Ceramic Planters

I have a number of old ceramic "planters" inherited from previous generations that I would like to use but they have no drainage. Is it possible to drill holes in pottery? Has anyone tried it - successfully? They have sentimental value, my Grandmother used them somehow (she could grow anything anywhere!) and I would like to plant in them.

Ease of drilling varies with the hardness of the material, of course, but terra-cotta containers are not hard at all. Most containers you'll encounter can best be drilled with a "spear-point" drill. I'll link you to a picture from one of our suppliers. The drill is also called a '3-point' or 'spade' drill. Highly vitreous containers (glass, or glass-like - ceramic - clay fired at high temperatures) may even require a diamond impregnated "core drill", but it's uncommon to find containers like this.

These drills can be found at big box home improvement stores. They should be cooled with water or a 50/50 mix of water/antifreeze as you drill. An excellent strategy is to immerse the container upside down in a tub and add enough water to just cover the drilling surface as you drill. Rotating the drill clockwise at a slight angle while drilling will greatly increase ease of operation. Alternately (I use this method), fill a squeeze container (contact lens solution bottle is stellar) with water or 50/50 water/antifreeze & squirt it at the drill/material interface as you drill. If you can't find the drill you need, you can contact me off forum & I'll be glad to help you.

See a picture of what the drill looks like below. They are made of carbide and designed to drill very hard materials.

http://www.crlaurence.com/crlapps/showline/offerpage.aspx?Productid=10776&GroupID=5112&History=39324:386:4900:5103&ModelID=5112

For extremely hard materials, you may need a core drill, like this:

http://www.crlaurence.com/crlapps/showline/offerpage.aspx?Productid=10729&GroupID=4915&History=39324:386:4900:4901&ModelID=4915

Masonry bits work well for terra cotta, but are a poor choice for vitrified (ceramic) containers.

Al

For ceramic pots do yourself a favor and buy a diamond drill bit. I bought a 1/2" diamond hole saw a few years ago for about $20. It makes a nice round hole and made me wonder why I didn't do this sooner. I have drilled several holes with this bit. Follow directions that come with it and you should have no problems.

The carbide bits will wear you out, wear itself out, and you might damage the pot at the most and have a ragged hole at the least.

You can find this on line or usually a hobby center that does stained glass. I don't think you will find it at the hardware store.

If it is a glazed terra cotta pot then carbide will do but you might still have a slightly ragged hole (thank goodness it is on the bottom).

Thank you both. The project sounds hopeful!

If the pots have sentimental value and you are afraid of breakage with drilling, you can always just use them as cache pots to hold the plastic pot the plant comes in. I have always used glass containers and ceramic dishes/pots for that purpose. When watering, just make sure you pour the water out of the cache pot, don't let it sit around the base of the inner pot which could cause root rot.

Plantladylin, that is what I have done with a couple of them, but others don't really lend themselves to that use - odd shapes etc. I think I will brave the drilling, starting with an old tea cup as a test, then trying the least favorite pot.

I'm an artist that works with ceramics, and I can tell you that drilling into fired clay can be mindbogglingly difficult. You put the word planters in quotation marks - which leads me to believe that they probably were not meant for that purpose. It is true that unglazed terracotta pots could be drilled through with a bit of effort and care... but if your "planters" are stoneware or porcelain - it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible to drill through.

Depending on how big they are, and when I hear "planter", I think "big" - you could fill them halfway with broken chunks of old flowerpots and then put the dirt and plant on top, and not bother drilling at all. I'd also suggest you pick plants that are relatively tolerant of being wet or dry, so you can just be careful when watering to keep them from getting waterlogged.

I did that with this pot with a rosemary topiary bush in it. I rescued the "planter" from a fellow potter because she was going to smash it because her decorations didn't come out the way she wanted it. In the picture, the "planter" is also sitting on top of another upside down pot, just to give it some more height. I had it living on this north facing porch from June to November in Rhode Island, and it did well. It continued to do well when I brought it indoors for November/December because the north porch didn't get any sun, and there was at least some morning sun in the south hallway. Now, I've moved back to Florida and it's back outside and hasn't been any worse for wear in the past month. My biggest problem will probably be making sure it doesn't get too much water from rainfall...

Good luck!

P4MP - It really is not all that daunting if you have the proper tool. I've literally drilled thousands of holes in all sorts of containers made of porcelain, glass, crystal, granite, tile, (part of how I make my living as a 32 year owner of a glazing contracting business [glass company]) and have had no difficulties. Even the hobbyist can quickly and easily drill holes in hard materials by using the (drill) bits and following the instructions I outlined above. ;o)

Al