Did you ever grow one of those really tall plants that just refuses to stand up? And even if you do balance it well, a slight breeze comes along and…

There are a number of techniques that can be used for stabilizing pots, preventing such tipping, mainly by increasing the weight of the base:

• Place the pot inside of a larger, clay flower pot.
• Use heavy, coarse quartz rocks as the “filler” in the bottom of the pot. It also serves as good drainage.

One of my preferences (because it does not require repotting) is to increase the footprint of the pot to give it more stability. I do so by taking a spare piece of wooden board and attaching a hook to hold the pot:

Here’s how to build it:

• Measure the diameter of the pot.
• Choose a more-or-less square (or round) piece of board that is at least one-third the overall height of the plant and pot – the larger, the better.
• Drill a small hole half the pot diameter – plus about 1/8″ – from the center of the board.
• Bend a piece of heavy, stiff wire into this modified “L” shape. The upper part should be about 3″ taller than the pot.

• Insert the wire up through the hole from the bottom of the board.
• Turn the board over and using a hammer, pound the wire into the board until it is flat with the bottom.
• Place the pot on the center of the board and bend the wire over the lip.

The board may be painted to fit with – or “disappear” into – your surroundings.