If anything, I think the natural material liners work against you with water retention-- they get dry and soak up moisture. I still like the look and use them at the back of my house though.

Actually you bring up a good idea, I don't know if it will work but chopped CoCo-Coconut Husk, are my favorite mulch. The string like fibers I'd guess would dry quickly, but the chunks actually drip water when squeezed. I'm going to mix some of my Block Mulch in with my potting soil plus gel and see if that holds water longer than without. Thanks for the idea!

We have all wire baskets with the coco liners. They are several years old... We lined them with plastic on top of the coco liners, We pouched lots of holes in the plastic for water to escape. They do retain a lot of moisture that way. Our plants thrive in them.

my favorite thing to plant in them is tuberous begonias.

Glad I'm reading this. I like the plastic bag tip. I've been considering hanging plants for my porch but know I wouldn't remember to water them all the time!

Cliff and Joann Your patio is beautiful! Where do you find the wire baskets?

Coco has something in it that plants like. It is easier to root plants in coco than in rooting soil, or at least it has been for me. It is not a fertilizer but must have some kind of hormone, and must be in some respects similar to willow water. Coir is the best median for rooting plants, however, that I have ever tried. The only thing I found better was a mixture of coir medium, birth control pills and aspirin or willow water.

They are sold all over, even Lowes and home depot.
Another thing they are good for is planting in the flower beds for areas where you want a big splash of flowers in an area. They give the flowers height and the baskets disappear in the landscape. We also plant several that like a lot of sun and keep them in sunny areas and switch them off with the ones in the shady areas --when they look like they need a sunny fix...What I am trying to say is we
switch them off if they look a little tired and place them in sunny locations. We constantly move them around.
There is about 8 coconut baskets out there -- buried in the rocks.

There are three coconut baskets surrounding the pooch...
The baskets disappear, but the flowers are high in height and high in impact.

Cute pooch and photo!

I am glad that I saw this thread. I had just about decided that I would not use my wire baskets and coco liners on my screened-in porch this year. "What the heck are coco liners for?" They were for a pain in the rear end...that's what! Every time I watered, the water (and dirt) came right out and dribbled all over my porch floor, or anything else in it's path. I loved the looks, espeically on a porch, but the mess was too much. Now, I will try them one more year and use a plastic bag to line the coco. Thanks!

That is such a fantastic idea to line the pot with the higher gage plastic! Thanks so much.

This will solve my problem with the water loss and I just love the look of the coco liners!

Boy I love this forum! There is so much helpful advice.

Yes Cliff and Joanne- those photos are just beautiful!

Cliff and Joanne - first of all, your garden is just beautiful! I have a question about using the coco baskets in the landscape. Are you just using the liners or do they also have the wire frames around them?

Cliff and Joanne, wow, your yard is heavenly! You must work your tails off, and you sure have a great design sense.

Oceana, Cliff is a gardening nut, I get whatever I want in the house (I mean my way) but he tells me that outside he's the boss!...
Artlover, We do both depending where they are placed. Some we just use the coconut fiber and place it between rocks, and some we use the wire basket and the fiber...

The photo above with the pooch, it looks like the flowers to the right of the sundial are in the wire basket because of the height.

In this photo some are in just coco fiber and some in the wire baskets...But they are all in baskets.

Can you see the chipmonk stairing down the hound? He's leaning on a rock with one hand and looking at the hound!:)
In this photo there is several coconut baskets with flowers and some with the wire. the beauty of this is
you can have a lovely spray of flowers where ever you want them,

I'm confused! Are the dogs real or fake?

Well, heck! You mean I don't have to be a slave to my planters??? Joanne I could kiss you! I love my hayracks but they do require attention. This year I'm lining them before I plant. This was last summer and we were residing so just pretend the junk isn't on the deck!

{{gwi:41667}}

That chipmunk is too funny! My dog would never allow that -chipmunks are not allowed in *his* yard. Our neighbors complain because we have none - they've all gone next door!

dlm, Just remember to poke a few small holes in the plastic, or the planters can get water logged. Some plants don't like continuous wet feet. Tuberous Begonias and geramiums are a couple of plants that come to mind that don't like wet feet.

I also want to mention in the flower beds we don't line the coconut fibers with plastic, as we have a sprinkler system that waters the gardens every day.

