It is pretty normal for people to do this with mailboxes. I'm sure at some point the bucket will deteroite. If the bucket doesn't hold up you will still have the set concrete. You could paint it.

2 or 3 years ago I bought 2 5 gallon buckets, filled them with quickrete, and mounted my badminton net - one pole in each bucket. I leave them out all year (I'm suburban Boston, so we get snow here). No problems with the buckets at all yet. They are pretty heavy - so not anything I want to move on a regular basis - just enough for dh to mow around.

Just a tip:

Mixing concrete or cement is a lot of work. It takes strong arms.

You don't have to mix. Just pour the concrete or cement dry in the container, then add water. The cement or concrete will set just the same.

dcarch

dcarch, that's if you are using a premixed product like Quickrete! If you take powdered dry cement with no sand I don't think you will have anything but a mess! In case their are some who have never mixed cement up for anything, just thought we should clarify that you have to use a premixed product to get good results without hand mixing! Jan

If you must mix your own concrete using cement, use the tool linked below.

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful: mixer

Hi,a couple of years ago my 6 yr old grandaughter and I used 6" black plastic plant pots, put plastic grocery bags in each one, used the quickcrete stuff, just add water, and filled the pots and put birch tree branches in the cement, propped them against something to keep straight and we had trees to decorate for Christmas for the community hall, they have been used for weddings and a wedding shower. I used them as outdoor trees on the porch myself this past Christmas. They have always been kept outdoors, thats 2 winters. The cement and pots are fine, the branches are breaking so I will have to do new ones for my daughter's wedding in July. I actually just brought one inside(this evening) and put it in a large pedestal pot (urn) and put lights on it and added flowers around the base of the tree. This is just a mock-up to see what it would look like for the wedding.

I would add if you use a wider pot (like ones that trees come in from the garden center (10" or 12") they would be sturdier, remember the bigger the base the harder they fall.

By the way my GG was up to her elbows in the mix and loved every minute of it. She is now 8 and always smiles when I tell her our trees were used for something.

Good Luck.

Would using cement in a clay or ceramic pot work? I'm considering this as an option over securing 4x4's to my cement patio, sinking the 4x4's into tall pots 2/3's full with cement and planting plants in the top 1/3. My only concern is if they would crack. I'm in Orlando Florida and rarely get a frost. I don't think I would even need rebar or fiberglass fibers however would like to get others input

Thanks!

Just a funny aside, in the 1920s when our house was built, they put concrete into empty nail barrels and that was the footing s for our porch. We did have to replace several of them a few years ago. So I have (smallish) barrel shaped pieces of concrete sitting in the yard until I figure out what to do with them!
Kathy

I have a vinyl railing around my deck, but I'd like to have a tall post or shepherd's hook holding a big hanging basket or two, above the railing. I need a free standing shepherd's hook with a base, which I can't find anywhere. I had an idea of getting a large flower pot and filling it with cement and then sticking the hook, or 4" x 4" post, into the cement and letting it harden. Would this work, to sit on my deck, without falling over?

I would think so as long as you make the base wide enough since you are going with some thing tall. I have seen one of those big 5 gallon buckets filled with concrete and a mailbox post in it, worked great. It was always getting hit or run over so now when it gets knocked down it can just be picked up and put back in place. Seems that would work for the Shepard hook. Just be sure about the counter balance aspects.

Just a thought: if you put a lid on it, cut out the bottom, and pour upside down, it'll be more stable.

When set, cut or bang off the bucket. Use a brick to ease the edges a bit and blast it with a sweeper nozzle or even a power washer to get a textured concrete weatherproof base wider at the bottom than at the top.

Around here, a plastic bucket in the weather will last maybe two years before it gets brittle.

A different idea...I had the same fear of the bottle tree holding up so I placed a tall metal garden arch into the ground over the bottle tree( which was set into the ground) and wired the top of it up to the arch. It has withstood very high winds for several years with no movement of the arch or the bottle tree. I will take a picture when it stops raining.

Would an iron shepherd's hook be better, or would a tall wooden post be better? How big should the bucket/pot be, so that it doesn't tip over, if I have a big hanging basket hanging off the bracket? Should I put the pot first on a round thing with casters, so that it can be moved? THanks so much.