How to Make A Terra Cotta Pot Flower Tower with Annuals
90
Take container gardening to the next level…go vertical! This easy to make flower tower can dramatically enhance vertical space with vibrant summer long color.
Supplies Needed
- 5 standard terra cotta pots in the following sizes: 14”, 12” 10”, 8”, and 6”
- A 12.5” terra cotta saucer (not needed if tower will be placed in a garden)
- A 2-cubic-foot bag of potting soil
- One 36” half inch dowel rod or 36” rebar rod
- Soil Moist granules (optional)
- 20 - 30 annual plants
First, begin by taking the saucer and placing the 14” pot on top of it in the location you will want your flower tower. Once it is built, the tower will be heavy and difficult to move. Fill the 14” pot with potting soil to just about 3 inches below the rim. Add the required amount of Soil Moist to the soil and mix in.
I highly recommend using Soil Moist to help keep the plants moist. In the hot summer months, flowers planted in containers dry out rapidly. It can happen so quickly in July and August that container plants may need to be watered twice a day. Keep in mind, that plants in terra cotta pots dry out even faster than other containers because the clay wicks away a lot of the moisture. Soil Moist is great because it almost doubles the time needed between waterings.
Once the soil mixture is in the pot, pat down the soil and level it off.
Then put the dowel rod into the center of the pot through the soil. If the flower tower is located in the garden, do not use the saucer. Instead, push the rod into the ground a couple of inches for added stability.
Next, take the 12” pot and thread it through the drain hole onto the rod. Add soil and soil moist to that pot. Continue with this process until all of the pots are threaded onto the rod and are filled with soil.
The tower is now constructed. All that is left is to add the flowers. Since there is only one inch of planting space, it is imperative that small container annuals are used. These are the flowers that are in 4-packs or 6-packs, and they cost around one to two dollars each. The smaller the initial flower, the easier it will be to plant. I have used the larger 6-pack of Wave Petunia, and even they were a tight fit.
Choosing the Annual Flowers
When it comes to selecting the flowers for the flower tower, the possibilities are endless. There are, however, a few simple things to keep in mind:
- Flowing, cascading, and mounding annuals work best. Look below for my favorites for this project.
- If its in a hanging basket in the nursery or garden center, it is a good selection. Just look around for the 6 or 4-packs of the flowers or ask an employee for help finding the same varieties.
- Tall upright flowers like zinnias and sunflowers will not work.
- Keep in mind the location of the tower when selecting the flowers. The basic rules of gardening still apply here. Sun plants need sun. Shade plants thrive in the shade.
- The best flowers should have a bloom of one to two inches.
Annuals for a Sunny Location
Petunia - The workhorse of the sun garden, petunias will not disappoint. They also come in a variety of colors which makes them easy to mix and match to obtain the desired affect.
Calibrachoa - These flowers look like mini-petunias and are perfect for this project. However, is it is next to impossible to find them in small enough containers to fit the cramped one inch space between the pots.
Wave Petunia - These flowers are not sold in small containers, but if purchased in a six pack they can be used. It takes much more manipulation of the plants root system to fit them into the tiny space, but the impact is dramatic as the flowers grow and flow along all of the pots.
Alyssum - These mounding annuals come in white, purple, and pink. Although they wouldn’t work for this project when used alone, they make a great accent when planted every three or four flowers.
Annuals for a Shady Location
Impatients- These flowers are perfect for the tower that is located in the shade. The plants will grow until the pots are no longer visible giving the illusion of a tree made of flowers. Impatients also come in a large variety of colors.
Lobelia- Similar to Alyssum, this flower cannot be used by itself in the tower but makes an excellent accent. Its also one of the few plants that come in blue.
Now that the tower is built and the flowers are selected, all that is left to do is plant them. Starting with the bottom pot, take each plant out of its container and tease the roots before placing it in the pot. Space each plant about two inches apart. Mix and match the colors along the way to achieve the desired affect. Then when a layer is complete, fill in the space between each plant with potting soil.
This can get messy. Again, it’s a tight fit with only one inch of planting space to work with. Don’t worry though, the plants can be easily hosed off when watering.