Another thing we do for plants that love wet feet and need to grow in water -- is bury large pots in the ground at ground level and plant water plants in them. Lotus, umbrella palm, and taro are good plants for this type of planting.

newhomebuilder, The hounds are real :) The chipmonk
is real as well. LOL...
Joann

Forgot to tell you dlm, I love your potted plants. :)

newhomebuilder, The hounds are real :) The chipmonk
is real as well. LOL...
Joann
-----------------------------------------------------------

I was pretty sure that the BT was real, but that hound looks like a replica in your photo. Finally see the chipmunk...funny!

I read on another forum, disposable diapers work well as liners. They soak up excess water and give it back to the plant avoiding the 'wet feet' problem.

YAY! this year I will do this too! I have hay racks and hanging baskets with the liners in the back and they often got a little sad. I did plant the hanging ones last year! Thanks!!

I got sidetracked with life stuff and haven't been back here in awhile and scrolling from the bottom of the topics, what do I see?

A topic on Coco Liners!

Last month I emptied all my wire planters (14 of them), shredded up and placed around in my gardens what was left of the very old (about 5 years) coco liners and went in search of new liners.

After my initial sticker-shock for pre-made liners I looked for a suitable alternative.

Not finding anything I liked as much as the Coco Liner, I started looking for it in rolls/bulk.

Again, a bit of sticker shock but continued my search until I found a sale (Link for sale Bulk Roll of Coco Liner below).

So any of you who don't want to spend a king's ransom on pre-formed liners, you might want to try buying the coco liner in bulk.

And to add to the conversation, yes, I use large dark green plastic lawn bags.....one large bag, cut up to fit, will usually cover 5 or 6 wire baskets.

Coco Liner, then Plastic with a few holes poked in the plastic using scissors, then the middle portion of a Huggies diaper (unused!) then my potting mix.

Make sure to wet the Coco, the diaper and the soil very well before placing your plants in the basket.

Even during our 100 degree hot spells during the summer I don't have to water my baskets when using plastic and diaper, but once every 5 or 6 days.

Joann and DLM2000,
Your garden/planter pics are awe-inspiring!
Thank you both so much for sharing them....beautiful!

Here is a link that might be useful: Roll of Coco Liner

My box of Coco Liner came in 4 days and it's sooo easy to work with, to cut, to shape. Not too thick, not too thin.

And with the normal price of the Bulk Coco Liner being $79 to a sale price of $39 for as much liner as I got, I got a great deal!

The last few days I've been outside cutting, fitting my baskets with liners, plastic, diapers and a potting mixture.

Once I get them all done and my plants are settled in I will post a pic or link to pics.

I can only hope my baskets look half as good as DLM's and Joann's!

Fine Gardening had a tip last month: use burlap instead of the coco liner. I bought burlap (48" wide) for $2.99 a yard at Hobby Lobby and lined a standing planter that I used spagnum moss in last year. It doesn't look quite as "naturalistic" as the spagnum or coco liner, but I think when it ages out a bit, it will be very nice. . .and considerably cheaper!!

Thanks for the burlap tip Cherigw! That is quite a bit cheaper than the coco and a great tip for someone who does not need a whole roll. I appreciate the tip from amity on buying a whole roll though.

I buy the cocoa liner by the yard also. I have window boxes (not using this year) that we use the cocoa liners in and we cannot find a ready made liner to fit. I also have an old antique planter that we use the cocoa liner in - again have to cut to fit. I've never had a problem with it making a mess. We do also line with plastic and be sure to punch holes. Like joann said, you do not want plants to become waterlogged. I also use the liner in two baskets that hang on either side of our arbor. They look good and for whatever reason, the plants seem to do better with the liner.

tina

amity, what a great party website! Instead of doing all my chores, I got lost having so much fun exploring feathers, LEDs, ideas, and pictures. Thanks!

trailrunner, you were the first to mention the plastic liner...thanks. Wish I'd done this before planting my cocoa baskets. Ladies, gorgeous garden/porch, plant, pooch pics! Love that diaper idea, too( and a Kotex would work as well, I suspect :>o).Lots of good tips. I may actually hang those ferns from my porch now that I can see they may not drip so messily. Neat.

Ok for my not so sharp mind today may I clarify:?

1) Outter most: Coco Liner
2) then plastic liner
3) then a diaper (just 1)
4) then the soil
5) and plant?

Thanks - glad to see this thread is being helpful to more then just me!

