Container Planting Without Drainage Holes

Double Potting Method

• Keep the plants in their original pots that have drainage holes. These are generally found at a nursery or greenhouse. If you have a tray of seedlings, set them into soil-filled clay or hard plastic pots that have drainage. Cover the bottom of the decorative, main container with a layer of gravel. The potted plants are arranged in the opening of the container. When the plants are watered, excess liquid will run through the drainage holes and into the gravel layer.

Containers

• A container that has enough space to hold one generic plant pot or an entire collection is useful as a flowering or edible plant display. Standard containers are found at mass merchandisers and floral supply sales stores. Plant containers are made in ceramic, clay, resin, metals, cement, hard plastic and wood. The small to jumbo planters are purposefully made without drainage holes to prevent unsightly water damage on decking, furniture and balcony floors.

Unusual Planters

• Use your imagination when choosing containers without a visible drainage source for your plants. Use found items from around your home, such as your grandmother's old teakettle, a ceramic cookie jar, child's wagon, mailbox or discarded slow cooker liner. Even a rusty bucket can be used for a rustic container on a tree stump in your yard. An herb garden in an old pressure cooker on your backyard deck is sure to be a conversation piece.

Plants

• Nearly any plant can be grown in a container that has no visible means of drainage. When set up properly, you can grow perennial or annual flowers, vegetables and herbs in this type of container. Rosebushes grown in areas with heavy frosts and severe winter conditions are contained in large half whiskey barrels or ceramic pots. The large containers are set on wheels to be pushed inside of a warm, protective area during cold weather.