Author Topic: has anyone done a DIY floating planter see new pics of this here (Read 2515 times)

HOWELL · « **on:** August 16, 2008, 12:04:02 PM »

well i just bought a carnivorous plant from lowes to make sure it is called scarlett belle, so i am gonna try to do a DIY floating planter, hopes it works but what do you think?
i love carnivorous plants and the way they will look in the pond i think it is awesome
anyhow ill wait for ideas

Mikey · « **Reply #1 on:** August 16, 2008, 12:54:11 PM »

I've not made a floating planter but here are my thoughts. Try finding a block of Styrofoam packing material. Make sure is is wide enough and thick enough to provide stability for the size of your potted plant. Cut a hole wide enough through the Styrofoam to allow the bottom of your pot to make contact with the water and provide bog conditions. Another option is to go to Lowes or HD and pick up a section of insulation Styrofoam. My HD carries it in two different thicknesses. It's something like a couple bucks per sheet as I recall.

HOWELL · « **Reply #2 on:** August 16, 2008, 01:53:05 PM »

tks mikey
those were my thought too, so then ill do it like that and by the way i think as a planter i am gonna use something like a dishpans because pitcher plants do not evolve a lot of rootsystem so then i think those will be fine as though as my plant isnt that big but yeah those are my ideas i will show you some pics soon, anyhow does anyone have more ideas?

HOWELL · « **Reply #3 on:** August 16, 2008, 03:04:17 PM »

hello well now walking by the garage i found this cool tupperware anyhow i thought this might work and then walking by some things we have left i found some big filter pads that look like styrofoam anyhow, so i thought i think this might work and guess what it did im so excited i build a DIY floating planter without even going to HD or lowes, that was so cool

:-)and BTW ill post pics as soon as i get my camera back maybe later today, by the way i am gonna buy some more pitcher plants and whenever i go to HD or lowes ill buy the styrofoam and build a bigger one for some more
thanks mikey you inspired me a lot

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #4 on:** August 16, 2008, 04:06:38 PM »

I'd love to see your floating planter! I think there have been other who use the "spaghetti" pool toy floaters to make a floating ring with a mesh fabric tied around it. Something like that.

Esther · « **Reply #5 on:** August 16, 2008, 04:15:58 PM »

What about wrapping a pool noodle around the top of the pot to float it? You can zip tie the noodle to the pot.

I can't have anything floating in my pond because there is too much flow across it. Everything floating ends up in or in front of the skimmer.

HOWELL · « **Reply #6 on:** August 16, 2008, 05:14:39 PM »

thnks to all
all those are great ideas, BTW i just bought online some more carnivorous plants

but yeah i will try to do all the things youve said and see what works better, the one i did works great,
and esther what did to avoid everything finishing in the skimmer was that my pond is in a semi circle and so the flow follows like a lane because the DIY skimmer/water fall, are kinda like infront of each other so my lillies are in that semicircle and there is where the floating planter is at right now

i think i will deacrease more my mosquitoes
yay for me

Jonna · « **Reply #7 on:** August 16, 2008, 06:07:51 PM »

I made several floating planters in Cat City. A couple were made from those arm bands for kids that are styrofoam. I sliced them thinner circles, painted them black and stuck plastic pots through the arm hole in the middle. They worked well, eventually the styrofoam starts flaking off or maybe the fish were pulling on it. That didn't happen until the 2nd year though.

The others I made with the styrofoam swimming noodles as someone else mentioned. Those are sold everywhere (WalMart de Mexico has them) I cut them in half and used foam like Great Stuff to stick them around plastic pots. You have to play around to see how deep you want the pot to sit in the water and then move the styrofoam up or down. For testing, I just tied them around the pot with fishing line.

Great Stuff itself floats so I was thinking that you could try just foaming it on the outside of the plantar. Try a little and then add more if you want it higher out of the water. If it works it would be great because you can carve it and shape it how you want.

Esther · « **Reply #8 on:** August 16, 2008, 06:12:50 PM »

Yah and if you happen to get a little on your body, you could just put your swimsuit on and WALA instant life jacket.

HOWELL · « **Reply #9 on:** August 16, 2008, 06:18:55 PM »

that is a really great idea joanna i thought doign the same and if i go to office depot they sell styrofoam in all their ways even in circles, so i will go everywhere by the way i tested the one i made and is working of course i havent plant the carnivorous yet, another think how do you glue it to the pot i used silicon and maybe i dont know what about colaloca hahaha i bet you know what am talking about?
and esther yeah i bet haha
i always have this question is it wala or vuala?

Jonna · « **Reply #10 on:** August 16, 2008, 06:23:29 PM »

Yeah, just carry a can whenever you are on the water. Can't you just see everyone standing on the deck of a sinking ship spraying themselves? "Spray up folks! This ship is going down!"

I do know what CocaLoca is, we used it to fix a leaking connection in our RV once. I would think that it would be fine in a pond once it hardened. I'm pretty sure we read the label and it was OK for repairing drinking water connections. By the way, that repair is still holding and it's been a couple years now. Good stuff. It's not all that easy to work with as I remember, don't you have 2 tubes and you have to mix them right before use?

