The Easiest DIY Plant Wall

It’s no secret that I love plants! I’ve found the Easiest DIY Plant wall! It takes just 1 hour to make AND you don’t need any tools!

Indoor plant walls are a beautiful way to display your plants! I wanted to have a test tube plant propagation station in my house for quite some time. I have a DIY peg shelf in my kitchen with plants, but honestly most of the time it doesn’t look very aesthetic. It’s full of mail, and kids crafts and forms (small home problems!). I wanted a spot dedicated just to propagation. I attempted a DIY test tube planter using test tubes and neodymium magnets but it was a fail. Somethings should not be DIY and just purchased instead. Also, these test tubes are much larger and the glass is thicker.

I got these cute durable test tubes which were really affordable. I simply hammered a nail into the wall and then hung the test tubes. Make sure that the nails you use are smaller than the test tubes. That way you can easily change the water when they get dirty. It’s such a great way to enhance boring walls.

How to pick the perfect wall for your wall planters

You can have this green wall almost any room, but here are a few tips to make sure the plants thrive and look aesthetic:

• Sunlight – Make sure you have lots natural sunlight. It’s not easy to attach a grow light to help the plants thrive when they are displayed vertically.
• Vertical space – This DIY plant wall is a great way to use vertical space. I live in a small space and it’s not always easy to store more plants (my plant obsession keeps growing!!). My ceiling in 9ft high. The plant component is approx 3ft wide x 5 ft tall.
• Pick the right plants – Not all plants can grow in water. Some plants need soil. I’ve found that trailing vines like monstera adansonii, golden pothos, silvery pothos and similar plants grow very well in water. Pilea and umbrella plants are also good candidates. If you want to use plants that need an irrigation system, you’ll need to hang the planter pots from the wall. You can propagate new plants and put them into the test tubes!
• The color of the wall – These usually look best against white walls so the green color of the leaves and natural beauty of the DIY plant wall pops!

I had this wall in my bathroom I had attempted to “wallpaper” as one of my first DIY projects. Now I like a much more modern look and the wallpaper is too busy for me. I wanted something a lot brighter and cleaner. I took down the wall paper off the entire wall and started fresh! As a plant enthusiast, a modern living plant wall is a great way to display and grow indoor plants!

Materials for your propagation station

• Propagation test tube (I used 12)
• 2 1/2″ Nails
• Hammer
• Measuring tape
• Level

Small plants – you can get cuttings from friends, or propogate cuttings from plants you get from your local nursery or local hardware store.

Let’s create a Test Tube Plant Propagation Station on your Bare Walls!

1. Measure your wall and determine the spacing of your test tubes. My wall is 40” wide and 9ft ceilings. I had a bit of a hard time when I was figuring out if the test tube should be centred on the wall, or above the toilet. Unfortunately the toilet is not centred in the space. ultimately I decided to centre them on top of the toilet

To figure out horizontal spacing: width of wall / (number of test tubes +1). In my case the test tubes at 10” apart

2. Using a level, mark your holes with a pencil

3. Using a hammer, nail the nails into the wall. Leave about 1″ outside the wall to hang the test tubes on. I did not find a need for any anchors or to go directly into studs. However when you put the nail in make sure you angle it a little bit upwards so that the test tube doesn’t slide off

4. Fill the test tubes with water add your favorite real plants! I used a variety of vines like golden Pothos, silvery Pothos, Monstera I do not see, and neon Pothos. I also added an umbrella tree and some fake IKEA plants for some variety.

Luckily I have a beautiful large window in this bathroom. If I did not have this window than I likely would use all fake plants.

How to maintain your plant wall

I find propagating plants in water to be a bit easier than the regular maintenance of my potted house plants. Here’s some simple steps to make sure your plants survive:

• Regular watering – Make sure to add more water if the plants start to drink it up, depending on how dry your home is. I usually top up the water 1x a week.
• Change the water – every 2-3 weeks, or as the water gets murky, I dump the old water, and refill with clean water. Having this wall in the bathroom has been really convenient because it is time consuming to care for the plants.
• Remove dead leaves – Your plant system will start developing roots after 2-3 weeks. If you start to see brown leaves, don’t fret. Carefully pull them off. The plants may be sending all the energy to the root system, which weakens the leaves. New leaves will grow in time.
• Repot – Once the plants develop roots that are 2″ long, you can transfer them to small pots. Use potting soil, pots with drainage holes and make sure they get plenty of sun! You can even gift different plants as party favors or teachers gifts!

Could I make this on an outdoor wall?

Outdoor plant walls are a great way to spruce up your deck or garden! Vertical gardening has become really popular in small homes and apartment balconies too! I don’t think these specific test tubes would hold up to the outdoor weather. But you could use an individual pot and mount it to the brick, fence, or a wooden board to create a similar look in outdoor spaces. Keep the plant pots small as a larger pot will be heavy and may not withstand high wind or rain.

Final thoughts on this DIY Plant Wall

The best part of this project is that it is a total beginner project. If you’re new to DIY, its an easy way to ease into projects! You just need a hammer and nails. You don’t need any power tools. I hope this gave you ideas for a living wall system that could go anywhere: a bedroom, living room, or bathroom! A perfect plant wall looks beautiful, but also lets the plants thrive. If you try this easy project, I would love to see it. Follow me on Instagram and make sure to share it with me!!!