If you’re tired of buying expensive coconut liners every spring, then you’re going to love my cheap solution, and you can do it yourself.
I came up with this idea way back in 2011, and my DIY alternative liners look just as great today as they did when I first made them.
This inexpensive project is easy to do with materials you probably have lying around the house. Plus, my coco liner substitution 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. The result? Well, it’s not pretty.
I love my wire basket planters, but they are unusable without the coconut liners. I could buy fresh replacement ones every spring, but that gets to be very expensive.
I don’t know about you, but I just couldn’t justify the cost every year, so my favorite wire planter ended up sitting in the garage. And every time I looked at it I felt sad and frustrated.
It finally got to the point where I was either going to get rid of it, or figure out how I could make it usable again. Challenge accepted!
What To Use As An Alternative For Coconut Liners
One day while I was cleaning the garage, I found a bunch of leftover landscaping fabric that was just collecting dust. Aha! I found my solution.
When I came up with the idea, I was so excited. Not only is the fabric much cheaper than buying brand new coco basket liners, but it will also last longer.
If you don’t like the idea of landscaping fabric, a burlap liner will give you a similar look as the coco liners, but will last longer. You can buy it in a roll, and use that instead.
Otherwise if you prefer the coconut liners over the fabric options, it’s cheaper to buy it in a large roll than it is to get the preformed sizes.
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How To Make Easy DIY Landscaping Fabric Planter Liners
This works great as an alternative for any type of coco liners, including a free-standing planter like mine, wire hanging baskets, and deck railing or window boxes.
Supplies Needed
- Wire planter or hanging basket
- Landscaping fabric
- Sharp scissors
- Floral wire
- Wire cutters
Instructions
Step 1: Cut the fabric – To figure out how much you need, lay the landscaping fabric over the wire basket and press it into the bottom. Then cut the fabric so you have a good 3-4 inch overlap all the way around the top of the basket.
Step 2: Attach the fabric to the basket – Cut a 3-4″ piece of floral wire with your wire cutters and bend it into a U shape. Then use it to attach the fabric to the basket by poking the wire through the liner, and twisting the ends together on the inside of the basket.
Step 3: Straighten the liner as you go – Repeat step 2 to continue to attach the liner to your planter at each cross section. As you work your way around the basket, straighten the liner and fold it nicely so the landscaping fabric wouldn’t bunch up in one spot at the end.
I found that it helped to add soil into the liner as I worked my way around the basket to weigh it down, get it into the right form and shape, and also to hold it in place.
Step 4: Fill it with soil – Once the fabric is attached all the way around the wire basket, finish filling it with soil. Then gently press it down to make sure the liner is firmly in place, and there aren’t any weird folds or gaps.
Step 5: Trim off the extra fabric – Trim off any extra fabric that’s sticking out above the top of the basket so that it’s even with the rim of your planter. Don’t cut it too short, or it could pop through and spill out some of the soil.
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Step 6: Plant your brand new wire basket – Now that you’ve added your alternative coco liners, you can plant your wire basket again with anything you want.
To save myself even more cash, I decided to plant a mix of hardy sedums in mine rather than using annuals that need to be replaced every spring. That way, I can just overwinter them in the garage and keep them growing year after year. It doesn’t get any easier than that.
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Look at that, my wire basket planter is brand new, and I never have to buy expensive coconut liners again. If you have any of these sitting around collecting dust in your garage, give them new life with these inexpensive do-it-yourself replacement wire basket liners.
Have you figured out a cheap alternative to coconut liners too? Tell me about it in the comments below.
Lynn says
Beyond funny i thought of that a long time ago, but husband said ugly. Think as well to wire black spool wire to fir it up on the outside. It is a pretty big gap between frames. Dont get me wrong i did it last year as well. I think it looks fine. Great idea.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Funny! And thank you.
Diane Desenberg says
I am considering lining the inside of my new civo baskets. Would this idea save the coco from disintegrating? Then you still get the coco effect against the black metal.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Unfortunately the fabric won’t do anything to keep the coco liners from breaking down.
Rosie D says
I did this this year. Got tired of how the coco liners were becoming messy. I used plant wire to secure some edges so liner would not bunch up. So far I have had success. This is a great idea. Doubling up on liner can also help. I fear the plastic bag may create mold around liner and start creating problems. But the weed liner is a great idea.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome, glad to hear the fabric worked to replace your messy coco liners!
Jessica says
Hello,
Do I need to line the planter with plastic (with holes) to hold water better. I am in zone 9b.
Thank you,
Jess
Amy Andrychowicz says
You certainly could line the basket with plastic after installing the fabric liners to help retain moisture if you’d like. I haven’t done that with mine, but some people have done it.
Raina says
I have a small wire stand that I used the leaves from a big red mulberry (about 8″ across, almost foot long) to line it.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Wow, great idea to use resources you already have to line your baskets!
Kathleen says
I want to put succulents in my hanging baskets, I don’t want to hold moisture in the way I would for other plants. Will the fabric drain enough for succulents?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, this fabric drains quickly. I have succulents planted in mine, and they are very happy! 🙂
Liz says
I’ve used old synthetic clothing fabric as basket liners.
They work a treat, & so far have lasted about 6 years, with no sign of degrading.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome, thanks for sharing your experience with using synthetic clothing fabric to line your wire baskets. Great idea!
J. Zinni says
I’ve used the landscape fabric for a number of years and it’s a great time and money saver. Instead of using wire to ensure the liner doesn’t slip and shed soil, I used small black binder clips from the office supply store to secure the fabric to the wire frame (especially necessary if the spaces between wire supports are wide). You can pinch off the silver “arms” of the clips so the remaining black clip just blends in with the landscape fabric.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Thanks for sharing how you attached the landscaping fabric to the wire basket. Great idea!
Libbi says
I used an old gray t-shirt last year and it is still going strong. I just turned it upside down and inside out. It has worked out well to line an old milk carton I used to plant strawberries.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Wonderful, thanks for sharing your cheap alternative coco liner solution with us! So fun to hear other success stories.
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.