Kelly, What I find the easiest is to find the pot you like and then drill 3 hole.I then use either wire cut to the size that fits the area I plan on hanging my pot or I use the per made wire hangers.You can buy the wire hangers at art knapps in Victoria.I think they cost about a buck.

Cindy

Kelly,

Awanda sells the cheap 6" white hanging pots. I usually buy a dozen or so a year along with the 4.5" ones.

Denise in Omaha

The problem with ordering from the states is shipping can be high and finding what you need in Canada is hard.

Cindy

Cindy: Funny you should say that about drilling. I was thinking the same thing this afternoon. I've got plenty of bits, and that would be easy peasy. I'm always drilling more drainage holes anyway. I could pick up those metal 3/4 prong jobs, or use some kind of hemp/cord/chain.

I've also got a masonry bit, and thought I might hit the local VV (Value Village) and see if I can find some cheapish pottery bowls for drilling. Then I got to thinking I might try the local dollar store for cheap collanders and maybe do the smaller ones lined with something. Although I'm not sure of what to stay away from...coconut fiber have problems?

Denise: I will look at this Awanda you recommend. All to sadly though, as Cindy says, bringing stuff into the country is highway robbery. How fab that they even have 4.5 inch pots. We only see those locally when some nurseries bring hanging succulents up from the states. I've almost bought such plants just to have the cheap little plastic pot. How sad is that? I've not seen 4.5 or 6 inch plastic hanging pots for sale here ever...I will still look though. One never knows. Many thanks for your thoughts you two.
Kelly

The dollar store is great for diy.I just made a reflector for a grow light bulb.I used a small ss bowl and cut a hole in the bottom to put the socket and bulb through.I have used hemp and other cord type of stuff and you need to watch for rot.I have had the pot fall.I try to keep a open mind when I walk around any store I might be in.It seems im always thinking how I might be able to use this with my plants.The funny thing is now even my family is looking for me also.

Cindy

Kelly the masonry bits work great if you soak a clay pot for a few hours and then drill, piece of cake. Glazed pottery is very hard to drill and I have yet to figure it out. I had wanted to take a nice little tea cup and saucer and drill the cup to make a little pot, it's much harder than it sounds.

I like Cindy's idea of drilling pots and adding wire hangers. You can make extra long hangers if you also want your Hoya to have room to climb. I like to use antique French enamelware irrigators but they hang flat against the wall and you get a plant that is essentially one sided. I transplanted this Hoya into one of these irrigators last summer. These are not really inexpensive but they have a drainage spout at the bottom and are nice if you're into antiques. Otherwise you could drill and hang metal pots very easily and there are many different kinds of decorative or enameled buckets you could use.

I think the best thing I have found to date is this Ikea Grundtal kitchen organizer I got a little while ago. You can buy different sized bars and then add as many of the buckets as you want. The buckets are 5" and already have many holes for drainage. You can lift the buckets out of their holders easily if you want to take the plant down. I still have to figure out how and where to hang the one I got but I think I will use these for most of my remaining small pendant growing Hoyas.

If you have anything shipped form the US it is only expensive if it is sent from a business. Private parcels are not subject to duty so places like Ebay can be a good choice depending on the seller.

Mike

You might try the Ebay seller cowbowflowerman. They sell 4 inch and 6 inch white plastic hanging pots. They are located in Florida. I don't know if they will ship to Canada,but you can e-mail them and ask....

Cindy: That is good training, is what that is! (lol)

Mike: I like the enamelware very much. Found a fab enamelled stock pot in a free pile (post garage sale stuff) and used that for a summer planter of annuals. Looked great.

I wish I could get to IKEA. Vancouver Island doesn't have one, so I only go once or twice a year. I should check their on-line selection.

Thanks for the tip about soaking the pot. I drilled a pottery bowl couple of years ago. It went well, but it was only half glazed. The drill area was unglazed. It went amazingly well, but soaking should further guarantee that. Went to the VV this am, but those sharks want too much for pottery. That place used to be such a steal back when I was a student...now I can usually pick stuff up new for comparable prices.

I get you about the teacup idea. I've got a very large, fine china teacup that would be great if it had a hole, but I've a feeling drilling would leave me with mosaic pieces.

Lady G: cowboyflowerman. I'll check it out. I do like those little plastic pots...I think I may have a "pot" problem. I collect pots. Garage is full of them. I am especially partial to designer terracotta. Give me a funky shape or size and I'm a goner. I've got a neat set that is a cup/saucer, and teapot.

Kelly

Mine is in a light green plastic pot. It came that way, and it actually looks really good. The pot blends right in to the leaf color so you don't even notice it. All you see is the plant.

I've often thought about drilling teacups, too, particularly for miniature violets. (Although I suspect everyone I know would be receiving nothing but violets in teacups as gifts for the next year... you're very welcome, Dad!)

What method did you try and fail with, Mike? Last time I started cozying up to this idea, I found the article below, which seems pretty detailed. There are so many guides it must be doable, but I never got around to trying it (probably because I'm a big old scaredycat).

