Upside Down Gardening: Sky Planter by Patrick Morris

By turning houseplants upside down, designer Patrick Morris has created a container that saves water and doesn't take up valuable floor space — an important factor in small space living.

The Sky Planters are made of ceramic and have a special reservoir for watering (it reduces drips and evaporation) and a unique mechanism that holds the plant and soil.

Sky Planters are distributed by Morris's company, Boskke and are available for purchase from Thorsten Van Elten and Rockett St. George. Has anyone seen them in the US?

I'm excited to try this in my apartment — my limited natural light is mostly near the ceiling (bizarrely enough). I imagine certain species of plants would take to an upside-down life very well, and others, not so much. Any suggestions for upside down plants?

Via: The Style Files.

Comments (11)

Not at all liking the upside-down plants, but loving the heavy patina-ed concrete in the first 2 pics!

posted by mirandabee on August 18th 2009 at 2:27pm
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why isn't the armshell straight on the base?

posted by liam. on August 18th 2009 at 2:30pm
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I think the old hippie stand-by "spider plant" would be a swell candidate for upside-downess. Once it sent out a bunch of satellite baby plants, it would start to look like a chandelier!

posted by magbot on August 18th 2009 at 2:50pm
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There's got to be a Morning After.

posted by btoddster on August 18th 2009 at 2:55pm
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CATS! and the plants grow pointing to the ceilling 'member?

posted by Vicadin on August 18th 2009 at 3:34pm
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some orchids and other epiphytes should do pretty well upside-down, since many of them cling to trees and naturally hang in all sorts of funny ways to find light.

posted by ghunt on August 18th 2009 at 3:36pm
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I would love to see these in a room where you had one upside-down and an identical-shaped one right-side-up. Preferably with the same kind of plant in them, so that it was ALMOST like looking at a playing card.

posted by Curtis on August 18th 2009 at 3:45pm
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This is not natural and in the end it just ads stress to the plants... and they will eventually turn upwards....

There are several orchid flowers that hang from the bottom of the plant, but the leaves project upward... These phalaenopsis are not that case....

As a temporary arrangement i guess is ok....

i don't like any of it in the slightest bit...

posted by manu_pty on August 18th 2009 at 5:04pm
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Sorry... not feeling the topsy-turvy plants. I hate these just as much as I hate the upside-down tomato planters I see around town. I drove by a house that had 10 (yes, I counted them) hanging from the eaves. Eek.

Besides, if you plant a houseplant with an upright habit in one of these pots, the stems will likely bend upwards and still grow towards the ceiling.

posted by Teresa on August 18th 2009 at 5:13pm
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Isn't there a simple concept called Phototropism that will end up turning all the plants upside-down anyway? (well, I guess in this case, right-side up) Then you'll just have plants curving back straight up toward the light.

Don't really see the benefit. They're houseplants, they do fine watering from a can. It's not like your front yard and snaking hose underneath the ground.

posted by ErikTheRed on August 19th 2009 at 8:38am
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apparently, this designer hasn't heard of gravitropism in plants.

erikthered, it's not phototropism because plants will turn right-side-up even in the dark. i just did these experiments with my 6th graders for botany camp.

posted by pedalpowered on August 19th 2009 at 3:41pm
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