I made an orchid post – a weekend project

I recently came across a Facebook posting describing how the writer made a plant tower using rebar (reinforcing steel bars) set in cement in a flowerpot. She then threaded pots onto the bar and filled them with plants. This looked like a good weekend project.

I decided I’d prefer to have plants growing around the base instead of bare looking cement, so I used some old plastic food containers as moulds to hold the bars and then buried them in soil in the flowerpot.

The materials for four bar/base combinations were easy enough to get from a local hardware shop – the 4 pieces of rebar (total about 12 or13 feet), cost me RM12 and I also bought a bag each of sand and cement in the right proportions for RM2 each and a can of (environmentally unfriendly) black spray paint for RM7(I used about half). Total RM23.

The pots – large base pot RM12, smaller orchid pots 7 pieces for RM14, a bag of charcoal RM3 and the most expensive item, a bag of orchid bark for RM28, of which I used about 25%. Total about RM36, so together with the supports, the cost was under RM60 including the plant at the base RM10 and the soil, about RM5. You’d have to add the cost of the orchids, mine look a bit scrappy because I just went around and snipped off bits from existing plants which needed a trim. They will settle in nicely and hopefully be flowering in a few months. It’s a good idea to buy baby orchids if you can find them and let them establish themselves. They’re much less expensive too.

These orchids are OK with a little indirect, morning or afternoon sun, not too much water once a week is enough, sprayed on the leaves and a spray fertiliser also once a week.

The other stands I’ll thread with different types of pots and use different plants. Make sure the pots have a round hole in the middle of the bottom so you can thread them.

Click on the small ‘i’ at the top left hand corner of the photos for the caption to show.