How To Create Drainage Holes In Pots Without Cracking The Ceramic

Drainage holes are a must in plant pots, even though many of these containers don't have this feature. When excess water can't escape, the environment becomes ripe for root rot, and an unpleasant odor may develop as anaerobic bacteria accumulate. A single hole in the bottom of a pot is often enough to prevent these problems. Fortunately, adding a drainage hole to a ceramic pot isn't hard. You can do it with a drill, but a standard drill bit is likely to create chips or cracks. Instead, you'll need a diamond drill bit when working with ceramic objects. If you don't have one of these, fear not: There's a no-drill hack for turning a mug into a planter that can also fix a standard ceramic pot's drainage situation. The basic idea is to submerge the pot in water and then hammer a nail through its bottom. This prevents the pot from shattering.

The submerge-and-nail method's effectiveness is often attributed to the Rehbinder effect. This physics phenomenon is at work when placing a material in a liquid weakens its atomic bonds, reducing its overall strength. It's the reason that glass can be cut with scissors underwater. Though you shouldn't try to cut a hole in a ceramic pot with scissors, you don't necessarily have to use a nail to puncture its base. As long as the pot is fully submerged, you could use a small, thin screwdriver or another sharp object that will pierce the ceramic if you give it a swift tap with a hammer. There are a few other variables you can change when trying this hack too.

Some gardeners get an assist from potting soil when poking drainage holes in ceramic pots. With this approach, you fill a ceramic pot with potting mix, tamping it down so it's nice and solid. Next, you flip over the pot, making sure the soil stays in place and doesn't spill out. Then, you gently tap a decking nail into the center of the pot's base. You may need to tap the nail several times to get it through the ceramic. Make sure to wear protective gloves if you go this route, just in case you tap too hard and the pot breaks.

Other gardeners use an angled screwdriver to insert holes in ceramic planters. To try this method, place the pot you're modifying on a folded towel or another surface that provides some cushion. Make sure its bottom is facing upward. Then, hold the screwdriver at a 45-degree angle and softly tap it with a hammer. Once a hole starts to form, shift the screwdriver you're hammering to a vertical position and continue tapping until you're happy with the size of the hole.

When shopping for pots, inspect them for cracks and other structural issues that could cause these hammer-powered hacks to fall flat. To find the best ceramic pot, listen to the noises they make when you knock on their rims. A resonant sound tends to signal that there aren't any hidden fissures. Once your pots are ready for prime time, use them to liven up your porch or turn them into a hummingbird-friendly container garden by planting bee balm and zinnias.