Budget-Friendly Houseplant Pots

Indoor plants are an easy way to add decor to a home. It can get expensive, but I have found a budget-friendly houseplant pot solution that I am really excited to share with you.  This is the solution to all the aisles of expensive pots that look so pretty, but are often out of the budget.  My hope is that it helps you to add more houseplants to your home.

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BEST PLACE TO PURCHASE BUDGET-FRIENDLY POTS

I absolutely love to look through the houseplant pot aisle at my local craft stores, but I rarely purchase them at full price there.  Don’t get me wrong: I adore the look of them, but most of time, they’re out of my budget.  That’s when I head to my favorite place for home decor…the thrift store!

One of the items I always look for is clay pottery.  Anything that would be an appropriate size for a houseplant is considered a possibility for coming home with me.  I don’t pay any attention to the color, only the shape, size, and price.  Can a plant fit in there?  Yes.  Well, maybe I’ll bring it home then.

Some of the pottery I find is meant for a houseplant and has a drain in it.  But guess what?  Those aren’t my favorite. I’d rather a random container. Be sure to check out all the kitchen and knick-knack aisles.  And don’t let a container’s previous purpose distract you because I have found that kitchen utensil holders make for great houseplant pots! These can often be found at thrift stores for a fraction of the price of a brand new one..

Another great option is to re-use glass candle jars.  Sometimes I come across these at thrift stores, but more often than not, I just reuse ones from my own home.

My budget is usually set at a few dollars each and that is very doable at thrift stores. It may take me a few trips to gather up a bunch of containers, so that is why I pop in often just to take a quick peek.  {If you’d like to see my latest thrift haul video, click HERE!}

HOW TO UPDATE CERAMIC POTTERY

I mentioned earlier not to let the color of your new houseplant pots bother you. There are a bunch of different ways to update them, with my favorite being using spray paint. For less than a few dollars, in an hour or so, you could have brand new looking containers.

The fun thing about spray paint is that there are tons of color options. You can find most any color to go along with your style! Or you can stick to more basic colors too. This is the great part about creating a home that reflects you: even your plant pots can be customized to your liking!

For great spray paint coverage, turn your containers upside down. Pick a spot to stand and spray every part of the container that you can reach from that position. Then move about 45 degrees and spray everything from that spot.  Do that again and again until the entire container is covered.

Let the first coat dry and spray a second coat. Once that is dry, flip them right side up and do two coats, just like you did with them upside down. I also highly suggest spraying inside the pot at least a few inches down. This will help if the dirt settles and the inside is exposed.

I love how these turned out! For this project, I stuck with basic black and white and kept a few containers in their natural brown patina. Since I was winging it with which plants to re-pot and where they would go, I wanted some universal colors.

SUPPLIES TO POT HOUSEPLANTS

• Houseplant pots
• Potting soil
• Small stones/pebbles

If you are able to do this project outdoors, I would highly suggest that. Sometimes the weather isn’t cooperative and when that happens, use an old blanket or towel under your work area.  This will help with clean-up as you can easily gather up the blanket and shake the extra dirt outside.

STEP-BY-STEP

HOW TO POT HOUSEPLANTS

Since most of the containers will not have drainage holes, giving the roots a little space at the bottom to keep them from sitting in water is important.  A simple solution is to use small stones or pebbles. These can be purchased or if you have some on your property, use those.

Spread a thin layer of the stones on the bottom of each pot.  Any excess water will drain to the stones and be used as needed to water the soil from the bottom.

Depending upon the size of each pot, put a few inches or so of potting soil on top of the stones. Then, hold your houseplant in the pot and place dirt all around it. You’ll want the base of your plant and the top of the roots to sit at least a half inch below the top rim of the pot. This will allow room for water to settle when the plant is watered and keep it from overflowing.

If a plant cannot fit into a certain pot because the roots are too cramped or there isn’t room to sit below the rim, you’ll want to plant it in a larger pot. As plants grow, you may need to re-pot them into larger containers. Consider this a good thing as it means you are taking good care of your plants!

Once the plants are in their new pots, give them a good watering.  It’s best to water them slightly well, allow the water to absorb, and then water them again. This is especially important if the potting soil was extremely dry.

Now it’s time to decorate with your new budget-friendly houseplant pots! Consider the environment each plant prefers and place them around your home.

PEPEROMIA

This is one of my favorite indoor plants and it had gotten quite tall since I first brought it home. A larger pot is going to be the solution so that it can continue to get bigger now that it can spread out it’s roots a bit further.  I have this one placed inour living room on top of our piano.

ZZ PLANT

I was really excited to come across a zz plant in Home Depot over the winter.  It has been doing so well in our dining room that I put it in a larger pot.

I then placed one of the new sprouts in a small brown container. It is currently sitting in our library and I am looking forward to watching it grow.

PILIEA PLANT

It’s been so fun to watch our pilea plant grow and send up runners with new seedlings. There have been about 6 of them and the latest one wasn’t doing so well in a small container. This was the perfect opportunity to move it to a larger jar and to a location with a little less direct sunlight.

It is a fun addition to our kitchen open shelving.

CHRISTMAS CACTUS

A really budget-friendly way to acquire new houseplants is when people give them to you!  This may be in the form of new growth, splitting a plant, or propagated plants. These new Christmas cacti were propagated from my mom’s large plants. A few months in water led to root growth and it looked like they were ready to be placed in dirt now.

This one was placed in our kitchen in “mom’s command center” right next to our Berkey water system.  {Click HERE to find out what a Berkey is and why we use it.}

I’m going to call this my Easter cactus since it’s closer to Easter than it is to Christmas.

SPIDER PLANT

One of my spider plant’s roots were getting to thick in it’s current pot.  My solution was to separate it into two pots.  Both now should grow better with more space.

The original spider plant and the little zz plant are enjoying the natural light in our library.

It’s been fun sharing these budget-friendly houseplant pots with you and I hope that it has given you some ideas! If you find any containers, I’d love to hear about it.  Feel free to send me pictures too! Happy planting!

You may also enjoy these posts:

• Pilea Plant Re-potting
• Simple and Elegant Spring Tablescape
• Kitchen Decorating Idea: Framed Prints
• $100 Room Makeover: Basement Staircase Reveal

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