DIY A Simple Hanging Planter With The Help Of Upcycled Fruit Bags

There are all kinds of household items you can repurpose in your garden. You might be surprised what items can come in handy. For instance, leftover cardboard is an excellent tool for smothering weeds, and an old soup ladle is easy to reuse as a bird feeder. If you're eager to add more hanging plants to your home or yard, make sure to save mesh produce bags from supermarkets. The plastic mesh variety that often holds citrus fruits is hard to recycle, but easy to upcycle. Transform these bags that you'd normally discard into a stylish holder for cascading plants such as pothos, philodendron, and sweet potato vine.

The first step is gathering your supplies. You'll want to collect several mesh produce bags, some wire, and small holders for plants or leaf cuttings. Look for colorful plastic mesh, as it gives your hanging planter a vibrant look while drawing attention away from the wire. If you don't have wire on hand, wire hangers can also be bent into shapes that work as plant hooks. 

You have plenty of low- to no-cost solutions for the planters. Clear plastic soda bottles make nice vases for leaf cuttings, if you'd like to display them as you encourage root growth. If you go this route, change the water every couple of days to discourage rotting and bacteria buildup. You can also cut soda bottles in half to create shatterproof pots for small plants that need soil. For taller plant pots or propagation vases, try jumbo plastic tumblers, yogurt tubs, or tennis ball containers. When creating homemade pots from plastic containers, poke holes in the bottoms so excess water can escape.

Ready to create your plant display? Start by preparing each bag. Tie knots at the top and bottom, then cut a hole in the side. This opening should be just large enough to slip a plant pot inside. After that, grab a piece of wire. Straighten your wire, then create hooks at its top and bottom. Bend the top of the wire so it curves downward, like the upper portion of a candy cane, then shape the bottom into a right angle. 

After this, hang your bags on the bottom hook. Push the bottom of the wire through the mesh of one bag, just under the knot you tied at its top. If you have more bags, thread the bottom of the wire through the mesh beneath the top knots, too. Then, fold or curve the wire's bottom so it functions like a clip. Finally, place the cane-like part of the wire on a tree branch, ceiling hook, or horizontal bar, and add your planters. This charming plant display will sway in the breeze if you hang it outside.

Before you do this, though, there are a few downsides of this DIY. Plastic is pretty durable, but this thin mesh can break down slowly over time, potentially releasing microplastics into the soil. You can use cloth mesh bags, which provide a natural, organic look, and are made with sturdy materials. However, the fabric is prone to mildew from excess moisture, and can become sun bleached. If you still love this hack but don't want to damage your cloth mesh bags, you can always try it indoors, and build a plant wall in your yard instead.