Springtime Flowerpot and Deck Planter Reuse Ideas

With Mother's Day just past and our Puget Sound weather pretty crummy, many of us are just getting around to planting our summer hanging baskets and deck planters. Here's my best tips for how to reuse many of my plants, hanging baskets, and deck planters so that I save money and have beautiful flowering decorations all year long. Plus reusing old plants helps make a much more varied hanging basket or deck planter.

Clean Up and Reuse Old Hanging Baskets and Deck Planters

Old hanging baskets where the hanger breaks can still be used as deck planters. Remove the root clumps and reuse half the soil from your old basket and put in new soil, mixing it thoroughly with the old and with manure. Plant them early with spring blooming bulbs, then reuse the planters by replacing the bulbs with your summer annuals after May. If your hangers break on your hanging basket, reuse an indoor plant cord to hang them or set them on the stairs.

Reuse Your Overwintered Geraniums

I like a large flowering plant at the center of my hanging basket or deck planter. If you bring your geraniums indoors to prevent the roots from freezing, you can reuse your geraniums again. To clean up an overwintered geranium, cut back the dead branches to a few healthy branches with leaf sprouts. Lift the geranium from the old soil and add fresh soil. Give a good fertilizer and plenty of light.

Reuse Ivy and Other Longlasting Leafy Plants

I split ivy, herb clumps and other long lasting leafy plants such as oregano and false nettles and reuse chunks of them to add contrast to my flower baskets and deck planters. When I plant a hanging basket, usually the largest I can find, I will plant a tall flowering plant in the center, then plant a ring of four to six starts around it, alternating by twos or threes. Use two bundles of leafy plants per hanging basket and position them on the edge. When you pick up your spring starts, this will save you a lot of money.

Reuse Garden Perennials as Your Center Flower

I've learned that competition makes a hanging basket much more healthy. So I stick a tall perennial in the center of a large 10" hanging basket or deck planter, then add a petunia on each of two sides and greens or Lobelia on the sides since they drape rather nicely. Lobelia is one of the least expensive hanging basket plants and often comes in a six-pack sold for under $2. The perennials in my yard that can work nice include Phlox and Chrysanthemum. A hunk of one of these flowers moved to a pot will save you about $3.

Reuse Two-inch Plant Pots as Dirt Shovels

If all else fails, rather than buying a clumsy big hand shovel, use one of your two-inch plant pots as a shovel to fill your hanging flower baskets and deck planters. The practice could save you $6.

Enjoy your savings and all your gorgeous summer blossoms!