Once all of the flowers are planted in each of the layers, water the tower thoroughly. This includes watering the pots. If you don’t water the pots too, the clay will absorb most of the water and leave very little water for the plants.
To keep your flower tower looking great all summer long, water the flower tower daily. It is also not a bad idea to use an all-purpose fertilizer regularly to increase blooming and growth of the annuals.
The pots can be reused every year, but the flowers will need to be planted again. By selecting different flowers or colors each year you can drastically change the look of this unique container garden.
vote upvote downshareprintflag
- Useful (38)
- Funny (2)
- Awesome (27)
- Beautiful (36)
- Interesting (10)
CommentsLoading...
Thanks much CF! Its really so easy to do, from start to finish maybe 30 - 45 minutes.
wow this is really nice.
Your pot tower looks so much more attractive than the normal ceramic pot sitting in a corner. Great idea!
Very pretty love this idea will keep it in mind. Enjoyed your hub.
Thanks so much for the comments all! @Deborah-Diane - I love the fact that is it veritcal it does make a much more dynamic statement. The best part is, the pictures are only a few weeks after planting...it will only get better.
That's a fantastic idea! Love it! I’ll send your hub to my mom.
I love this idea, it is perfect for a patio or balcony. I think I am going to try it this weekend. Thank you for sharing this excellent idea.
Great idea for a flower pot. i live in an apartment so space is limited. This idea is perfect for getting the most out of my patio.
use led grow lights for flower bloom
This is a great idea. Will be helpfull to keep the animals from destroying my flowers
If you use drip irrigation or have a sprinkler system you can run a drip line or tube feed to the top pot or all the pots. This will really helps with the watering. In my area we have to use plastic pots to keep the moisture in the soil. Instead of a wooden dowel, you can run small PVC tube cut with watering slits down the center. FIll this with water from the top and it will seep into the soil. You might have to drill the drainage holes out a bit so the PVC will slip through.
What a great idea! It really can become a hassle to keep the water moist in the hot mid-summer months.
Nossa! Adorei. Vou fazer. Pois tenho um cantinho na varanda que foi feito para esta tôrre. rsrsrs
muito lindo!!!!!
BELISSÍMAM IDÉIA PARABÉNS!
This is a great idea. I think I might have to try this for my sun porch.
This is so clever. I know that it must be very eye catching in person as it appears so in the picture. I am moving into a new home this week so as soon as I am settled this will be one of my first projects. Thank you for sharing this.
It really is quite stunning. Even more so about mid summer when the plants have flowed over to cover all of the pots and it almost looks like a topiary of flowers.
Adorei!! bem criativo lindo vou fazer.
I love this flower tower. Iwant to make one.
You may have to help me pick out the flowers.
I'm glad you like it. The article gives suggestions for the types of flowers that work best. I personally like using inpatients.
I moved into my house in November and am so anxious for spring and summer to get here to start planting. This is the best looking flower pot idea I have seen and can't wait to get started! Thanks.
I missed something, between putting the rod in the first pot and now the tower is complete. what do you do after you have rod in first pot? Thanks!
You thread each pot into the rod filling the pots up with soil as you go. Then plant the flowers.
Not sure where the verbiage went, I'll have to fix it. Thanks Bosstech.
I am gonna try growing strawberries in them.
LOVE this idea. I am going to make one for my Mom who lives in the city. It will look beautiful on her deck. Thank you
The PVC pipe with holes is brilliant! I'm making one for my porch! You could place a pot sized American flag in the top pot of your red white and blue tower for patriotic theme too!
Brilliant!! Can't wait to plant!
I just planted mine today. I am so excited. Can't wait til it's all blooming!
How stable is this tower? It looks great, but it looks like you have it in a corner. Is that the best place for it? Thanks for the great idea!
It is pretty stable and heavy, but we get some pretty high winds here in the mid-west so it is placed in the corner for added stability. Another idea to keep is steady would be to not use the saucer on the bottom, and place it directly on the ground with the dowel rod going into the dirt a few inches.
I made this tower years ago but did not use the dowel rod. I inverted a plastic pot inside the bottom pot and filled the edge with potting soil, then set the next pot on the inverted one and repeat proceedure. It uses less potting soil. I used large plastsic pots instead of the terra cota. Mind was only 3 high - I like the 5 layers.
