A bottle planter with a cloth wick
Make a small home for a young plant. A strip of cloth carries water from the bottom of the bottle into the pot above.
About this project
Choose a small plant you want to grow. The bottle’s upside-down top holds the plant; its bottom holds water. A wet cloth strip joins the two. This water-carrying strip is called a wick, and the water container is the reservoir. The bottle is a starter home: keep caring for the plant and move it to a bigger pot when it needs room.
Supplies
Materials & tools
- One clean, sound 1.5–2 litre food or beverage bottle with its screw cap
- A clean cotton cloth strip, about 30 × 3 cm, that soaks up water; this will be the wick
- Potting mix and one small young plant, with roots and surrounding soil small enough to fit the bottle top
- Tape, a marker, suitable scissors, water, and a waterproof tray
- An experienced helper with suitable cutting and hole-making tools; fine insect mesh if gaps around the water container need covering
Before you start
- Wet the cloth strip and squeeze it lightly. Put one end in a cup of water, leaving the other end hanging over the rim. Wait awhile. Check that the raised part stays damp as water moves through the cloth. Try another cloth if it does not.
- Read the plant’s light and care label. A bottle is only a small starter pot. Have a bigger pot ready before the roots run out of room.
Instructions
Cut the bottle and try the fit
Mark a line just below where the bottle narrows toward its neck. Keep about the top third for the pot. The deeper bottom will hold water. Ask your helper to start a cut with the bottle supported, then cut along the line with suitable scissors. Fold tape over both cut edges. Turn the top upside down and put it inside the bottom. Its wide edge or sloping neck should rest securely on the bottom section’s rim. The cap must hang above the floor, not rest on it. Check that the plant’s roots and soil will fit. Use another bottle if this one tips or its top falls in.
Make holes for the cloth and extra water
Take off the cap. Have your helper hold it securely on a work surface and make a hole in its middle. The damp cloth must pass through without being squeezed tight. Add a few smaller holes so extra water can drain out of the pot. Push the cloth through and screw the cap back on. Leave enough cloth below to reach near the bottom of the water container, and enough above to lie in the potting mix. Put the two bottle pieces together. Mark a line at least 2 cm below the cap. Have your helper make a hole in the outer bottle wall at that line. This overflow hole lets extra water escape onto the tray. Pour in water to check it works.
Seat the inverted upper bottle in the lower reservoir, with its cap clear of the base. A cloth wick reaches from the growing mix into the water. Keep the overflow level at least 2 cm below the cap, and shade the reservoir with an opaque sleeve. Give the plant its new pot
Lift out the upside-down top and hold it over the tray. Add damp potting mix around the upper end of the cloth. Spread that cloth through the lower part of the mix. Place the young plant at the same depth it grew before, then gently fill around its roots. Leave space below the rim for watering. Do not put gravel underneath. Water lightly from above to wet the mix and cloth. Let extra water drip out before putting the pot back.
Add water beneath the pot
Lift the pot out. Pour water into the bottom section, stopping at or below the overflow hole. Put the pot back. Check that the cloth reaches the water, while the cap and soil stay above it. Stand the whole planter on its tray. Wrap loose paper around the bottom section to shade the water and add your plant’s name. Leave the overflow hole open. If insects can reach gaps around the pot, cover those gaps with fine mesh.
Find its place and keep caring for it
Choose light that suits the plant. Avoid a hot window ledge that overheats the little bottle. Each day, feel the potting mix, look at the plant, and check the water below. If the mix gets too dry, water from above while you fix the cloth connection. Empty and rinse the bottom section regularly. Move the plant into a larger pot when its roots crowd the bottle or it grows too big for this little home.
Troubleshooting
- The mix dries while water remains below.
- Lift the pot and wet the cloth again. Check that it touches water below and damp potting mix above. Try another cloth if needed. Water the plant from above while you fix the connection; stored water does not guarantee the plant gets enough.
- The mix stays soggy.
- Empty the water container. Check that water can leave the cap’s small holes and that there is air between the cap and stored water. Let extra water drain and refill less often. If it stays wet, use an ordinary plant pot with drainage holes instead.
- The bottle tips or the upper pot slips.
- Set it down and empty the water before changing anything. Use a wider, steadier container or another bottle whose top rests securely on the bottom section. Do not hang an unstable planter.
- The roots fill the small pot.
- Move the plant into a larger container with suitable drainage and fresh mix. The bottle has done its job as a starter; it need not be the final pot.
Where to take it next
- Give the water container a removable paper jacket, add the plant’s name, or make several little planters for a friend.
- Use a small plant pot above a water container instead of cutting a bottle. It must sit securely, with the cloth touching both potting mix and water and the pot above the water.
- Let the next container suit the plant you want to keep. A useful garden can grow one repotted seedling at a time.
A closer look
Water can move upward through the tiny spaces in cotton cloth. The cloth wick carries it from the stored water into the potting mix. Different cloth, plants, soil, and weather change how much water moves. The lower container can help supply water, but you still need to check the plant and its soil.
What it needs to do
A function can have more than one solution. These options belong to this example; try alternatives thoughtfully.
pot and water container
A clean, strong 1.5–2 litre food or drink bottle with a cap. Turn its cut-off top upside down inside the bottom. It must sit securely, with space under the cap.
carrying water upward
Use a clean cotton strip about 30 × 3 cm. It carries water into the soil and is called a wick. Wet it first and check that its raised end stays damp.
soil for the pot
Use potting mix suited to your plant. Do not add gravel underneath. Keep the stored water below the cap, leaving air between the water and the pot.
plant
Choose a small young plant, such as a young basil plant. Its roots and the soil around them must fit inside the bottle top. Follow its care label and move it to a bigger pot as it grows.
edge covering
Tape folded over the cut plastic rims; replace it if it loosens or leaves an edge exposed.
cutting plastic
Suitable scissors after an experienced helper makes a supported starter cut. Thick or brittle plastic needs a different container.