How to Make an Easy DIY Concrete Planter

Hello again! Thalita here from The Learner Observer back with an easy DIY tutorial that you can make anytime of year – a concrete planter! This method doesn’t use any fancy concrete forms or molds, giving it a fun slouchy paper bag kind of style, but you could use any container you can think of to give it the shape you want. For more DIY concrete planter methods and variations, read to the bottom of the post. 

How to Make Your Own Concrete Planter

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Here’s what you’ll need to make this:

• some cardboard boxes in varying sizes. I chose one to be the external side of my planter and one that would fit inside of it
• packing tape or duct tape
• concrete or mortar mix
• water
• a large bucket
• an old wooden spoon or scrap wood for mixing
• a measuring cup
• old cup or a garden tool for scooping up the concrete mix

First, I started by taking all of the edges and corners of the cardboard boxes so that the concrete mix wouldn’t get into the nooks and crannies, and so that the box would stay together a bit better.

Mix your concrete or mortar mix according to the instructions (this is where that measuring cup comes in handy) until it’s about the consistency of a dry cookie batter. Now, start pouring it into your larger box until it’s about an inch high.

Now place the smaller box inside so that it’s centered in the larger one and start filling the edges around it with your mix.

Fill until you have your desired height for the planter, but remember: the taller it is, the heavier it will be!

I made my edges quite chunky and left the planter quite short, so it’s heavy, but I can still move it around easily.

Now tape the top of the box so that it’s all somewhat straight – cardboard will get wet and get slouchy, which is where you get that sort of paper bag look from, but the tape helps it to stay mostly upright so that it’s not too slouchy!

Let this sit for a couple of days to be safe, especially if you don’t happen to be in a hot and dry climate when you make this! Once the box feels solid, remove the inner box first and make sure the inside is dry. If it isn’t, leave it for another 24 hours or so. You could end up with a crumbled planter if you remove everything too soon!

Once it’s all dry, remove all of the paper and if any cardboard stuck to the sides, give it a quick sanding. You may also need to do this on the edges so that they’re a bit smoother.

And that’s it! You now have yourself a concrete planter!

I planted some little cacti in mine, and they seem to love it. It’s an easy and unique little piece in our laundry room now! (And PS: if you love that letterboard, you can buy one here or DIY one here.)

Have you ever attempted a concrete/mortar project? Would you? Truthfully, I was a little overwhelmed at the thought at first, bit I’m glad I tried it!

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More DIY concrete planters:

In addition to this freeform style DIY concrete planter shared by Thalita, try these other 4 ways to make a concrete planter:

1: Hypertufa Cement Pots. Make a lighter-weight concrete planter with a natural stone look by making a hypertufa mix following the instructions here.

2: Concrete Plant Pots and Garden Globes. Use old plastic containers to make gift-sized concrete pots and upcycle an old globe light to make a garden globe.

3: Modular Concrete Mini Planters with DIY Molds. Recycle cardboard to make your own concrete mold (instructions here) and make a set of these modular mini planters for a desk or wall planter. The added gold edging is beautiful!

4: Tall Outdoor Concrete Planter. This is the big kahuna! Learn to use concrete dye to tint the planter a different color and how to make your own large concrete form from melamine, including adding a decorative detail.

 

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