop down the sides. I have a resin whiskey barrel and I'm placing it in a garden beside the pond to make a marginal plant planter. I stopped by the fish hatchery today and they told me I could just pop and airstone in it to keep anaerobic bacteria from forming.

I would not worry about an airstone, no fish, who cares what bacteria forms. Keep the water level below the gravel, no biters can grow. I have three planters that stay wet all summer, the plants grow great mini bogs...............

 

[Tula]

I would not worry about an airstone, no fish, who cares what bacteria forms. Keep the water level below the gravel, no biters can grow. I have three planters that stay wet all summer, the plants grow great mini bogs...............

Thank you, that will certainly simplify matters

 

[NancyMc]

I've thought about making my own pots out of stones and cement so that they would blend in well and not even look like pots at all. Rather they'd look like the plants were growing out of a clump of stones. I haven't done it yet, but I think I will this year after I get my new pond built. I HATE the look of pots in my pond. For me, it just breaks up the serenity seeing the pots. Obviously others don't mind it as much, but it just bothers me quite a bit.

Unfortunately, my marginals don't seem to grow well enough to cover the pot so I like your idea. When you give your idea further thought could you let me know how you will build the pots? Thanks

 

[Don Eastman]

I've used different types of pots over the years but now is use only one kind.....cut the bottom and top out of a plastic 55 gal. drum (it only needs to be about 14"-15" tall). Make sure that the drum has been cleaned thoroughly before you cut it so that it has no residual chemicals in it. Cut hand-holds opposite each other about 2" from the top edge and WAHLAH!!!...you're ready to go. I must have at least a dozen drum tops and bottoms and use them anywhere from marginals to the deep water (30") water lilies. I use Mississippi River "gumbo" mud exclusively on all in-water plants and the only drawback is the weight....."gumbo" is almost entirely clay and it can be heavy until you get it in the pond. I put in three tubs yesterday with papyrus and pickerelweed and they were a little strain to say the least.....but it's a big pond and they will look good once they get going. As I said, I've used other big plastic flower pots and such but over the years they have fallen by the wayside and drum tops and bottoms have become the standard "pot" for me. Hope this helps a little.......

 

[max384]

Unfortunately, my marginals don't seem to grow well enough to cover the pot so I like your idea. When you give your idea further thought could you let me know how you will build the pots? Thanks

@NancyMc

Today I finally got around to putting together some stone pots. The larger one is for my lily pads. This was my first attempt at it. It turned out okay. I think once it is in the water and the plant is in and covered with gravel, it'll look nice. But, it's going to be about 18" underwater anyhow, so the depth should hide the imperfections.

My second attempt turned out great, if I may say so myself! It is the smaller round one. This one will house my Yerba mansa, which will be in my shallow basking area, so I really wanted an attractive pot, since the top of the pot will be just about at the water level.

The first and larger one was done using a few extra flat rocks I had laying around. I roughly fit them together, glued them with 100% silicone caulking, and then filled in the crevices with some smaller stones that were caulked into place. I'll see if this is going to be a permanent fixture or just a temporary housing after I see how it looks in the water with the plant inside. I have a feeling it will be replaced though.

The second one was done by picking out a bunch of flat river stones out of the stone around the edge of the pone. These stones are in the 1-2" size range. They were then glued around the edge of a flat rock in a roughly circular pattern. They were glued in again with 100% silicone caulking. I didn't worry much about the caulking showing on the inside, but I tried to keep it clean on the outside that will be visible.

It really turned out pretty nice once I put the plant inside and topped it off with some pea gravel with some slightly larger flatter stones on top.

I'll update with pictures once the caulking dries completely and I get them in the pond.

 

[Shan]

I use ceramic orchid pots that have holes in them.