I promised I would post how I turn any free standing plastic pot (including semi-hydro)into a hanging pot. The secret is now out; it is a cheap, strong, and almost perfect way to get a straight hanging pot. The answer is paper clips.
Doug
How to Turn Any Pot Including Semi-Hydro into a Hanging Pot
I can't take full credit for this idea; my wife came up with it, and I think that it works beautifully. For something funky, and to prevent rust use colored vinyl covered clips.
Doug
Wow, I would have never thought about it , and I like that the height can be adjusted.
Thank you Doug, great idea!
All you need to do is mark your pot with a marker. Take a torch and heat a small screwdriver or awl to melt small holes evenly in the pot. You can use three or four Paper clip chains. Be careful you don't set your arm on top of the hot torch before it cools down like I did.
Doug
Yes, Lourdes Part of the beauty of the system is that the pot can be any height that you want it to be. That can be very handy.
Doug
Here is the ordinary 5" nursery pot that I turned into a hanger.
Pots at different heights.
Paper clips are surprisingly strong. I have not tried the large clips yet, but I am thinking that they could hold an 8-10lb pot. Here I have turned a regular four inch plastic pot into a hanger.
Doug
Doug,
Love the paper clip hangers! Especially the colored ones!
Oh, the resourcefulness of us plant growers....
Kelly
I forgot to say that to make a hook on top to join the clips together you can use any coat hanger wire to make an "S" hook.
Thanks, Kelly. Yes, necessity really is the mother of invention. I have tried many ways of using wire to make hangers and inevitably the thing wouldn't hang straight, and that would bug me to no end.
Doug
Wow, Doug, that's a fantastic idea, great solution for hanging pots! My compliments to your wife, she is very creative! They all look fantastic!
Ok .... putting boxes of paper clips on my shopping list, right now!
Thanks Lin!
My wife isn't all that interested in plants, but she is very craft oriented, and I think that is what made her come up with the idea.
Doug
I like a lot the fact that the height can be adjusted.
Thank you very much Doug!
I LOVE your pots, Doug...very practical. Now...do you have a pot inside of a pot on your regular nursery pots? How do you flush out the hydroton? I like the idea of seeing the level of the water thru the translucent containers.
Thanks Carol. Here is the scoop on the pots. They were bought as semi-hydro pots from First Rays Orchids. Here is the link: http://www.firstrays.com/cgi/store/commerce.cgi?product=Containers&cart_id=1233590230.28279 The holes are pre-punched in the container around two inches up from the bottom. To flush you simply run water through through the container and let it run out of the holes. The containers are easy enough to make yourself, but I did something really stupid recently. I thought I was going to be smart and I ordered a bunch of deli containers on line from some plastic container company to save money. Ha! That didn't work out so great; the containers came in and they were just what I wanted except for one thing - they were white and not clear. If they are not clear, they are pretty much worthless as you can not see the water level. Lesson learned.
Doug
Very cool idea!!
Is that sphagnum I spy as a top dressing?
Doug, your wife is very crafty. Very nice idea.
Word of caution: the translucent pots will allow some light in and you might get an algae growth in the water.... I wonder if you just dipped the pot into a saucer of water a little higher than the holes in the pot....if the water would fill to the appropriage height?
Hmmmm - I see an experiment in my future....
Superb and innovative idea, Doug! It is time for me to clean out my pencil drawer at work, which is filled with stray paper clips.
Your plants look fabulous!
Mel
Lee Anne, Yes that is Sphagnom Moss, which was an idea that I took from someone else who posts here. Mel, paper clips seem to be one of those things that when you need one, you can never find one, and when you don't, you are tripping over them or messing up your vacuum cleaner.
Carol, there is no doubt that you can get an algae growth in your container, and that is indeed happening to some of my pots big time. The question is will it hurt the plants? On most of the Orchid forums the translucent pots are the ones that they use, and is pretty much the standard for semi-hydro. Keeping pots in trays of water is fine in greenhouses and growing outdoors, but is kind of impractical for using in most typical house plant situations. Also, it would be pretty hard to have a hanging pot if using that method. S-H is still an on going experiment for me. So far I can say that the Hoyas that are thriving better than convential methods are multiflora, lacunosa, and linearis. Many of my other experiments in S-H are just sitting there not doing a heck of a lot. I am going to continue to experiment, but I am far from a full fledged convert as of yet. The algae growth is one of my concerns, which is also starting to grow on some of moss on top of the pots. It is also, while a very easy way to start cuttings, not the easiest or most practical way to grow out a plant to maturity in the average household setting in my opinion. To be continued....
