All the friggin' time!!! To be truthful, you really are investing in future potting plans. You'll bring home some lovely new plants at some point and already have something to put them in. :) It's worked out great for me.


*CG*

Paul, are you kidding everyone on this post has done that I bet, I do it all the time myself and I always say I can use that someday what kind of bit is that any special brand cuz I need to get one too, I've used some and they broke quick I knew it was not intended for what I was trying to do it so if you can pass the info please

I always buy pots at 2nd hand/thrift stores whether I need them at the moment or not...I just can't pass up a cheap pot/container, I'm always gonna need it in the future. I rather have a stash of pots I paid a few bucks for then one pot that I paid $20 or more for. Brand new pots are just way too expensive for me, and I always come across the most beautiful or unique pots/containers at thrift stores for a dollar or two. Besides, I rather spend my money on new plants then pots, and brand new pots seem to cost more then plants these days...

I love your new pot. Unfortunately, I do the same thing, buy pots I don't have a plant for if I see a nice one I like.

You did a great job drilling it...so what exactly is the drill bit...name and size? Details is appreciated. I always seem to buy the wrong one and break it the first time I use it,lol...
Thanks Paul!

Yep. I love pots as much as I love plants. Finding a unique pot I think even makes the plant look better. I like seeing beautiful pots instead of 1,000 ugly pots that do not show the beauty of the plants.

That is a beautiful future pot and cannot wait to see what you plant in your new find.

Hij & Pug, it's a 1/2 inch diameter diamond crusted drillbit for ceramics. I found the 1/2 inch diameter to be about the ideal hole size, IMO.

Got it on Ebay for $5 or $6 (including shipping). It was from a US seller. There were overseas sellers who had some even cheaper, as I recall, but I didn't want to wait that long and I am always paranoid about possible international shipping snafus.

A good deal of the diamond was worn away on those three holes but some still remains. I have heard others say they have gotten quite a bit of use out of more expensive bits. However, never having used such before, I hated to spend more $ than necessary not knowing if a bit for ceramics would make a truly signifcant difference. Having tried it out, I can say that it does indeed. That said, be forewarned that even with an appropriate bit it takes quite a bit of time to drill a hole. I didn't actually time it, but I think it took about 15 minutes per hole with this particular bowl. On the plus side, as you can see from the pic, nice smooth holes with very little chipping.

The diamond impregnated core drills are meant to be used with a coolant. Just water is fine, but a 50/50 mix of water and antifreeze is much better. Immerse the pot so the drilling surface is just barely below the surface of the water/solution, or fill a contact lens solution container & squirt a fine stream, at the tool/work surface interface. Heat is the tool's enemy. You should get 50 or more holes from a decent core drill properly cooled.

I have literally hundreds of pots I've never used. Most, for bonsai, but I have a LOT of ceramic containers of all sizes bought at super low prices on closeouts. I propagate & give away a lot of plants as gifts to garden visitors, so utilizing bowls and other suitable objects that only lacked a drain hole is a great strategy.

Al

I have such a hard time finding small pots with holes at a decent price. I need to look into getting a drill bit like that. THEN I might get to a point where I buy ones that I don't need.

Thanks Paul and Al! Maybe I better stay away from those ceramic bowls w/out holes, sounds like an awful lot of work and time...lol

Paul,

I absolutely buy pots I don't need - let's see if ol' lazy bones will go outside to take a pic of the latest acquisitions - they were a had-to-buy buy, BTW.

I never buy a pot I don't need. I tell my husband that all the time.

Oh YES, all the time!

At flea markets, yard sales, stores, nursery's , antique shops and the like.

That is not counting the endless of times I am cruising E-bay and the internet looking for unique pots, especially hand made or terracotta from other parts of the world. I wish I could afford pots from Caudex for the only ones not sold! Now they are nice and they would be all I need.lol

Mike

I just went and took a count of the pots I have waiting to be drilled. 75. Some of the iron stones can be a pain to drill. I am happy I have a drill press to make it much easier. Now if the darn stores would start stocking up it would be ok. Paula{{gwi:464087}}

Never. I buy plants I don't need instead.

Of course I do, I also buy plants I don't need. WE all have this disease. LOL LOL ha ha Norma

Hi I buy pots ane lots of things to be used someday.....lol
its cheaper that way...I have shelfs full of pots and things....to be used someday.....lol
you never know when a new plant might show up at the house...lol......you have to be ready...right.....take care all...linda

It's an English affliction also, so don't think you're the only ones to catch it!

I find it's often accompanied by the dreaded (but not fatal) 'underestimating the size of your plant' syndrome.

Gill from the UK.

So I see I'm not alone with this "problem". heh

Oops! Guess I should have mentioned use of a coolant while drilling. I did have this bowl immersed in water as Al mentioned.

I do so wish I had a drillpress. Unfortunately, not feasible from a space-consideration standpoint in an apt.

I know what you mean, Mike -- I'd so LOVE to be able to afford Keith's pots (not that I begrudge him what he charges). Alas, far beyond my means.

Cactus: What a fabulous idea, let's all share some photos of some of our favorite pots! Thrift store finds, dollar store finds, yard sale finds, hand-me-downs, freebies, whatever. Paul's got us started. Here's my contribution - these I got last week at a Salvation Army:

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And some of them I put to use right away:

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Stush: Don't worry, the monstrose and the agave are in those pots only temporarily - they're in perlite, and I'm just giving them time to root. (The other plant you sent is in a terracotta pot - also in perlite - so it didn't qualify for my "cool dime store find" photo shoot.)

