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Unconventional Hypertufa Hanging Pots….or I’ll Try Anything!

I am always ready to try anything!

I am always open to explore a new way to make or display my hypertufa planters, and since last summer they survived in hanging wire baskets lined with those coir sheets, this year I am using those wire baskets as a mold!

This spring, my sedum spurium “VooDoo” (or it could be “Dragon’s Blood” because they are so similar) is just coming out of winter dormancy, and I need to trim off all the long branches to plant into the “nursery” to make new ones. But all those tiny rosettes will grow and eventually branch into a new thick pot of sedum. You can see the coir liner from last year. These needed to be watered often since they dried out quickly in the coir liner, but I considered it a success. I had a few hypertufa bowls which almost fit these wire baskets and I used them as a test case. Some were used as a nursery pot to root cuttings, and they did just fine. The sedums  grew well and I snipped and planted in other areas too.

Pedestal Hypertufa Pot
Pedestal Hypertufa Pot
sedum Voodoo and Blue Spruce
sedum Voodoo and Blue Spruce

Since these unconventional hypertufa planters are possibly heavier than the coir liner, you must be sure to use strong hooks and supports. But the great side to hypertufa itself is its lightness! and the plants inside don’t have to be water-logged to survive and that may make a perceived heaviness a non-factor. Ever tried to move a freshly watered hanging petunia? Now that is a task to get me in a MOOD!  I know how I struggle with my petunias to keep them nice with constant watering, but still end up with a six foot long branch with a petunia at the end! I usually admit defeat and I just give them the old heave-ho by mid July.

(And these sedums planted in the coir liners were left outside hanging all winter long. Just in case you’d wondered if they survive the winter exposed. In Ohio, we had an exceptionally hard and cold winter, and those were exposed to drying and freezing winds. Temperatures were down to -30° with wind chills even lower.)

image of plant hanger

I have an old bird bath that I may end up planting. It is that greenish metal so I am not sure it will work. I worry that the metal would heat up and kill my plants, so I may need to place it in a more shady area. Hey, solved my problem.  I think the Sedum rupestre “Angelina” would look nice in it, especially as it gets its color in the fall. Perhaps using it in the middle of a bed of heuchera would be a good color combination. I have a lot of heuchera since it seems to multiply like rabbits!

And it soon will be warm enough to take the Aptenia cordifolia outside and plant it in a hanging pot. I want the same visual as last year when I saw this hanging in the garden in Oakwood. It was so pretty and I didn’t even know what is was. And now I have rooted a cutting, discovered by some stroke of luck, and I am anxious to see if I can get mine that nice. I have about 5 cuttings which are doing well.

Baby Sunrose, Heartleaf Ice Plant
Baby Sunrose, Heartleaf Ice Plant

I have had these in the basement all fall and winter, and I have nursed them and cared for them, waiting to get them outside. Woe to the first rabbit or squirrel or deer who dares to eat the plant! I will track you down!

What are you trying new this year with your hypertufa? or with new plants? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to visit the Facebook Page.

Keeping Growing!

Here’s the video of the making of the Hanging Hypertufa Pot.

It’s a quick series of videos.

Hanging Hypertufa Baskets - I Tried It & It Works! Part One from The Hypertufa Gardener

11 Comments

  1. Claudette says:

    Hi Kim…I’m wanting to make some rocks for my flower bed border and I have a question. Instead of stuffing plastic bags into the chicken wire openings, can I use a sheet of plastic, maybe spray some adhesive to make it stick, to cover the inside of the chicken wire? Also, can I make a bottom for the rocks or should I just leave it open? I LOVE all of your projects!!!!!

    1. I have only made small rocks but some of the people on our FB group ( The Hypertufa Gardener Group) talk about theirs. You idea sounds good. Try it on one, and if it works, then make a whole bunch.

  2. I am a beginner but am having so much fun. I was thrilled when a leaf started a baby on my windowsill. I now spend my thrift store time searching for containers.

    1. I am so glad to hear that. And searching the thrift stores for “treasures” is so much fun.

  3. I recently said that I did not like the planters but loved the other done with the towels/heavy material. Having seen them in the
    hanging baskets I think they are great and I am going to try to do this too, so thanks for sharing and enjoy the garden and retirement.

    1. Thanks for visiting. I knew I could change your mind!

  4. Anonymous says:

    Wonderful idea. Thanks

  5. Just found your blog. Someone sent me a link to your draped Hyoertufa planters. I am a gardener and a quilter so creativity is my nemesis. Anyhow. Love your blog…following on G+ and FB. Will check out your Pinterest. Where are you located in Ohio? I am in Columbus OH.

    1. Thanks so much. I am in Greene County, Bellbrook Ohio near Xenia and Dayton. Not too far away. I will visit your site too!

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