Craft & Cork >> General Interest

Keep your plants alive and well-hydrated while you’re away (or just forgetful of watering them) with this fun, DIY wine bottle waterer! Keep reading to learn how.

For Smaller Potted Plants:

1. Find an empty wine bottle and wine cork.
2. Clean the inside of the bottle.
3. Optional: Remove the label. To remove the label, soak the bottle in warm, soapy water for 30 minutes – it should peel off relatively easily.
4. Make a hole in the cork: Consider soaking it in hot water for 10 minutes. This may help prevent it from crumbling when you try to make a hole in it. Use a screwdriver to twist a screw into the cork. Make sure that the screw goes all the way through the cork, from top to bottom.
5. Fill the bottle with cool water. You can also add some plant food into the water in the bottle at this point. Do not fill the bottle all the way; fill it up just to where it starts to narrow.
6. Select your plant. If you have a very large plant, such as a tree, you may need to make a second bottle.
7. Make sure that the soil is wet. If the soil is too dry, the water in your bottle will empty too quickly.
8. Make a 2 inch deep hole in the soil where you want the bottle to go. If you don’t make the hole first, it may get forced into the bottle opening and create a clog.
9. If you are going to use the bottle in a flowerpot, make the hole close to the edge of the pot. Try to make the hole at an angle, with the bottom pointing away from the pot’s rim. This will allow you to insert the bottle at an angle and rest the bottle against the edge of the pot.
10. Turn the bottle upside down and insert it into the hole. Keep pushing the bottle until it won’t go in any further. The mouth of the bottle should be pressed firmly against the soil.

The EXTRA easy way for outdoor planters and large potted indoor plants:

It’s so easy. Just fill your bottle with water, skip the hole in the cork and stick it into your planter pot! You’ll want to push the bottle down in there at an angle until it won’t go down any further. Also the dryer your plant is, the faster it will soak up the water; so if you want your watering system to last for a little while -be sure to start by really soaking the soil well!