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    Home » Gardening & Outdoors » Planters / Containers

    How to Keep Water IN your Hanging Planter.

    Published: May 24, 2020 · Modified: Jun 19, 2022 by momcrieff · This post may contain affiliate links · 17 Comments

    How to stop water running through your hanging planters

    I love hanging planters full of pretty summer flowers. Actually, I'll also do spring and fall hanging planters too!

    My biggest frustration is when it's hot and the planters need to be watered often. The water runs right through and doesn't wet the soil.

    hanging planter with red geranium with text stating Keeping Hanging Plants Watered.

    This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure policy for details.

    I figured out a simple and inexpensive solution last year.  But couldn't share the tutorial because I didn't take pictures when I put the planter together and didn't know if it would work.

    I worked perfectly last year!  Better than I hoped.

    The solution?

    Using a Dollar Store Bowl to keep water in your planters

    Yup, a $1.00 plastic bowl did the job! When I watered the plant, the water stayed in the planter to moisten the soil and to let the plants absorb the water.
    an upside down plastic bowl with a geranium beside it and a hanging basket in the background

    It is important to drill some holes in the bottom. I just used a big drill bit to make three holes. If you don't have a drill bit, use a nail and hammer it in to create the hole. If the plastic is thin, you could even 'stab' the plastic bowl with a screwdriver to create the holes.

    a drill used to make holes in the plastic bowl

    You do want the holes so that you (or Mother Nature) don't overwater. It allows the water to S L O W L Y leave the planter!

    Dealing with Root-Bound plants

    When you purchase plants (and even if you grow your own), plants are often root-bound. Basically, it just means that the roots start growing in a circle. You don't want that because you want the roots to spread so they can absorb nutrients and moisture.

    My geranium was slightly root-bound.

    I just roughed up the bottom and the sides.  No need to be gentle when doing this!

    roughed up root of geranium.

    I also wanted to show you a plant that was more seriously root-bound.  Often plants come like this if they have been in their little plant cells a little longer than they should be.  That can happen for a variety of reasons including a delay in gardening because of cold weather, or, the plants just grew a little quicker than planned.

    This is my petunia and it is seriously root-bound.

    close up of very root-bound plant

    I literally rip that bottom part of root-bound roots off. Then rough up the sides. The picture below is the bottom of the plant with the root-bound part ripped off.

    a root ball that was root-bound and has been roughed up

    When you are first learning to garden, this is often a step that feels hard. You worry that you are harming the roots and the plant. But, you do much more harm if you don't rough up the roots so they can extend. If you don't, the roots just keep growing in a circle and then the plant suffers.

    Put good quality potting soil into your bowl/planter. I like using Miracle Grow Potting Soil. You can buy this anywhere that sells plants and soil. It's actually fairly light so you can also buy Miracle Grow Potting Soil online!

    After I plant my hanging planters, I also give it a diluted dose of Miracle Grow fertilizer.  Actually, I give everything I replant (if it's in a planter or in the ground) some Miracle Grow fertilizer.  I water it down to about ⅓ of the strength recommended.  The soil already has fertilizer in it so that's why I don't use full strength.    I also water my planters, especially my hanging planters with this diluted fertilizer about every two weeks.  It's way more than the directions say, but in a pot the nutrients get used up by the plant and there isn't much soil to hold nutrients.  Just my way of fertilizing.

    In this hanging planter, I put in a red geranium, a purple petunia (Wave petunia), alyssum and a purple lantana.  I will try to remember to take a picture to add to this post once the hanging planter is grown in and the plants drape.

    hanging planter with new plants in it including red geranium, white alyssum, purple petunia and purple lantana

    See how the bowl is tucked in with the coconut liner.  You don't even see it when it's hanging.  And you certainly won't see it when the plants fill in.

    hanging planter with the main plant being a red geranium.

    Looking for some planter and windowbox inspiration?  Here are a few of my posts that people enjoy getting ideas from.

    Over 20 Planter Ideas from My Neighborhood.

    or

    Window Box Plant Ideas.

    DIY - paint a black and white planter

    I love my black and white planters!  They were ugly and now are so eye-catching.  Here's a little picture -

    black and white planters on the grass

    Have fun planting!

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    Comments

    1. Billie

      May 11, 2022 at 5:05 pm

      Thanks u so much love the stuff i have learn

    2. elle

      May 06, 2021 at 7:34 am

      Every time I come to your site, a file named yum.dms automatically goes to my download folder. I don't know what this file is, but I have to delete it immediately and delete it from my trash. If this continues I will have to stop viewing your blog.

    3. Margot

      June 22, 2020 at 7:12 am

      Great idea! I’ll have to keep this in mind for next year - I think it will keep my planter liner looking good longer and may even allow me to move the planter inside for the winter. In the meantime, I use a large round pan sold in the auto department to catch oil during changes to soak my planter overnight (I only have the one so it works). It’s the perfect size and gives my planter such a good soaking that it usually is good for 2 days. I water the planter well from the top and then fill the pan from the bottom to give it a good soaking.

    4. rosemary palmer

      May 31, 2020 at 7:12 pm

      Watering a hanging plant was always the biggest frustration, especially ferns. I'll rmember this next time.

    5. Christy @ Our Southern Home

      May 28, 2020 at 9:10 am

      This is brilliant! Thanks for sharing!

    6. Pat Plassche

      May 27, 2020 at 8:15 pm

      I agree it is a great idea.Glad to read it before I put out my hanging plants.

    7. Patti

      May 27, 2020 at 5:28 am

      What a good tip! Protection and drainage. Very clever indeed.

    8. Roxanne

      May 26, 2020 at 8:13 pm

      This is brilliant, the hanging planters dry out so fast!

    9. Meegan

      May 26, 2020 at 12:04 pm

      I wouldn’t have ever thought of this on my own. Thank you for the amazing tip!

    10. Kim Purvis

      May 26, 2020 at 12:03 pm

      Fantastic idea! Sharing on social!
      Kim

    11. Anita Holland

      May 25, 2020 at 11:53 pm

      So simple yet so effective. A friend of mine uses the contents of a disposable diaper. The jelly inside swells up and holds on to the water. Not sure how long it lasts, but it gave me a giggle.

    12. momcrieff

      May 25, 2020 at 6:26 pm

      Succulents are the best plants! But, with this little trick, other plants should do better in the hanging planters.

    13. momcrieff

      May 25, 2020 at 6:25 pm

      Hope this makes the plants in your planter happy! And less messy.

    14. momcrieff

      May 25, 2020 at 6:25 pm

      I hope this helps! I was always tired of all the water running through my planters.

    15. Deana Landers

      May 25, 2020 at 6:15 pm

      Susan, I'm so glad you showed this to me. I have tried so many ways to enjoy my hanging baskets and this will help.

    16. Cat Michaels

      May 25, 2020 at 8:45 am

      Ooooooo....always hate the water running thing! Thanks for sharing a solution!

    17. Michelle Leslie

      May 25, 2020 at 8:11 am

      Brilliant idea Susan. Thanks so much. I always seem to forget to water my hanging planters and only the succulents end up surviving.

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    Hi, I'm Susan! Welcome to Momcrieff.com. I love sharing easy recipes (especially those that take less than 30 minutes and/or have less than 5 ingredients). I also enjoy gardening and creating flower | container gardens. Plus, I share about renovations and updates of my 100-year-old house!.

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