We just started to have some great weather in MA so this idea is inspiring me to create it to add floral color to my deck. THank YOU for your creativity and great instructions!!
I absolutely love this planting idea
super cool. thanks for all the instructions.
I love, love, love this. Can't wait to try this! Thanks.
What a great project! I love your terra cotta pot flower tower wiht the different shades of flowers! It's also so different of what you see usually in backyard! Thanks for sharing!
I just finished making my pot tower. I planted impatiens in the pots. I'll send you a picture in a month or so. Thank you for the idea.
Awesome! I'd love to see the pictures!
Love the idea but can you plant your plants a layer at a time, insead of at the end with the limited space between the layers. Thought that might be easier but maybe not...let me know what you think. I also like the pvc idea.
Well the down fall of planting the plants as you go would be that you kind of push the pot down into the dirt...packing it so the pots are steady. Plus you have to move the pots around to get them somewhat level. I'd say you could do it, but just be careful not to hurt the plant's flowers or leaves as you go. I would be easier with impatients because you can get them in the smaller packs, but the wave petunias come only in bigger packs so the plants are bigger...easier to smash.
I have done this, but tip each pot in the opposite direction as you go. This gives a little more surface area to plant. I have pics if anyone wants to email me. Use "flower pots as" the subject so I don,t think you,re spam.. Randi56071@yahoo.com
I just finished planting mine! I used Mexican Poppy and Cosmos as they both grow real well here. I have a refurbished bird bath in the entry way with petunias. I also made a small version of the tower with an 8" and a 6" terra cotta pot for my garlic and green onions!
Thank you for sharing :)
Planted mine last weekend. Looks great...used wave petunias, hot pink and white. Our front porch gets afternoon sun. The hardest part for me was finding plants in small packs to buy for the project. After I finished it I've seen a million other plants you can use...blue daze would be a good one for a sunny location.
I'm so jealous of everyone planting their's already this year. We've got a couple more weeks here until planting season. I'm so glad everyone is loving this idea! Happy Planting!!!
Thank you so much for this idea. My husband and I are excited to build this planter because we having been looking for something colorful to go against a white fence in our landscaping. It is a wet area and not suitable for in ground plants. This looks perfect. It gets morning shade and afternoon sun. We won't be planting for a couple of weeks because we live in western NY. I'll post pictures.
I just got mine done. I built mine at the corner of the garage. it gets a lot of sun so I used wave petunias. I agree with Karen - it was hard to find small enough flowers. I also added white alyssum to the bottom 4 layers - I am anxious to see what it looks like in a month or so! Fun project!
The small flowers are hard to find, but the roots on most annuals can really take a beating. I mash them to the point where I think they won't make it, but they always do.
Such a fun and pretty project! I just happen to have a bunch of pots around where the plants didn't survive a work trip. Can I use the soil over again if I add amendments to it? I alway's wondered if that was a good idea or not. Can't wait to get started and get my garden going again. Thanks!
Love this! Could you use perrineals (sp?) instead of annuals? Just curious if that makes a difference. :)
Would it be easier to plant as you go. Put the plants close to the rim of the pot then add next pot and so on.
I made one for my front yard which has more shade. I used a 5 ft. rebar and hammered it into the ground about 10 inches. Then put one pot in and put an inverted pot in (so I wouldn't have to use as much potting soil) my soil went in next, then the next pot which I tipped slightly, and so on. My plant structure looks like they are tipsy and topsy. I just love it. Then I made one for the back yard with just a few pots and they are all straight. I am just loving them! I saw one before with a watering can at the top. It appeared to be watering the potted flowers. It was made by bending the rebar, so it was very unique! LOVED It!
I wouldn't use perennials, they need a stronger root system to thrive. They may work, but they are also more expensive and only bloom for a short period of time.
I use the same soil every year, and just add amendments. Annuals are not that picky, so they always do well.
Its finally warm enough here for me to replant mine. So I think that is on my agenda for the weekend.
I am so glad that many of you are finding this inspiring. I really do love both of mine, and thanks for all the comments!
CyclingFitness Level 5 Commenter 11 months ago
The pot tower looks great and very unique. I might try this myself as this would look fantastic outside my front door. Great hub x