I'd love to see some of y'all's favorite pots!


*CG*

I love going to second hand stores! I find all kinds of cool containers. I bought hubby a new drill and bits for Christmas this year. Just so happens it was one he mentioned would make drilling my "dang drain holes" easier. So far I have around 30 treasures for him to work on in the spring.
Tami

I need to get myself one of those drill bits. Can they be used with a standard hand drill, though? No drill press here...

I would have to say that the majority of pots that I find desirable around here are the ones with no holes in the bottom, intended to be used around an inside pot.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why...but it is the primary reason I find myself settling most of my C & S in terracotta pots! It is all I can usually find locally with drainage holes.

Now, if I had me one o'them drill bits...a whole new world full of pots that I do not have plants for would open up...

T

chaparralgirl - how do you use those glass ones? it has no holes right? i have some that i want to use, but i'm afraid about the no drainage holes part.

Chica: You are correct, there are no drainage holes in the glass containers. I have a number of plants that I keep in containers without drainage holes (and plenty with), and they seem to do just fine, so long as I'm judicious with watering. It can be done; however, it's not recommended as a permanent thing. Those two plants I set up like that partly because I reallyreallyreally wanted something in a glass terrarium-sort-of thing, and partly because I want to see how successful it would be to keep them like that. Right now, they're just so damn cute like that, I'm loathe to take them back out. I'll have to eventually, though.

I have a book on how to do terrarium gardens, and it says to lay down a bottom layer of rocks, a middle layer of charcoal, and a top layer of potting medium. It's important to note, however, that this book is copyright sometime in the 1970s; pretty much anyone here (in this forum) who knows what they're doing will tell you NOT to do this (or so has been my observation, anyway). The bottom line is that you do want adequate drainage, and you want enough oxygen circulating in the soil.

And, unfortunately, those glass containers would shatter if I tried to put drainage holes in them. Sad-face.


*CG*

i'm posting pics because i recently purchased some pots at an estate sale. i'm not sure what i'll put in them yet, but they were $1 so i couldn't resist. the mini pots were not part of the purchase, i bought those at a closeout sale for $0.15 ea.

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this one was part of the purchase also, but i quickly found something to put in the pot...some clippings i got from a friend at work.

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Oooh...love the molcajetes, chaparralgirl! Never would have thought of using that as a planter. It would be cute to use a real stone one but I don't know if drilling would be possible.

Tom, yes a regular drill can be used ... just be prepared for your hand & arm to get tuckered out. heh I used the only drill I own -- a Black & Decker cordless. I did have to stop to recharge it several times during the drilling but my hand and arm really needed the break by then anyway.

Well, until Jeff gets off his dupa and posts his container-to-pot exploits, here's most of my others:

This one (I think it's a resin container) I got at Lowes after they killed the plants off. Howard drilled this one out for me. I like the stone look ... think it goes well with cacti/succulents.

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Got this cute little thing at a thrift store ... it originally held a candle. Really love the look though I feel sorry for the deer with his having a spear in his bum and all.

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Also a thrift store find. It was a wooden bowl -- the type in which I've seen peanuts or other snack foods. But won't it rot, you ask? I expect it will at some point, but I figure by then I might not even care about the pot anyway and the plants will likely have needed repotted by then.

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Paul: Great pots! The stone setting certainly does become the cacti, and I'm eager to see what you decide to put in the deer hunt mini vase. I really like the wooden pot setting! It's just perfect!

Thanks again for sharing!


*CG*

Jeff got off his dupa and, like whoop, here it is, the most recent haul is pictured. The two bowls of the same series were expensive ($3 and $2, respectively) but they're going to be worth it as pan pots for the Crassulicious plants, or not, but another attraction is their unbaked pot bottoms - easy to drill with a small masonry bit and some water, when it's not freezing.

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Whoop, there it is!: I look forward to seeing what you put in those pots. :)


*CG*

This is what I have gotten since November. I had a great buy at Target and went home with 8 more not in this photo.{{gwi:480739}}

Love2: OMG, you're worse than I am! At least you have a drill press, though. Need to get me one...


*CG*

*CG* I want to be a hoarder when I grow up. The press is nice. I am also a tool junkie. Got to have something to blame when the job does not go right! jk Have a great day all I am off to work. Paula{{gwi:464087}}

Some nice pots-to-be there. I particularly like Jeff's green bowl (with the more mottled coloration) and Love2's white boat shaped one on the press.

I was in Target and decided to take a look in housewares. The selection of really good looking bowls was impressive and most of them are cheaper than regular house plant pots. I think I'll be getting a few of them, and a diamond encrusted drill bit. I never thought to look at these bowls as potential pots. Thanks for the ideas!

What ???? you mean that you can have too many pots ? But, but, I thought that if I bought them, i needed them,....lol Isn't the old addage " If you buy the pot, the plant will come "? Things that make you go, hmmmmmmm ....

hoo-boy, I definitely needed these 3 pots. Bought from a thrift store yesterday. Look how happy they are to be in my yard. They're almost smiling!
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I've purchased a couple pots but never used them because I haven't put drainage holes in them ... yet. eventually. one day... I'll get to it. ;)

Ohhhhh Deeproots I am lusting for those smiling faces. I love odd pots one of the reasons I practically live in Thrift shops. You cannot seem to find odd in the regular retail stores anymore.