Gardening can be a whole lot of fun. You get to grow your own plants and see the results. Sure, flowers are nice to look at, but fruits, vegetables, and herbs are great too. With all of that being said, if you live in a colder climate, gardening can be a challenge.
Of course, you just can’t grow any of these things outdoors when it is below freezing. For this reason, you might be looking for a way to do some gardening indoors.
Well, a great way to garden indoors, while also saving space, is to use an indoor vertical garden. There are plenty of indoor vertical gardens out there to choose from, and this can make things a bit difficult.
This is what we are here to help you with today. We’re here to help you find the best indoor vertical garden at the market has to offer. Let’s get to it and take a look at the top five contenders.
Comparison Chart
Hanging Planter Meiwo New Upgraded 7 Pocket Vertical Garden Wall Planter for Indoor Plant Hangers Wall Hanging Garden Yard Home Decoration
6-Ft Raised Garden Bed – Vertical Garden Freestanding Elevated Planter with 4 Container Boxes – Good for Patio or Balcony Indoor and Outdoor (1, Forest Green)
Active Gear Guy Vertical Hanging Outdoor Wall Planter with 36 Felt Pockets to Hold Living or Artificial Plants, Flowers, and Herbs, Great Décor for Patios, Gardens, and Entryways, Lightweight
Best Indoor Vertical Gardens: Reviews
1. Meiwo 7 Pocket Hanging Planter
Here we have a space efficient hanging planter that’s super convenient and easy to use. It might not take up a lot of space, but it can certainly fit a lot of plants. Moreover, it also comes in at a more than reasonable price.
Review
This is a hanging planter that comes complete with seven pockets to grow plants in. Of course, it is a vertical system, so all plants are on top of each other.
Right off the bat, this shape is beneficial due to irrigation and watering. If you overwater the plants on the top, the water will drain out into the plants below. This helps prevent overwatering and helps control moisture levels.
That said, at the very bottom of this vertical planter, there is a waterproof layer. This means that water won’t leak out all over your floor and cause damage.
At the same time, the entirety of the rear of this vertical planter also features a waterproof layer. This helps to ensure that water doesn’t seep through and damage the wall behind the planter.
Speaking of hanging this planter, it is very easy to do. It comes with two large loops at the top. You can hang it up somewhere, you can use zip ties, and you can install it using nails as well.
Just make sure that you attach it somewhere solid because this unit is going to hold a lot of weight. What is convenient is that due to its space efficient design, you can hang multiples beside each other easily.
One thing that does stand out is how large each of the seven pockets are. Each of the seven pockets has enough room to hold roughly 5 pounds of soil.
The pockets are also designed to be very wide and very deep. This is more than large enough to effectively grow a wide variety of plants. It’s great for flowers, berries, vegetables, and more.
The other thing worth mentioning is that this vertical planter is made out of very durable materials. It is made out of felt cloth. What is ideal about this felt cloth is that it is self-absorbing, so it does hold onto some moisture. It is also designed to be very breathable, so your plants get more than enough oxygen.
Pros
- Durable felt
- Large pockets
- Ideal for various plants
- Space efficient
- Waterproof backing and bottom
- Ideal for irrigation and oxygenation
- Easy to hand
Cons
- Needs a really strong backing to hang from
- Requires watering very often
2. Outland Living Freestanding Vertical Garden
Here is a great vertical garden for people who don’t want to hang it on a wall. This is a freestanding vertical garden that comes complete with its own frame and stand. It also features four fairly large planter boxes for a variety of flowers.
Review
First of all, this particular vertical garden is 6 feet tall. It comes complete with its own frame and stand. In other words, it is freestanding and does not require you to mount or hang it anywhere. This is of course very convenient, because you don’t have to go looking for wall studs or anything of this sort.
That said, the frame does need to be assembled. However, it is fairly easy to assemble. This is especially the case if you have somebody helping you.
We do like how durable the frame is, as it is made out of high quality metal. It can certainly hold more than enough weight to support all four of the planter boxes and the contents.
Speaking of the planter bins, as mentioned, you get four of them. What is worth noting is that these are plastic bins that are made out of food safe polypropylene. They don’t contain any mercury, lead, or BPA. They’re perfectly safe to grow edible foods inside of.
In terms of the size, each planter box is 26.5 inches long, 8 inches tall, and 9.5 inches wide. Each one can hold up to 28 liters or 25.6 quarts of soil. This should be more than large enough for a wide variety of flowers, small plants, and herbs.
Going back to the frame and the stand, there is one very convenient aspect here. Although this is a vertical garden, it is designed in such a way so that light can get to all four of the planter boxes. The stand is slightly curved, so that no planter boxes are directly above the other. This means that each planter box can get a maximum amount of sunlight with ease.
