If you’re tired of buying expensive coconut liners every spring, then you’re going to love my cheap solution! This inexpensive DIY project is easy to do with materials you probably have lying around the house. Plus, this coco liner alternative looks awesome, and lasts for years without having to be replaced!
I have a few of those wire basket planters that came with coconut liners when I bought them. The coco liner always looks so beautiful when freshly planted with summer annuals.
But after a season or two, they start to look dingy and gray. Plus, the birds like to tear the coco fiber apart to use for building their nests in the spring. The result? Well, it’s not pretty!!
I love my wire basket planters, but they are unusable without the liners. I could buy fresh replacement coco liners every spring, but that gets to be very expensive.
My wire planter with brand new coco liners (way back when)
I don’t know about you, but I just couldn’t justify the cost of replacing the expensive coconut liners annually, so my favorite wire planter ended up sitting in the garage.
Every time I looked at it I felt sad and frustrated about the cost of the coco planter liners. It finally came to the point where I was either going to get rid of the planter, or figure out how I could make it useable again.
Challenge accepted!
Coconut liner faded and torn apart by birds
What To Use As An Alternative For Coconut Liners
All I needed to do was figure out a way to replace the coconut planter liners, but using a cheaper alternative material.
I racked my brain for a few weeks trying to come up with ideas. But the answer didn’t come easily, and I continued to feel frustrated.
Then one day while I was cleaning the garage, I came across a bunch of leftover landscaping fabric that was just collecting dust.
Aha!
I found my solution for a cheap alternative to coconut liners.
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Landscaping fabric is an inexpensive coconut liner alternative
Benefits Of Landscaping Fabric Planter Liners
When I came up with this idea, I was so excited!! Not only would this be much cheaper than buying brand new coco basket liners, it will also last much longer!
And boy was I right about that!! I came up with this idea 7 years ago, and my DIY alternative planter liners look just as great today as they did when I first made them.
Lining planters with landscaping fabric is not only cheaper, but it will last for many, many more years than the coco basket liners.
And my wire basket planters or much less maintenance now since the liners don’t have to be replaced all the time.
Plus, I think the black liner look really nice too (way nicer than a dingy old gray coco liner that’s half torn apart by the birds, that’s for sure!)
New plant liner ready for plants
Easy DIY Landscaping Fabric Planter Liner
Since the landscaping fabric isn’t stiff like coconut liners are, it took a bit more work to get the liner looking good in the baskets of my metal planter.
I decided to use a thin metal wire to attach the landscaping fabric to the metal planter baskets. That way, the fabric stays in place and the dirt won’t spill out.
I simply poked the metal wire through the liner, and then wrapped the metal around the top of the basket, filling the liner with dirt as I worked my way around the basket.
Wire basket planter coco liner alternative
I also took the time to bunch and straighten the liner as I went around each basket so the landscaping fabric wouldn’t bunch up in one spot in the basket.
Once the fabric was attached all the way around the wire basket, I trimmed off the extra fabric around the top so it was even with the top of the metal basket.
After the baskets were filled with dirt, the liner popped into shape and my wire planter looked great again. The landscaping fabric will last much longer than a coconut liner, saving me tons of money each spring.
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DIY landscaping fabric planter liner
How To Save Money On Plants
To save myself even more cash, I decided to plant a mix of hardy succulent sedums in my new wire planter rather than using annual plants that need to be replaced every spring.
That way, I can just overwinter the hardy succulents in the garage and pull my planter out each spring to reuse year after year. It doesn’t get any easier than that.
This option didn’t cost me a cent since I used materials I already had sitting around and plants from the garden.
I am very happy with the way this turned out using my homemade coconut liner alternative, and proud of the fact that I was able to make my wire basket planter new again.
If you’re not ready to take on a project like this yourself, you can purchase a coconut liner roll and cut them to size, or buy replacement coco liners here.
Coconut planter filled with plants
This would work great as an alternative for any type of coco liner baskets, including hanging baskets with liners, hanging deck railing planters, or replacing coco liners for window boxes.
Coconut liner replacement filled with plants
Even if you don’t have any sitting around in your garage and you have to buy landscaping fabric to replace your coconut liners, it will still be cheaper in the long run.
That is because the landscaping fabric will last much, much longer than the coconut liners.
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Coconut liner replaced with landscaping fabric
If you prefer the look of the coconut liners over the landscaping fabric, another great alternative wire basket liner is burlap.