Doug
I have heard some people talk about a product called Physan. I'm not sure if it's a liquid or what but I think I've heard someone talk about putting it in their plants? Maybe I will go google it. Found this: http://www.physan.com/ about halfway down the page it says something about using it for plants but it kinda scares me, sounds like it may be highly toxic.
Awhile back, someone over on the African Violet Forum commented on using Hydrogen Peroxide for plants and I wonder if it would keep algae under control in Hydroponic and Semi Hydro growing?
I root and grow different house plants in water, and in the clear glass vases and jars, green algae builds up if I don't change the water every so often. I might try adding a little bit of peroxide to the water.
Googled and found this: http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/peroxide-garden.html
And this: At the bottom of this page it says to mix with water to mist plants. http://www.ozoneservices.com/articles/008.htm so I would think if you can spray the foliage, it wouldn't hurt to add it to plants growing in water.
Also found this. Scroll down the page to Crops, Orchards and Plants: http://www.agriculturalsolutions.com.au/pdf/HO10%20-%20HYDROGEN%20PEROXIDE%20IN%20AGRICULTURE2.pdf
If diluted enough, I think it might be worth a try. The next time I water my plants I will experiment with a drop or two of peroxide mixed in the water to see what happens. I will use the water in my rooting jars too, to see if it keeps the algae in check.
I've use Hydrogen Peroxide as a homemade remedy to kill Fungus Gnats before, and it did not hurt the plants - Also, didn't hurt the Fungus Gnats too much either:)
So, the gnats didn't mind peroxide at all, huh? I've heard folks on the AV forum talk about using those yellow sticky tapes to trap them. I had a few fungus gnats a year or so ago, but I also had a little carnivorous plant called pinguicula: http://cobraplant.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=30 that I got in trade here on DG and the gnats weren't around for long.
Just an idea. If it is the sunlight causing the algae, maybe get a glue stick and glue some fancy paper around the container, but not all the way to the bottom, just the upper part so you can still see the level?
Lin,
That is a very cool plant. Did you actually see any of the little buggers trapped in the plant?
Doug
Yes Doug ... the gnats are real tiny but very visible against the light green leaves of the little plant I had. Unfortunately my plant went dormant and got thrown out! I have a bad habit of seeing empty pots and dumping them ... and yet, I've grown gloxinia's/sinningia's that go dormant and will return to bloom again if left alone but, I just never remember!
Lee Anne,
I thought about trying something like you suggested, but I lack the ambition to do it at this point. I'm already spending in excess of 2 hours a day fooling around with my plants, and if I spend much more time I could be in trouble.
Doug
I use Physan alot - the greenhouse and hospital grade. It is anti fungal. I use a weak solution to spray down the walls of my greenhouse and full strength to soak my used medium full of hydroton so I can use it again. Full strength it can burn leaves...but I have not had that trouble....
Since Physan is not readily available in my area, I use RD-20 (I think that is the name). I spray it on the greenhouse walls, floors, wood area and it also does a good job on algie that grows on pots or media. I also put a drop or 2 in my fountains and it does a great job keeping them clear and algie free.
If only pool algie was that easy to get rid of!
Thanks for that Information Mel. I'll do a search and see if it is something that I can come up with around here.
Doug
Doug-
You guys are "bloomin' geniuses!" Susan
Great idea Doug....this will certainly come in handy with all the hoya cuttings coming in shortly.....I was starting to wonder what I was going to do.
I bought some of that Physan a while back, but it's just been sitting there...other than dipping my tools in it.
Thanks everyone who likes this idea. I have to say it is working out great for me. My wife just got me some really large cool looking, metalic, multi-color, clips from Staples. Check your office supply stores for all kinds of neat paperclips for really different looking hanging plants. We have most of our frying pans hung with these things - They are very strong!
Doug
You can find hydroton pellets at any hydroponic's store or I've bought mine online by searching ebay for the cheapest price. Also, First Ray's Orchids sell Prime Agra, which some people like better. It is hydroton in a oval shape, rather than perfectly round balls.
Doug
I found some online at BC hydroponics on sale. I got Hydroton Clay Growing Pebbles 50 Liter 8-16Mm for a total of $40.59 delivered. There may be a cheaper price online.
The only thing I would be concerned about is too much weight being put on the paperclips after the plant starts to get larger. It is possible that eventually one or more of the paperclips could fail (bend open enough to fail) and that would not be good.
Clever idea, otherwise.
My .02
Mike
I honestly think that the pot would fail far sooner than the paperclips will. You would be surprised how much weight those clips will hold. I would never advocate using these things on a big pot, but on four or five inch containers, I don't think that your plant could get heavy enough for the paperclips to fail.
Doug