You can grow a range of plants from pots and baskets that hang from the wall or ceiling. While there is a wide range of suitable planters available on the market, you can also adapt the concept to create innovative and exciting plant displays that will make good conversational pieces.

Rattan balls, which are normally used to decorate flower arrangement, can also be made into hanging planters. All the materials used in this DIY project are made from plants. The finished product will be perfect for adding a rustic look and feel to your home or office.

Materials required:

Choose plant species that adopt a pendulous growth habit, i.e. where their stems and foliage hang and trail over.

In this example, we used an epiphytic and relatively drought-tolerant plant, Dischidia oiantha 'Variegata' (left). Seen here is a specimen that is grown in coconut chunks.

The rattan ball in the centre of this picture is available in various sizes and colours. On its right is some osmunda fiber.  You can also use long coconut fibre.

Step 1:

First, make a hole which allows a plant to be slotted into the rattan ball. This can be easily done by pushing the rattan strips apart. Avoid cutting them as this can damage the rattan ball.

Step 2:

Place the osmunda fibre or long coconut fibre into the rattan ball. Insert the fibres at the sides and base of the rattan ball. They serve to disguise the rootball or plant pot which will be incorporated in the next step.

Step 3:

Slot the plant into the hole which you made earlier. To help hold the plant in place, you may need to add more fibre to 'stabilise' it.

Step 4:

Suspend the planted rattan ball using some hessian strings.

Plants can be watered using a sprayer so as to deliver water to the root zone. You may need to take down the entire set-up to water elsewhere to avoid having excess water drip onto your furnishings.

More ideas:

For greater visual impact, you may want to string several rattan ball planters together to create a larger display. The display shown below can be seen at HortPark's Visitor Services Centre.

A single rattan ball planter can also be used to create a table display.

 

By Wilson Wong & Pearl Ho