Is there a plant I could grow in these pots?

Last year, my son brought home these little decorative pots (the wooden chairs with little ceramic (i think?) pots in the seats.. and the watering can) that his grandma let him buy from a county fair. My MIL gave me the center brown pot as a christmas gift this past christmas. She said its original purpose was to be a gravy bowl, however, I think it would be so cute as some sort of small flower pot!

Problem is... I don't know what/if anything would grow in any of these! LOL! None of these have any form of drainage, and I'd prefer not to attempt to make a drainage hole in atleast the "gravy bowl" as she bought it hand made from someone!

Any thoughts on what I can use these cute little things for?

They'd make wonderful cachepots. It might take a little experimenting to find the right size pot to put in it, but there should be something that fits. I've used everything from an old tin bucket to a teapot as a cachepot.

The thing is though, they already have a pot to fit inside the little chairs, but the pots are only about an inch or so in diameter. The brown "gravy bowl" I'd say is closer to 2 or 2 1/2 inches in diameter. I think they'd look adorable with something growing in them, I just don't know what would work for something that small.

If you look for posts by Al ("tapla"), he grows succulents and bonsai in the most impossible small pots, including a tiny acorn.

Here are some pics for inspiration:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=8872996
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=8873312
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=8873448
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=8875232
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=8882642
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=8898527

Thanks!

Maybe Mini African Violets.

I'm kind of thinking maybe find some baby aloe vera plants to put in there. I read yesterday that the ages to transplant the babies to larger pots is 6 months and 2 years, so these pots might be good starter pots for them at first, then I'll just have to transplant them later. Only thing I'm concerned about with this theory is... no drainage hole. But, even if I can't grow aloe vera in these particular pots, I'd still like to grow some with the kids, if for no other reason, because it would be a good educational experience for them. Not only will it teach them that each plant type needs different things to thrive, but also that there are many different uses for each plant. I told my son yesterday morning about the Aloe plants and how the gel inside them helps with burns. He was so excited to learn that!

Do the Mini African Violets require good drainage?

Yes, African Violets require good drainage, but so do most plants.

Yeah, that's my concern with these pots.... there is no drainage hole in any of them. Not sure how to overcome this problem lol.

Every plant need the drainage holes. So unless you can drill some in the bottom I wouldn't use those.

You overcome the problem by adding a drain hole or watering with distilled water and being very careful not to over-water.

Shallow pots are much more difficult to grow in than deeper pots. The reason is, most growers are using bagged soils that support several inches of perched water. The ht of the perched water table is a constant. That is to say, a soil that supports 3" of perched water, ALWAYS supports 3" of perched water - regardless of pot size, dept, or shape. If you use a soil that supports 3" of perched water in a pot 3" deep or shallower, the entire soil mass will remain completely saturated after watering thoroughly, even if there IS a drain hole ...... unless you take steps to 'fix' that significant problem.

I think the pots would be ok without holes if you grew small succulents in them and used something like a contact lens solution bottle filled with distilled water to do your watering. The suggestion to use distilled or otherwise deionized water (rain, snowmelt, water from a dehumidifier .....) comes from the fact that since there is no drain hole, you can't flush the soil to rid it of accumulating salts; therefore, all the dissolved solids from tap water and fertilizer solutions will remain in the soil. You can see it would behoove you to use water with no dissolved solids in it (distilled) to minimize that effect, which will manifest itself quickly in such small soil volumes.

Al

Got a couple Aloe Vera plants in a trade yesterday and potted them up in those pots today. Had to stake them since I couldn't get them to stand up straight without staking. I know these wont be "permanent homes" for them and I'll have to transplant them to something larger later, but I thought this looked too cute to pass up!

I grow my Sinningia pusilla plants in rose bowls that have no drainage - I've grown them this way for years with no problems. I am discrete with my watering and I do keep the bowls covered. I've had one such bowl working for 4 years; it's the one I use to supply seed to various organizations.

A bit late, and just a thought. What about tillisandia - air plants. they don't need soil and get glued or wired to all sorts of things. Like a sea shell with a magnet glued to the back to hang on the frig. They just need to be misted frequently and any accumulated water in the bottom of the pot can be poured out. Maybe a tiny bit of spagnum moss in the bottom of the pot to improve evaportation. ??? barb

In addition to chedderpink's suggestion to add sphagnum moss, couldn't you get some really tiny pebbles, like you see in cactus planters, and put a layer of them at the bottom? That would let at least some of the water drain. If you were careful to water only by thimbelfulls, that might be enough drainage? Or if you planted them with succulents and were careful not to overwater dramatically, the succulent's own water storage would take up most of the excess, with the pebbles providing some safety margin? (But I'm a rank beginner, and this is rank conjecture.)

A good plant that would work in most of these pots would be one called baby tears. Be sure to look at the one for house plants because there is also one that is used as a ground cover for outside. The baby tear plant grows compact and will grow in a pot without drainage in the bottom that is if you are very careful with the watering.

They are easily propagated and grow fairly easy. We grew these in several types of pots in the greenhouse and had real good luck in all cases. They propagate easily from cuttings and will root well in a sand medium and then when rooted you can plant in regular potting soil.