Orchidaddicts!!! lets start recycling!!!
 

well just breaking the ice instead of whining of wanting more orchids! LOL! anyway since we dont have clear plastics pot (for phals). So instead of buying online or looking somewhere else... why not use the old plastic from starbucks! any clear ones! and make some holes out of it... and some styrofoam for the aeration instead of pebbles to medium mixture for aeration...

just wondering if millions of orchid addicts would just use old (starbucks) plastics cups would have minimize the garbage in our landfill... THANKS!

funny you posted this now - I was just thinking about using an old soda bottle to pot a plant in as all the pots I have aren't quite the size I want ;)

I cut down gatorade bottles for my small S/H phals and catts--they are clear and have a pattern on them. :rofl: I must have been really bored the day I started doing that :rofl::rofl:
Joann

lol
I recently started saving the gatorade bottles thinking they could make decent pots
:rofl:

Its funny you mention this. While I dont think that starbucks cups are sturdy enough to use as pots, I have started using large, thick plastic bins from Costco as pots. I tried this technique to hang my 2 Phals (first 3 photos). I just cut a portion of the bottom out, cut some slits on the side for airflow, jammed the Phal in the bottom and put spag in the top. Voila! Hanging Phals.

The last picture is one of those big clear bins that the Costco pretzel come in. I think when I have to repot a large Stanhopea, its gonna go in there with the same cutting technique for the pot as the Phals. The Stans will go on top though and the flowers will come out the bottom. We shall see! :biggrin:

You know if word of this leaks, they're going to increase the price of gatorade!:rofl::rofl:
Joann

Steve, that's an interesting set up. Do you just water from the top and it drains from the bottom?
Joann

I actually have a few small size oncidiums in S/H, planted in clear Starbucks cups! So far so good! :biggrin:

Thanks! And yes, the water on top drains all the way through. The plant and the weight of the spag combine to act as a plug on the bottom.

Me too I recycle. I use plastic bottles not because they're cheap, but because I can't find clear pots in the right sizes! I have 3 phal keikis planted in 0,5L water bottles, and another plant living in a Pepsi bottle. I also have a small seedling that needs a small pot. So I took a plastic yogurt pot, peeled the label off, and potted it up in there!

I started doing this with all kinds of plants after starting college. I don't have my stacks of pots, so I make them out of applesauce cups, plastic water cups, cereal containers, anything waterproof that is the right size. I've used some for water culture, and some I drill holes into to use as containers. They are really great when you want to propagate something for a friend, convenient and cheap. Then the friend can spend money on a real container, if they want. Personally, I kind of like a primrose in a frosted flakes container. :lol:

I've been using 1 & 2 lb. macaroni containers for the plant I have in s/h. Also the reusable Ziploc containers are great for s/h. They even have a screw on top you can use as a saucer.

Bill

There is a Thai restaurant 5 minutes from my house that does carry-out. They serve this really yummy soup in small plastic containers that are just the right size for mini's. I've noticed a lot more restaurants in Cleveland are doing carry-out, and most of them use plastic containers of some kind. I think some of the shallow containers might be good for starting seeds, but I haven't tried that yet.

using plastic pop bottles
 

:waving
hi i use pop bottles and plastic juice bottles all the time.they are excellent and great to check on the roots