Create A Hanging Hydroponic Garden With IKEA's Best-Selling Clothing Rack

One of the best parts about platforms like TikTok and Instagram is that they allow people to share their creative ideas. When it comes to home decor and aesthetics, you may stumble across the perfect solution for your space. While DIY hanging planters can help you rehome old glass jars, IKEA Australia's Instagram shows us a clever way to display hydroponic plant babies. This idea sees the IKEA EKRAR, which is sold as a hat and coat rack, filling a new role as a stand to hang your propagated cuttings while looking both effortless and chic. Plus, it offers you a slim, non-invasive design to add even more leafy friends to your home without taking up much-needed space.

Think of a year-round Christmas tree filled with your favorite trimmings, and the only decorations you need to supply are more cuttings in a glass tube or jar that can be hung from the protruding arms of the rack. Light and airy, this must-try trick will allow you to bring more greenery into your home that you can enjoy and care for in any season.

First, purchase the IKEA EKRAR and find a place in your home for it. The rack costs $19.99 and is 66.5 inches high and 24.75 inches wide, so it should fit into a variety of spaces. Next, it's wise to consider and map out which plants you plan to hydroponically grow, as the location of your rack will depend on how much sun and shade your chosen plants need. There are a variety of fruits, vegetables, and greens that can be grown hydroponically, including herbs, tomatoes, lettuce, peas, and strawberries. 

These are only a few houseplants that can thrive in a water-based environment, so research which you want to include. However, for the sake of ease and aesthetic, you might want to use propagated cuttings from spider plants, monsteras, pothos, philodendron, and snake plants. These common houseplants will look good inside glass tubes like these propagation tubes from Amazon ($9.99) or even these Amazon rounded vases ($9.99).

The key to picking out your glass holders is to ensure you have a way to secure them, either by tying fishing wire around the middle (or higher up) and gluing it to keep it in place, or purchasing vials that already have holes on the sides. You want both the glass and the string/wire/ribbon used to be durable, so it can hang on the rack without risk of falling or coming untied.

An important aspect of a hydroponic display is keeping an eye on your trimmings to know when they need to be transferred to a pot. It's best if you take down any glass vials or jars before they get too heavy when the plants begin to grow larger. Swap them out with new cuttings for your homemade hydroponic creation. You can easily transfer water-propagated plants (like philodendron and pothos) to soil, you just need to be prepared to avoid transplant shock. 

Take down each glass container to refill the water, being careful to avoid breakages and spills. To keep your hydroponic rack thriving, change the water once a week or more, and adding a fertilizer that is compatible with water propagation. When you change the water or before adding new trimmings, you can clean any mineral buildup with a common kitchen ingredient: white vinegar. Just be sure to thoroughly rinse your glass container before adding water and plants.