You might also appreciate how this unit comes complete with the so called cascading water system. In simplest terms, each planter box has a hole in the bottom that lets water drain out. This means that over watering your plants is not easily done.
Excess water will drain out the bottom. It does come complete with one plug so you can plug one of the holes. This is designed so you can plug the bottom hole so that water doesn’t leak out over your floor. That said, this does create somewhat of an issue when it comes to overwatering the bottom planter.
Pros
- No hanging or mounting
- Solid frame
- Cascading water system
- Planters have plenty of space
- Design allows for maximum sunlight
- Food safe plastic planters
- Affordable price
Cons
- Assembly required
- Issue of overwatering the bottom planter
3. Allgreen Vertical Wall Planter
Here we have a slightly smaller indoor vertical hanging garden from the others we have looked at so far. However, it does come complete with a very nice wooden frame. As you might be able to tell, this unit is designed to look very nice. It comes with a really nice trellis backing that is aesthetically appealing.
Review
One of the things that does stand out about this particular vertical wall planter is the fact that you can stand it up. It has the ability to be freestanding and thanks to the solid wooden frame, you can just stand it up anywhere.
That said, it is technically designed to be hung from a wall. This, therefore, means that you do need a solid backing to hang it from, something that can handle the weight.
Although mounting it on a wall is not overly difficult, you do need to find the right space for it. Yes, it comes with mounting hardware for walls and fences included.
We would like to mention that this is one of the best looking vertical gardens out there. Of course, this has a lot to do with that wooden frame.
Now, the wood is nothing overly special, fairly basic actually, but it does look very nice. It’s something that can work well both indoors and outdoors. It is also worth noting that the wood features a non-toxic and weather resistant sealant. This makes it fairly water resistant.
Moreover, this frame comes complete with various slots. This means that you can position the included planters as desired.
Next, you do get three planters included here. The planters themselves are somewhere under 2 feet long and 6 inches wide. They are more than large enough to house a variety of small plants, flowers, and herbs.
What is cool is that using those slots in the frame, you can insert the planters any way you see fit. Some people choose to just use two of the planter boxes and to have them a bit further spaced apart.
Furthermore, the bottom of each planter features holes to allow water to drain out. This should help prevent you from overwatering your plants.
It also allows water to cascade from the above plants down to the bottom plants. We would also like to say that everything here is very durably built, which includes both the frame and the planters.
Pros
- Wall mounted, fence mounted, or freestanding
- Very nice looking wooden frame
- Weather resistant
- 3 planters included
- Adjustable planter position
- Mounting hardware included
- Cascading irrigation system
Cons
- Not exactly budget friendly
- Slots are not 100% level
4. Active Gear Guy Hanging Wall Planter
If you are looking for a vertical hanging planter that comes with plenty of pockets, this is it. Now, do keep in mind that this is technically an outdoor hanging garden.
That said, there is really absolutely no reason why you couldn’t hang it up indoors as well. As long as you have a good wall to hang it from, it will work just fine.
Review
Right off the bat, this particular unit comes complete with 36 separate pockets. It features six rows of six pockets. Now, each of the pockets aren’t overly large. However, they are small enough to fit about a pound or more of soil, or to fit a small pot.
Each of these pockets is enough for a few flowers or a small herb bush. It’s a pretty convenient hanging planter if you want a lot of variety and you like having small plants.
Also worth mentioning is that these pockets are made with high quality felt cups. These felt cups are quite durable and they definitely shouldn’t break anytime soon. What is also convenient is that these felt cups are very breathable. This means that the roots of your plants get more than enough oxygen.
At the same time, these felt cups also allow for proper moisture control. They allow enough moisture to stay in the soil, while also removing a decent amount to prevent overwatering.
If you do overwater the plants at the top, the water will cascade down to the plants below. It’s another irrigation feature that is quite beneficial and convenient.
Now, what does need to be said is at the bottom doesn’t feature any kind of waterproof layer. This means that if you have it indoors, and you overwater your plants, the water will drain out onto the floor. Therefore, it’s ideal to have some kind of water catching apparatus below it.
In terms of mounting this unit, this is fairly easily done. You can use hooks, screws, or nails to mount it to any wall or sturdy surface.
Just remember that you do need to mount it to wall studs in order to support the weight. Although it might not look like it, this hanging planter is going to get quite heavy, so it needs to be well supported.
Pros
- Ideal for 36 small plants
- Durable felt pockets
- Water drains to the plants below
- Felt is breathable
- Easy to mount
- Very reasonable price
Cons
- Overwatering will cause water to leak to the floor below
- Not ideal for large plants (or really even for medium size plants)
5. Vertical Garden Planter
Here we have what is by far the most expensive vertical garden planter on the list today. However, it is technically also one of the largest, and we would say probably also the very best. Let’s take a closer look at it.