Here is a link that might be useful: How to drill teacups

GG I was using a hand held drill and it was taking forever while making the most terrible sound. I think I will go look for a diamond tipped drill bit and try that method. That article makes some good points about cooling the drilling area. I like that it suggests pretty much putting on a parka and goggles to protect yourself from flying glass. LOL

Mike

I'd be tempted to wear a mask as well...powdered glass...I'm thinking cooling will help prevent breakage. I drill the occasion fw pearl with diamond tip drill bits. Going slow, not pressing too hard, and preventing the pearl from overheating sure helps with cracked pearl problems.

Kelly that sounds so exotic, drilling pearls. Do you make jewelry with the pearls?

Mike

Yes indeed. I got interested in pearls years ago when I started beading. Time was when the average gal couldn't afford such extravagances, but the Chinese have started culturing freshwater pearls that rival the very expensive Japanese saltwater, for a fraction of the cost.

I am particularly interested in what are called keshi, or second harvest pearls. First harvest are nucleated with a bead or piece of oyster muscle and are therefore round. Second harvest are when that pearl is removed, oyster put back in the water and a free-form pearl develops in the sac that contained the first pearl. You can many different shapes this way, that are very organic-looking. The beauty of keshi's is that they are all nacre, all pearl, with no nucleus. That is pure value for your buck. Also keshi are nice change from the traditional round pearl that gives you that Jackie-O look, which isn't for everyone.

Those clever chinese have advanced the art and science of freshwater pearls. 20 years ago they were boring little pieces of rice to look at. Now they come in a fabulous range of colors. Some are called 'metallic' as they have a beautiful orient or overtone (the play of color on top of the main color of the pearl ie. a purple pearl that has a green, blue or pink sheen to it). I'm not much for jewellery myself, but I've always been good with my hands, and like doing fine detail work. I should probably have been a jeweller. Started making pieces as Moms, sisters, cousins, teachers, friends love jewellery. Makes it handy for gifts and such. Mind you, fellas are now interested in pearl on cords. A single tahitian pearl looks nice for those that go for that look.

Pearls come drilled, but the holes can be exceedingly fine. I've learned how to knot pearls, which I find very relaxing. Also a necessity as the pearls I order come on a temporary string. So, I have to drill the end pearls so that I can double back the string and finish off the knotted stand nicely.

Good Lord, shouldn't have had that cup of coffee before supper...sorry about that. Well now you more than you'll ever need to about pearls. LOL.

Final note though. Pearls come from all different kinds of molusks. Some of the most expensive pearls come from things like conches, clams, other bi-valves. There is a fellow on the West coast of Vancouver Island that has started a venture called Lagoon Island Pearls and is in the process of developing a farm for pearls of some west coast species of either a mussel or oyster (can't remember). They are not at all like the traditional pearls that are white and shiney. Kind of brown, beige and white little blobs. Not my cup of tea, but there is apparently a market for all types of pearls.

:) Kelly

I'm glad you had that cup of coffee! So interesting to receive such a nice synopsis of how the diversity among pearls comes to be. I knew there were a variety, because I also favor the imperfect look of what I now know to be keshi, (thanks to you!) but I had never investigated deeper into it.

I find the idea of these earth tone pearls from vancouver kind of appealing, actually, but I could only find one too-small picture of them - the guy's avatar, I believe.

That is very interesting Kelly, this explains why there was a vendor selling very affordable pearl jewelry at one of the neighborhood festivals in Toronto last summer.
Beading is a skill that I admire and would like to try some time.

Mike

I'm not too sure what market he is going after, as I find his pearls unimpressive to look at. Sure they are a pearl, but one still want something that is pretty or unusual I would think. Similar to that is the quahog pearl that comes from clams off the east Coast. They can be a very nice purple color. Few years back a fellow found a brooch in an antique shop that had 2 very large quahog pearls. No one knew what it was and so he picked it up for a song. It was valued later in the millions.

Keshis are lovely, affordable, and very good value as I've mentioned. You can also get expensive keshi too. South sea and tahitian keshi (made after first harvest south sea pearls and tahitian pearls). You can also get akoya keshi. Akoya are the lovely round japanese pearl we've seen for so many years. Their keshi are small, and spiky with a very high lustre. Very pretty when you string up multiple strands together. One can buy more affordable fw chinese keshi that are very lovely, for quite a bit less that the above keshi.

I have a few strands of pearls, which I don't often wear (lol), but when I do wear pearls (like when I'm bathing hoyas) I wear keshi.

Well I'll stop. Not everyone shares my interest in pearls. Thanks for your time.

Kelly

I keep typing this and it bounces back, so forgive me if it appears multiple times.

Mike: go for the beading if it interests you. Fully half of the people I've encountered in beading are men. Traditionally jewellery was made by men. Different eye and tastes than women, very creative.

Kelly

I really like bead work that is done by different native groups. I have some Huichol beadwork and many of the native groups from the Nort American plains have wonderful beadwork as well.
I should make a trip to the craft store and find some how to webistes. I had thought about beading a Hoya flower desing just for fun. I have been having a very hard time drawing Hoya flowers so beading one might be aiming high. LOL
Thanks for the encouragment Kelly.

Mike