Just wondered if anyone had any good tips for putting a drainage hole in a terracotta pot.I bought a sort of 'half strawberry pot' from Tesco for £3.97 the other day & only realised when I got home that it didn't have any drainage hole in the bottom.I'm going to use it for sempervivums which like a lot of drainage otherwise I would have taken a chance with just a good layer of gravel in the bottom.The only thing I can think of is sticking some masking tape in the bottom & trying to drill through it very slowly with a small masonry drill bit, does anyone have a better idea? I don't want to end up cracking it (it might crack in winter anyway as it's made in China & probably not frost proof!)

I'd go for the masking tape and slow drill approach, may be worth trying a pilot hole to start with and working upwards from that. More the question, why are Tesco selling them without drainage holes in the first place, I know plenty of people who wouldn't have the tools to drill them and find it difficult enough with plastic tubs. Pretty cheap though!

Thanks Alison, I fell for it with the plastic tubs from there as well.I tried drilling one of them & nearly ripped the tub to pieces! I found the best way with them was to take a thick nail & heat the end of it over a gas flame & push it through the bottom of the pot a few times.

A heated nail. That sounds like a great idea Sue - I nearly lost my fingers last week trying to drill into a plastic container! Did you really get a terracotta pot from Tesco for £3.49?? I've searched on the internet for a terracotta strawberry pot, but to no avail.

SueA I'm lucky I leave all that to my OH!
Bernie aka Dexterdog

I've never had any problems drilling holes in plastic pots. Must use slow speed or a hand drill, though. As for terracotta I've never tried. I would say definitely use masking tape and a slow speed - wish you luck. Terracotta is porous so any excess water should leak through the sides or evaporate. I think I would go for the thick layer of gravel/crocks and hope for the best.

I would have thought you'd want it reasonable fast or it will never cut through it. I would put it on a bag of sand as that will help absorb some of the vibrations and don't have it on hammer!!

I use a hand drill for plastic pots - but I can't imagine why on earth anyone would sell a terracotta strawb pot without drainage holes!

Thought you might like to see how I went on.I managed to drill a small hole in the pot without cracking it by using 2 different size drill bits (starting with a smaller one), resting the pot in a bag of compost (didn't have any sand to hand Nick) & using a medium speed.I left it at one as I didn't want to push my luck. The pot was £3.97 Jennie but it was the last one on the shelf so maybe it was the end of a line, maybe someone realised how daft it was to produce a pot with no drainage for strawberries!

My husband has drilled holes in terracotta pots for me with no mishaps. So long as you use a slow speed and take your time you should be ok.

Originally Posted by nick the grief

....I would put it on a bag of sand as that will help absorb some of the vibrations and don't have it on hammer!!

LOL! I was going to say something about checking you hadn't got it on hammer drill!

Last summer I got bored with all the cheap ceramic/porcelain houseplant pots I'd accumulated. Knowing I'd gone off keeping houseplants I thought I'd put them to good use. So with masking tape and electric drill & a decent masonary drillbit I put a drainage hole in them all (no breakages either) and used them for potting up my geraniums - much better!

As the drilling has been successful Sue, you really got a bargain!

If you can soak the pot in water for a couple of hours and use a masonry drill bit . Drill slow but firmly stopping ever so often to spray with water.

Well, as they asked 5 years ago - I'm supposing they either sorted it or lived without it.

What is it with all these old threads getting reposted on? Am I missing something?

Originally Posted by zazen999

Am I missing something?

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