I always see a plant container in every vessel I find. If it can hold soil, it can be a planter. So, when I saw this huge funnel in my parent’s garage, I knew it would be a perfect hanging plant holder. So, I decided to upcycle dad’s antique funnel for my cactus

Dad’s antique metal funnel

Dad’s funnel

Dad isn’t with us anymore, but Mom said I could have it. I’m not sure how he would feel about this, but I think he would like it. I have a mistletoe cactus-Disocactus (Pseudorhipsalis) ramulosa ‘Bill’s Red’ that has been in an undersized pot for quite some time. You can tell from the pictures that it has a lot of dried out, dead stems. This funnel is probably a little large for this plant but I am going to be extra careful when I water it and I think it will be just fine.

Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa ‘Bill’s Red’ (Disocactus)

I see that this name has been changed since I wrote this. I thought I would add a bit of information about this cactus. It is a jungle cactus from Central and South America where it grows in trees as an epiphyte. It needs good drainage as it would normally not be growing in soil at all. Don’t keep it wet, but it would prefer not to dry out. From what I’ve read, it needs good bright light, but not full sun, yet it is shown turning a nice red color in bright light. Mine hangs in the sunroom and the side that gets the south sun does turn a slight red, so I don’t think in our houses we need to worry about it getting too much sun. If it seems like it is getting burnt, which would probably show itself as brown, dry spots, move it to a less bright spot. If it flowers, you will get those cool white pearl-like berries, that give it the mistletoe name.

See things a new way

The point of this post is to show you that it is always a good idea to look at things in a new way. This funnel had a completely different use than holding plants. Gas and plants definitely do not mix. It hadn’t been used for a long time and I washed it out a couple of times to make sure no gas remained. It already had a screen in the bottom but I put window screen over it anyway. I drilled 2 more holes equidistant from one another to hang the chains and bought chain and s-hooks at the local hardware to use as the hangers. I used soil appropriate for cacti, and potted it up, watered it and now won’t water it again for quite a while, as there is a lot of soil around the root ball.

The finished product.

Disocactus ramulosa ‘Bill’s Red’

Disocactus ramulosa ‘Bill’s Red’

I had fun making this and I love that it was something that my dad used. Take a look in your or your parent’s basement or garage because  you never know what you might find. Have you found a family “treasure” and used it for your plants?

Have a great day!