GB2280344A - Plant container - Google Patents

Abstract

A plant container (1) comprises a base section (3) with uninterrupted sides and at least one upper section (23), the lower part of which will fit inside the base section (3) and having a plurality of open ended recesses (27) in the lower part thereof. The arrangement is such that when the base section (3) and the upper section (23) are assembled together, the closed ends of the open ended recesses (27) extend above the upper edge of the base section (3), so that plants may pass therethrough. The container (1) may be hung on a suspending chain (17) and details of the attachment thereof are described (see Figure 2). Base section (3) is attached to a dish (11). <IMAGE>

Description

PLANT CONTAINER This invention relates to a plant container.

Plant containers in the form of pots or other receptacles are used for display purposes and may be either ground based, as in the form of tubs, or be hung from hooks or the like in the form of hanging pots, baskets etc.

In the case, particularly of hanging baskets, not only is it often desired to have plants and flowers extending upwardly from the upper surface of the soil, compost or the like located in the pot, but to have the pot itself covered on its sides by further plants. A number of methods of achieving this purpose have been proposed in the past, ranking from a somewhat complicated construction of plant container in which a number of side cups are provided on the sides of the pot to arrangements in which the plants are held in a mossy base which is contained within a metal cage.In the first type, the interior of the cups communicate with the interior soil or compost of the pot whereby both nourishment and water, present in or supplied to the main soil surface of the pot, can spread into the side cups so as to nourish the plants in the side cups. ProXems arise in both cases in suitably planting the plants which are to cover, or partially cover, the sides of the pot or cage and, in the first case, only a relatively small number of cups can usefully be provided, thus reducing the plant coverage and also requiring the use of relatively small plants which will fit in the cups concerned.

The present invention seeks to provide a plant container in which some or all of the above disadvantages are obviated or substantially reduced.

According to the invention, the plant container comprises a base pot section with uninterrupted sides and at least one upper section, the lower part of which will fit inside the base section and having a plurality of open ended recesses in the lower part thereof, the arrangement being such that when the base section and the upper section are assembled together, the closed ends of the open ended recesses extend above the upper edge of the base section.

The recesses are intended to pass over plants planted in the base section leaving the upper parts of plants extending outwardly so as to protrude from the sides of the pot.

Any suitable number of upper sections may be provided, positioned one on top of the other, so that a plurality of rings of recesses are provided round the complete container.

Suitably all the sections of the pot taper outwardly in the upward direction so that all the sections can nest together and the upper sections can be identical.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a prospective view of one embodiment of plant container in accordance with the invention, and Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line II-II of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, a plant container 1 for displaying plants comprises a base section 3 which is generally a frusto-conical shape having a generally closed bottom portion 5 suitably provided with drainage apertures 7.

The underside of the bottom section also has a number of projections 9, suitably three, by means of which it may be attached to a dish 11 which receives any water draining out of the base section 3. The upper part of the base section 3 has a rim 13 under which a ring 15 of chain or wire is located. To this ring 15 is attached a hanging chain or wire 17, suitably in three strands, by means of which the container 1 can be hung from a hook or similar device. In order to locate the hanging wire or chain 17, the rim 13 of the base section is suitably provided with three apertures or recesses 19.

Positioned above the base section are two upper sections 21 and 23, both of which comprise generally frusto-conical tube elements arranged so that the narrowest diameter of each of the sections fits into the largest diameter portion of the next lower section.

It will be appreciated that while two upper sections are shown, any suitable number of sections may be used together. As can be seen, the uppermost 23 of the upper sections is constructed slightly differently to the intermediate section 21 in that it is provided with a top rim or lip 25 so as to finish off the container 1 with a lip in the usual way. Each of the two upper sections 21 and 23 has at its lower edge a number of open ended recesses 27, the open end being situated at the lower edge of the section so as to form a type of castellated appearance. Each of the upper sections 21 and 23 has a lower portion 29 and 31 of reduced diameter which permits the lower part of the section to fit into the upper part of the next lower section and be positioned vertically in line therewith.The rim of the upper section is provided with a three recesses or apertures 33 so that the supporting chain 17, which has been attached to the ring 15 and recesses or apertures 19 in the base section 3, can pass around the upper end of the container 1 in specifically defined positions so as to suitably locate the chain 17. To provide additional support, a wire or chain ring 35 may be located under the rim 25 for attachment of the wire or chain 17 thereto.

In addition, the intermediate section 21 may also be provided with a wire or chain ring 37 and may be provided with three lugs 39 or other guiding arrangements for the attachment and guiding of the chain 17.

The operation of the plant container, when being used for planting, will now be described: In order to make use of the plant container 1, the base section 3 is first filled with soil, compost or the like up to a point which would be substantially level with the lower end of the intermediate section 21. Plants are then planted around the exterior of the base section 3, these plants being plants which it is desired to use to provide at least partial cover of the exterior of the container 1 when the intermediate section 21 is placed onto the base section 3 with the plants in the base section held down so as to protrude through the recesses 27 in the lower part of the intermediate section 21.

With the intermediate section 21 in place on the base section 3, it is filled with soil, compost or the like and a second ring of plants is planted. The uppermost section 23 is then placed onto the intermediate section 21 with the plants being held down as before to pass through the apertures formed by the recesses 27.

Finally the uppermost section 23 is filled with soil, compost or the like and the top area thus formed is planted with further plants.

With a choice of suitable plants it will be found that the entire upper surface of the plant container, with the exception of the underneath part, will be covered, producing an elegant display. Once the planting has been completed, the chain or wire 17 can be attached to the various chain or wire rings 15, 35 and 37 and guided by the various guiding arrangements 19, 33 and 39 and can then be attached to a hook or the like (not shown). The chain or wire 17 may be preformed so that it has a ring at the top and hooks arranged to engage the various rings 15, 35 and 37.

It would be appreciated that various modifications may be made to the above described embodiment, without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, if the plant container is to stand on the ground, the attachment of the chain may be omitted, the base section merely standing straight in a separate tray or being placed directly on the ground.

In order to reduce the number of parts required for a receptacle or pot, the two upper sections can be made to be identical, only the base section needing to be different. Any suitable number of intermediate sections may be provided so that a receptacle or pot of any desired height may be produced.

If desired, the wire or chain rings may be omitted, the suspending chain being connected directly to apertures or the like in the rim of the base and the rims of the upper sections as may be necessary to provide stability and rigidity of the container.

Claims (9)

1. A plant container comprising a base pot section with uninterrupted sides and at least one upper section, the lower part of which will fit inside the base section and having a plurality of open ended recesses in the lower part thereof, the arrangement being such that when the base section and the upper section are assembled together, the closed ends of the open ended recesses extend above the upper edge of the base section.

2. A plant container as claimed in Claim 1, wherein at least two upper sections are provided so as to provide at least one intermediate section and a top section.

3. A plant container as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the top section and the intermediate section(s) are identical.

4. A plant container as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein all sections of the pot are tapered outwardly in the upward direction such that all sections can nest together.

5. A plant container as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the or each of the upper sections has a lower portion of reduced diameter which permits the lower part of the section to fit into the upper part of the next lower section and to be positioned vertically in line therewith.

6 A plant container as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the bottom section has a number of projections by means of which it may be attached to a dish for receiving water draining out of the base section.

7. A plant container as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the upper part of the base pot section has a rim under which a ring of wire or chain is located, this ring being attached to a hanging chain or wire by means of which the container can be hung from a hook or similar device.

8. A plant container as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the rim of the upper section is provided with recesses or apertures so that the hanging chain attached to the chain ring of the base section can pass around the upper end of the container in specifically defined positions.

9. A plant container substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.