Why Pinecones Are A Smart Addition To Flowerpots And Planters

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Planters and flowerpots grace our yards, patios, and balconies with color and pleasing scents. The beautiful plants are the stars of the show, but the planters — and their contents — are doing all the work. Naturally, plants need soil to grow, but most planters have more volume available than your plants will need. Packed soil at the bottom of planters can sometimes retain excess moisture, which might lead to waterlogged roots and even plant diseases. That extra dirt and moisture also weigh a lot making the planters harder to move. 

Replacing that lower level of soil with items that take up space, but are much lighter than dirt, can be an option. Plastic bottles, bubble wrap, and chopped up pool noodles are regularly used for that purpose. But with microplastic pollution potentially leaching unhealthy chemicals into the soil, many find using plastic products for gardening problematic. Enter the pinecone: Perfect for aiding drainage and lightening the pot or planter without plastics, all in one piney package. Making planters lighter helps you move larger planters with ease, also.

Nearly any pinecone from a coniferous tree will do, as long as the ones you collect are not rotten. Large pinecones will take up more space with fewer pinecones. Spruce, fir, true pines, larch, and others shed their cones regularly, providing an ongoing, sustainable supply. 

Pinecones work well at the bottom of a planter, especially if they've expanded their bracts — the pointy parts of a pinecone . The expanded bracts preserve air pockets in the soil, which aids effective drainage within the planter. These drainage characteristics are why pinecones are a smart addition to your pot. Another advantage is that they are organic and natural. In fact, as they sit under the soil in a planter, they will begin to break down into nutrients for the soil, letting you use the pinecones as mulch.

To get started, fill the planter about one-thirds full of dry pinecones. Where you get pinecones is up to you. If you have coniferous trees in your yard, you may have a perfect source. Public woodlands are another place to look. You can also purchase pinecones if you've got no conifers nearby, like these Billy Buckskin Home & Beauty natural pinecones. Just make sure they're unscented and uncolored. 

With the pinecones in the planter, fill the remainder with high-quality potting soil. Help the soil to settle by gently tapping the sides of the planter or perhaps lifting it a bit and dropping it gently. (Only try this with the best plant pots for container gardening so that nothing breaks.) Now go ahead and plant your seeds, seedlings, shrubs, or other favorite houseplants in your properly "pineconed" planters and flowerpots.