Whiskey barrels make great planters due to their size, strength, and natural beauty of oak. You can find whiskey barrel planters at your local home center or on Craigslist. They are usually cut in half and ready for soil and plants, but they require a bit more preparation before using them.
Oak whiskey barrels are available in a variety of patinas to fit your style. Sometimes you can’t be choosy, but if you are looking for a clean new barrel they can be found if you look long enough.
More often you’ll find older whiskey barrels that have served their life aging whiskey or some other type of alcohol. These are great as they have a one-of-a-kind look and are given a new life as a planter.
We’ve always loved the look of whiskey barrels and figured they were the perfect size for our new plants. They are definitely a better option than the large plastic planters and less expensive than terra cotta or clay pots.
A big drawback is that they are heavy. Not as heavy as clay pots, but still heavy and a bit unwieldy to move. Bring a friend when you go to purchase them and once you plant your tree or plants you’ll want to make sure you place the whiskey barrel in a location that it will live.
We recently picked up a couple of strawberry trees (Arbutus Unedo) for free on Craigslist. They were planted in ground and had their root ball severely damaged.
We wanted to try and save these trees before they went into the chipper but we have no extra ground room. Instead we opted to plant these in large whiskey barrels, with hopes that they regain their root system and flourish and provide us with even more rich vegetation in our yard and shade.
We procured our 1/2 whiskey barrels at Home Depot and grabbed some soil and a bit of fertilizer. These 1/2 barrels are probably about 20 gallons and are super heavy and awkward to move. We piled them into the back of the truck and positioned them without much trouble.
But before we added soil and the tree we needed to cut some drainage holes. We cut five holes using a 1″ spade bit. Strawberry trees are very hardy but do require proper drainage to thrive.
We covered the bottom of the holes to keep soil from falling out, by using some garden bed fabric. We stapled the fabric to the underside and then flipped the barrel over and added a base of soil before setting the tree in the bottom.
In hindsight, a better solution would have been to line the inside of the barrel with soil fabric which would have been a more secure solution.
We’ve also raised the barrel off the ground using pavers so it can breathe on the bottom and properly drain and dry out.
The leaves haven’t completely turned and after a few days we see the top of the plant has looked healthier but we’re still not out of the woods yet. After the second watering we’ll see if these trees will last.
Our tree is looking a bit sad right now, but with the proper care they should start thriving in their new whiskey barrel home.