A burlap liner will give you a similar look as the coco liners, but will last longer. You can buy burlap in a roll, and follow my instructions above to line your wire basket with burlap liner.
So, if you have any hanging baskets or wire baskets with liners sitting around collecting dust, give them new life with with these do-it-yourself wire basket liners!
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Have you figured out a cheap alternative to coconut liners too? Tell me about it in the comments below.
Darlene says
I have a question about the garden lawn fabric in wire baskets in stead of coconut liners. Does the liners let water drain? Or do you need a hole in center at bottom of basket before adding dirt for drainage? If so I was thinking using those metals eyelets I guess what they are for stability in center . What do you think?
Amy Andrychowicz says
As long as you use landscaping fabric (NOT plastic) to line your wire baskets, then it drains on it’s own very well. So no need to make any holes in the fabric.
Janet says
I have also used a piece of sod for liners and they work for a few years.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Oh that is cool! I love the idea of a grass-lined wire basket. But how did you keep the grass trimmed?
Daniel Nix says
Has anyone thought of using shade cloth as a hanging basket liner? It’s synthetic, probably UV stabilized, and might last for quite a time. It might take two or three layers. I need a mold that fits a 14″ basket and will shop the local thrift stores for the right size metal mixing bowl. I’m planning to experiment since i have about twenty coir-lined hanging baskets and I, too, am really tired of paying the high prices for new coiir liners every two years. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Amy Andrychowicz says
I have never tried using shade cloth material to line my wire baskets, so I don’t know how long or how well it would hold up. But it wouldn’t hurt to experiment with it. I’m not sure how you’ll use the metal bowl, but if you plan to put your plants in it, make sure you drill some drainage holes in it first.
Lynell Withers says
Wow! Thank you so much. I have a 3 tiered plant stand I have never used. I am now going to drag it out and give it a shot..
Amy Andrychowicz says
You’re welcome! I hope your wire basket planter looks amazing with its new liners!
Trish says
This is a great idea. Saves on gas and time too. I ws just gong spend all morning driving to get a coco liner and they do fall apart fast. Anyway, my flowers soon hang over so you cannot see the liners so who needs the coconut ones?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, exactly! Since they become covered so quickly, nobody will ever know you don’t have coco liners under all those plants. LOL!
Liz says
What an excellent idea,
have 2 beautiful large 26” diameter ground black metal basket stands & thought of burlap, Otherwise, I had to cut out 4 of the largest coco & overlap them & only did this once.
Thank you!
Amy Andrychowicz says
You’re welcome, glad you are able to make use of your metal baskets again!
Kathy says
Did you poke a hole in the bottom for the post? Or edge the liner around in a circle? Your directions didn’t mention accommodating for the center post, so I was curious.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Great question! My wire basket planter comes apart really easily. So, I removed the top baskets, and then cut a hole in the center of the fabric liner to place it over the top of the middle pole. If yours doesn’t come apart easily, then you could edge the liner around it. Just be sure to overlap the two cut ends by at least a couple of inches, so the soil won’t leak out.
Laurie Russell says
This is a wonderful idea. I just did two of my hanging baskets. This is sure better than paying for those coconut liners which I was going to have to order online.
Thank you so much for the idea.
Amy Andrychowicz says
You’re welcome, glad you were able to use this idea to line your hanging baskets. Yes, the coconut liners are expensive!
Monica says
Hi I have coco liners to make them last I put screen in my pots first,then I put in a liner, my liners have lasted at least 8-10 years I’m not joking,when I buy the liners I always get two for one pot, no birds bother my pot…
Amy Andrychowicz says
Great idea to line your wire baskets with screen material before putting the coco liners in there. Thanks for sharing your tip!
jim mclauchlan says
I have used paper bark from the nature strip trees. you just peel away loose bark from the tree and cut to fit your basket. you can also put an old plastic bag inside to hold the potting mix in place when watering plants.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Oh, that’s a great, and very natural solution for lining your wire baskets! I bet it looks beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
Verbena says
I agree. Looking for something more permanent. Maybe something that you can line the coco liner with to make it permanent. Not paying ten dollars on new liners every season. Crazy…and what a racket!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, it is crazy. That’s why I came up with this alternative. I don’t know what you could do to make the coco liners permanent though. The birds tear them apart here in the spring, they love them. That’s why I switched to using the fabric. I’ve had it in my wire basket planters for almost 10 years now, and it’s still working great.
Barbara bowman says
You can buy the coco liners at Dollar Tree.