Review
What we get here is a fairly large indoor or outdoor vertical planter. It comes in at 3.35 feet high. This does make it fairly sizable. Furthermore, it comes complete with a freestanding frame.
This means that you don’t have to mount it or hang it on any kind of wall. This is of course very convenient. You don’t have to worry about your wall being strong enough to support the weight.
The frame on this unit is made out of high quality steel. It’s definitely more than strong enough to hold the weight of the soil, the plants, and water too. On a side note, although it’s nothing overly special, the frame does look nice enough. It’s also really convenient because you can set it up anywhere you see fit.
In terms of the planter boxes, here you get five separate ones. Each box comes in at 6.25 by 19.5 by 8.25 inches. This makes each of the planter boxes fairly sizable. This means that you could easily fit small or even medium sized plans, flowers, and herb bushes inside of the planters.
One of the really convenient aspects here is that it’s not totally vertical. In other words, each of the planters are slightly offset. This allows sunlight to get to each of the planters with ease. None of the planters will block the sunlight for the other planters.
Moreover, this particular planter system also features a cascading irrigation system. In other words, each of the planters have a few holes in the bottom. This allows water to drain out of each of the planters. Therefore, if you overwater any of them, the water will drain out into the planters below.
Yes, there is a plug included so the water won’t drain out from the very bottom. Although, that said, this does raise the issue of overwatering the bottom planter.
We would also like to note that each of the planters are made out of 100% food safe polypropylene. This means that you can grow herbs and foods inside of them without having to worry about toxic materials.
Pros
- Strong and durable frame
- Looks fairly nice
- Large planters with plenty of space
- Good irrigation system
- Offset planters to allow for maximum sun exposure
- Can be set up anywhere
Cons
- Expensive
- Issue of the bottom planter being overwatered
Buyers Guide
When choosing an indoor vertical garden, there are a few important considerations that you need to keep in mind. Let’s help you buy the best possible vertical indoor garden that your money can buy.
1. Weight Load
One of the most important things to consider here is how sturdy the indoor vertical garden in question is. You definitely need something that is more than strong enough to hold up all of that weight. All of that soil and water is going to get quite heavy.
If you have one that hangs on the wall, then the material needs to be very durable. You also need to ensure that you mount it to an area that has the ability to support all that weight. If you have a freestanding version, then you want a durable metal frame that can also support a lot of weight.
2. Waterproofing
You then also want to look for an option that has some kind of waterproofing feature. Now, the planters themselves should not necessarily be waterproofed to allow for good drainage and irrigation.
However, there should be some waterproof aspects to help protect your walls and floors from becoming wet and damaged. Some of the options we have looked at today have waterproof bases to prevent water from running out onto the floor. Although, that said, this is not always going to be the case.
3. Drainage
Another important thing to lookout for here is drainage. Of course, if you overwater your plants, they’re going to die. Therefore, each of the planters needs to have some kind of drainage system to allow excess water to drain out. If a planter does not have this, you are likely to overwater and kill your plants.
4. Ventilation, Lighting, and Microclimate
You then also need to make sure that your plants can get enough sunlight. The best indoor vertical gardens will be slightly offset so that none of the plants are directly on top of each other.
This will therefore allow for good light exposure. You then also want to make sure that the planters have decent ventilation. Those roots need to be able to get oxygen. Having the right amount of light, oxygen, and moisture is important.
5. Irrigation
Most indoor vertical planters then also come with an irrigation system. Most come with simple cascading irrigation systems. This means that water drains out of the planters on top into the planters below.
FAQ
1. What grows best in a vertical garden?
Vertical gardens are ideal for growing a wide variety of plants. These could include small shrubs and flowers. This could also include a variety of small herb bushes. There are then also many vegetables, fruits, and leafy greens that you can grow in a vertical garden.
2. What vegetables grow well vertically?
In terms of vegetables, plants like leaf lettuce, kale, mustard green, cabbage, spinach, eggplant, garlic, onions, small peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and more can all be grown in vertical gardens.
3. What herbs grow well in a vertical garden?
Generally speaking, you can grow any and every herb in a vertical garden. This could include but is not limited to chives, basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and more.
4. Are vertical gardens easy to maintain?
Yes, this is the beauty of a vertical garden. Due to the way in which they are positioned and because of their irrigation systems, they are super easy to maintain.
5. How often should you water a vertical garden?
There is no set rule as to how often a vertical garden needs to be watered. It all depends on how dry the soil is when you go to check. If the top inch of the soil is dry, it’s time to water your plants.
Conclusion
If you are looking for something simple, affordable, and effective, it’s the Meiwo 7 Pocket Hanging Planter that we recommend. It looks decent, is durable, and has everything you need to keep your plants alive with ease.