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How to Make your Own Tree Trunk Plant Pots

4 minutes
Want to give your home a unique and original touch? Discover how to make your own tree trunk plant pots and use them to decorate inside or outside your home.
How to Make your Own Tree Trunk Plant Pots
Last update: 11 December, 2018

If you’re decorating your home and you need more planters, you’ll find some different types of tree trunk plant pots you can make here. Tree trunks are a great natural element which you can use in a whole range of unique and original ways to create lots of different decorative objects. You can use pre-cut tree trunks or even use a left-over tree stump to make your plant pots.

There are lots of different ways to make tree trunk plant pots of all different shapes and sizes. You can then choose whether to use them to decorate the inside or the outside of your home. You’ll need a few different materials, and the help of someone who knows how to use tools. Next, we’ll show you some of the different types of tree trunk plant pots you can make.

Guide to making your own tree trunk plant pots

There is a huge variety of different ways to make your own tree trunk plant pots. But first, you’ll need the following materials:

  • Tree trunks
  • Chainsaw
  • Drill
  • Axe
  • Soil
  • Plants

To make your tree trunk plant pots, you’ll need to mark the surface of the trunk with chalk or a felt tip, so that you know where to cut. Next, using the drill, trace along the line you drew. Then, use the axe to cut out the center of your tree trunk, leaving a hole in the middle.

Some figure

Be careful! If you don’t know how to use these tools, ask for the help of a professional, or someone who knows how to use them. Otherwise, it can be really dangerous.

Once you’ve removed the center of your tree trunk, use a fine drill bit to make a small hole in what will be the base of your plant pot. This will act as a water drainage system. Finally, put some soil and your favorite plants in your plant pot, and you’re ready to decorate your home with these beautiful planters.

Tree trunk plant pots: horizontal or vertical

There are also lots of different styles of tree trunk plant pots you can make. Next, we’ll give you some nice ideas you can try out yourself. Depending on what you want to do with them, you can place your tree trunks either horizontally or vertically, and use all different shapes and sizes of tree trunk too!

Vertical tree trunks

Choose a small tree trunk and proceed to remove the center section of wood. This type of plant pot is beautiful and practical. It’s also great for decorating entrance ways, or even the inside of your home. If you want, you can remove the bark too. These little plant pots are also ideal for small plants like cacti or succulents, for example.

Horizontal tree trunks

If you choose to make a horizontal tree trunk plant pot, you can use it almost like a flower bed, as relatively long trunks will be able to hold several different plants at once.

You can put the soil and the plants directly into the hole in the trunk. Alternatively, you can make a slightly bigger hole so that it can hold both your plants and their original pots as well.

Some figure

Tree trunk plant pots with feet

You could also create a unique and original vertical tree trunk plant pot by adding some iron feet to the bottom to act as a stand. As a result, your plant pot will then be suspended slightly off the ground. If you want, you can also paint and decorate your planters.

Hanging plant pots

Another great option is to make hanging tree trunk plant pots. Take some small pieces of tree trunk, remove the center and add your plants. Then, add two small hooks to the top, and use them to attach some jute string. You’ll then be able to hang your plant pots, either inside or outside your home. What’s more, if you make lots of different sized pots and hang them at different heights, it will create a really beautiful look.

You can decorate your plant pots however you want, painting them, varnishing them, or removing the bark. We recommend that you don’t change their look too much, though, as the rustic look of the trunk is natural, beautiful and unique, and will give your home an original touch. Have fun making your tree trunk plant pots and using them to decorate inside and outside your home.