Jonna · « **Reply #11 on:** August 16, 2008, 06:26:11 PM »

Oh, before you spend a lot at Office Depot, check out the WalMarts and the pool toy sections of the big grocery stores. Up where you are they probably are putting all the summer toys on sale now. Down here, it's never on sale because it is never out of season. Still, I always walk through the pool toy section of the store and think about what I could make from the stuff there. It's fun looking at it and imagining.

HOWELL · « **Reply #12 on:** August 16, 2008, 06:27:47 PM »

yeah youre right,
but have you ever used the liquid one oh man let me tell ya that thing is dangerous, my cousin got it on his eyes

they had to take him to the hospital,
by the way people that dont know what this is colaloka is like gorilla glue the smallones really strong and difficult to work with, yeah i will i actually saw them on sell on heb like last week

, you know youre never that clever to know what youre gonna/could use

Julles · « **Reply #13 on:** August 16, 2008, 08:09:31 PM »

Some pond stores around here sell big chunks of cork bark, which has a natural look and a rugged texture. And - it floats! They drill holes in the bark... you can get a drill bit that is flat and that drills 3" holes, or a bit for boring out doorknob holes. Put your plant in it's plastic pot in the hole, or just remove the pot and stick the roots, dirt and all, in the hole.

Just don't put it where you have fish, because they will eat the roots and your plant will not thrive.

HOWELL · « **Reply #14 on:** August 16, 2008, 08:14:59 PM »

thanks julles that is a cool nice art idea i love that one

sushi · « **Reply #15 on:** August 17, 2008, 02:46:08 AM »

I impulsively bought one and when I saw how it was made I could kick myself. I won't even tell you how much I spent

All it is made out of is black filter mat, I think it's called Matala (?) with black great stuff sprayed on the bottom. You cut holes in it , not all the way through and fill the holes with dirt. It has a ring attached to the bottom that I tied a brick to and it's anchored. I covered mine in creeping jenny and planted impatiens and water celery. When I do it over, I'll cover it with moss first. It's pretty cool. My koi hide under it and they seem to like it. I was wondering how you store it. Do you replant it every year?

HOWELL · « **Reply #16 on:** August 17, 2008, 06:23:18 AM »

sushi
wow thats what i actually did i use the black filter pad well the old one haa
thanks but im still gonna do a bigger one well i will have my camera back next week so
ill post some pics
thank yall

lorraine1960 · « **Reply #17 on:** August 17, 2008, 09:18:18 AM »

now make sure you put the destructions on the diy forum so we can all steal it.....lorraine

Julles · « **Reply #18 on:** August 17, 2008, 04:17:42 PM »

Mine has never worked. I think because the koi eat the roots out of the bottom, where they stick out the holes, and then they tear the plant out completely. Also, the dirt just washes away when it gets wet. So I've tried using plastic screen or landscaping fabric to hold the dirt in place. Didn't work, either.

There also seems to be something about my pond that doesn't support plants, other than lilies in pots. The floating plants don't do well at all.

I'm thinking of taking the floating cork and putting it in one of the tubs, or in a mesh container so the koi can't get to it. Problem now is that I just don't have room for it. The pond is pretty much full!

HOWELL · « **Reply #19 on:** August 18, 2008, 11:45:03 AM »

sorry i finaly came back haha
well i left for college so im in college right now
and yesterday i was moving
well julles i wont left out the roots i know my fishes will eat it
so next time i will show you some pics

HOWELL · « **Reply #20 on:** August 24, 2008, 04:58:57 PM »

pics this is a siy(see it yourself) haha

pegs pond · « **Reply #21 on:** August 24, 2008, 08:54:23 PM »

Howell, Michael's (craft shop if you have one there) has styrofoam "wreaths" in many different sizes. Here they do coupon's for 40% off too. They also have a line of eco friendly stuff that is a mesh in all different sizes and very reasonable...dunno if it would work for plants...I'm new to ponding...but I have used the wreaths to decorate and make my own and they are cheap!
Love the floating planter you made.
Peg

HOWELL · « **Reply #22 on:** August 24, 2008, 09:08:45 PM »

thanks peg
yeah i definiteley love michael's it is awesome but we do not have that, i will go and look if they have anykind of styrofoam somewhere else really, im about to build a new one but for me is so difficult because i started college already and its so bad, i have school almost all day, so i just have weekends to do that kind of stuff, and thanks a lot sorry about the backgound, my pvc pipe broke and we had to changed it

, but yeah i will post some pics sometime later so you can see how my plant is actually doing, i think it looks fine it was smaller whenever i actually got it and, hey my sioux that i separated from lots of starts its going to give me one flower, but in the same rhizome has another start and it is going to blossom to, i can see the turtle heads already
thanks a lot peg

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #23 on:** August 26, 2008, 07:49:38 AM »

I bought one years ago, pic is from 2002. It was expensive $25, but it has lasted so long and worked so well that I don't mind.

I put pea gravel in it instead of dirt.

HOWELL · « **Reply #24 on:** August 26, 2008, 07:55:08 AM »

yeah it wasnt that expensive i think kathy said she saw one that was about 95 bucks and someone else saw one by 300 bucks, yours is cool