Coco fiber liners are shipped in from all over the world and can have herbicides and foreign bugs. A US company developed a product MagniMoist for lining wire baskets that works much better than coco or moss liners. The material holds in moisture and the results are stunning. Botanical gardens are starting to use MagniMoist rather than coco or moss because the results are great, the product is local and sustainable and it saves water. Search ' MagniMoist ' if you want more info.

Here is a link that might be useful: MagniMoist Basket Liners

Here is an interesting video about kenaf liners by MagniMoist - they do work better than coco

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3joowZn71YU

Here is a link that might be useful: MagniMoist-Video

Why doesn't someone make the clear plastic liners to sit inside the window box/trough cocoa liners. I hate the looks of watering the half basket under my windows and having the dirt run down the side of the house. I like the look of the cocoa lines but please they are so pourius after two waterings. If someone know where I can get some please pass the info and thanks.

This is a very intresting topic as I was thinking of co-co liner myself and not knowing much about it. Would it work with a Spider Plant also? I know they like it dry soil, would this be too much moisture for it?

Just wondering, why are coco discs used?

"Hanging Plants : What the heck are coco liners for? "

Collecting bugs. ewww

I have been using the wire baskets with coco liners for lots of years because I like the look. However, I now buy the plastic hanging baskets, remove the wire hanger and plop them into the wire baskets. They look pretty and retain moisture better. I have gotten lazy and don't plant my own hanging baskets anymore. Still do my own containers and gardens which is plenty to keep me busy!

coco liners are used so that you can fill the entire basket with plants; i.e., you cut holes in the sides and insert the plants, especially petunias, and they hang down and cover the entire planter.

Oh, and by mid-season, my pots are always covered by the plants anyway, so I guess it really doesn't matter what pot I use. Not a fan of plants that don't drape over the pots in hanging baskets. :)

this is what I was talking about:

Here is a link that might be useful:

I guess I could staple or use green wire to connect the plastic liner to the coco liner so it doesn't slide and stays neat?.. And so glad I found this tip on this forum because I resorted to using a big bucket under the plants lined with coco because my freshly painted deck and house was a dirty mess all the time from the dirt coming thru the liner. Talk about double work !! Lol .. Please my new friends, keep the tips coming,.. As I also shall.

Lamora

This
is a very intresting topic as I was thinking of co-co liner myself and
not knowing much about it. Would it work with a Spider Plant also? I
know they like it dry soil, would this be too much moisture for it?

I find they do best w/moist soil--never dry.

Not sure why this old thread is back, but I'll add a tip. I read somewhere recently about putting disposable diapers inside the coco liners, or even inside your hanging planters before you add the dirt. If you have experience with the new generation of disposables, you know how they can hold the moisture equal to the Pacific Ocean? Well, they hold the moisture for the plants to wick back up and also catches much of the extra water from watering.

Good tip Olychick!

I mis-read the title of this thread as Hanging Pants... and had to click to find out why people would use cocoa liners when hanging their slacks. D'oh!

This thread became resurrected when I was googling around for a substitution for Coco liners.. they were dirtying up my house and deck.. Plus the birds love to make nests out of the liners and pull the liners apart all over the place.... So this particular thread popped up ....and I'm glad it did.. But now when the comments pop up in browser form I have to go through the entire thread to receive the latest comment. Any way around this?something tells me this is a dumb question .

Well, the easiest way to see the newest post in a thread is to open the thread and hit "comment". it will take you to the bottom of the thread without scrolling.

If using a standard keyboard, you can use the Home and End buttons to quickly move to the top or bottom of page.

I put mostly succulents and epidendrums in my coco hanging baskets, and that way they do not need to retain water; in fact the orchids prefer to have good drainage and air circulation as you can see in this photo (taken in April of this year). If the coco fibers are exposed too much, birds will steal the fibers to make nests, but the hummingbird in this photo is not a threat:

Thanks olychick and Errant_gw for the perfect solutions to easier scrolling.

Last year I bought two wire hanging baskets with coco liners in them and with the hangers attached. I got them at Aldi for under $10 for the two of them together. I haven't used them yet, since I had never planted in coco liners before and wasn't sure how to do it properly. I am so glad I waited, because this column answered all my questions about them. Thank you so much!!

There are several reasons for using coconut fiber liners. They can hold a great deal of water, releasing it slowly to allow plant roots to better take it up. These water-saving coconut liners also provide good drainage. They're porous too, allowing for good aeration.

I just take hanger from premade flowering basket from nursery and place in coco p..alm hanging basket...water and soil stay in