How to Make Tire Planters

Tire planters are an eco-friendly way to beautify your immediate vicinity. They can be made in the simplest possible manner and that too, within the span of 15 minutes! If you have some old tires lying on the shelf, and if you don't want to throw them away, here are some tips on how to make tire planters.

Things You'll Need

1. Old tires
2. A sharp knife or a scissor
3. A white chalk
4. Water and a cloth to clean
5. A plastic dish or a plastic coated cardboard
6. Mud
7. Plants
8. Paints and brushes
9. Iron/Steel chain

Steps to Make a Tire Planter
1. Take an old tire and clean it well with water and a cloth. Remove the air, if present in the rubber tube. Make sure you have cleaned all the mud and stains on the outer area of the tire.

2. Remove the tube and the rim from the tire. You may need to use your leg and then pull the tube out or make use of a screw driver or a sharp knife.
3. Once the tube has been removed, cut it along its circumference so that it opens. Clean the tube with water after you have opened it.

4. Take a white chalk and draw some petals on the outer edge of the tube. After you have finished drawing, cut it along the border of the shapes.
5. Now comes an important task. Place the tube inside the tire and make sure that the shapes drop out of the tire.

6. Once that is done, you need a base to the tire so that you can put mud inside. For this, make use of a plastic or a light aluminum vessel which you think will fit inside the tire. So, do take into consideration the size of the vessel. Fix the vessel well inside the tire.

7. You can either leave the tire and the tube as it is or can paint it in bright colors. Make use of yellow, red or blue to make it even more attractive. Color the 'petals' in contrast colors.
8. Now, your tire is ready. The last thing you need to do is to fill mud in the vessel. Add some water and fill some mud again till the brim.

9. Bring a plant from a nursery, preferably a climber or a flowering plant and plant it in the mud in such a way that it would spread when it grows.
10. Select those plants which grow fast and need less maintenance. You can plant mini tomatoes which look very pretty when the plant grows fully. Also, planting potatoes in the tire is a good idea.

Once you are done with the planting, make use of a screw driver and make a hole in the top half of the tire. If you find it difficult to do it with the help of a screw driver, heat the tip of the screw driver and then make a hole. That will be easier.
11. When that is done, put an iron or steel chain with a hook at each end through that hole.

12. Hang the tire planter in your garden or in your house to gladden the atmosphere!
13. Make one or two small holes in the bottom of the vessel to drain the extra water and prevent the harm to the roots of the plants.

• Bluebird
• Rose
• Lily
• Tomato
• Mock Orange
• Periwinkle
• Lemon
• Burdock

• Money Plant Climber
• Hop Clover
• Jasmine
• Mustard
• Orange Grass
• Tansy
• Mimosa

Another thing that you can try with an old tire is to cut the tire in half and use both the parts. You can give a beautiful 'swing' look to it. Take one half of the tire and fill it with mud till the brim. Plant climbers or your favorite plants in the mud.

Make a hole on both the ends of the tire. Now, get a chain having a hook at both ends. Fix the hooks through the holes and hang it. Don't forget to color these 'swings' bright. I am sure you'll like it!

These were some of the standard ways to make a tire planter. You can add to the beauty by planting flowering plants of similar colors one beside the other leaving very less space between them so that when they grow to their fullest, they will look like a wonderful color pallet of similar shades.

Let the color of the tire complement the colors of the flowers. lastly, if this doesn't work or if the tire is huge and cannot be hanged, then simply fill mud and use it like a 'tire pot'.

Thus, try making tire planters as much as you can as they hardly cost much and beautify your surrounding. They help make the environment greener and promote re-usability. Try out different color combination and a variety of plants and make it look even more creative!