Anyone that knows me, knows I’m a huge Marvel fan! My absolute favorite character from the Guardians Of The Galaxy series will always be little Baby Groot. The fact that they were able to cram so much charisma into a character that is vocally limited to a three-word vocabulary, will forever amaze me.
What Are Planters?
Planters or flower pots are containers used to grow and display various types of plants or flowers. The container can be made from just about anything that is sturdy and doesn’t leech toxins into plant soil.
What Type Of Plants Will The Planter House?
A very important thing to consider before starting this project is the type of plant you plan on housing in your Groot head vase. Will it be an air plant… A succulent… Or maybe a flower of some type. The reason being is that some plants require watering and others do not. If you are planning on utilizing a plant or flower that requires watering, you will need to pour holes under your planter.
Air plants don’t require watering and succulents thrive off very little water. If you want this project to be a “low maintenance” project, maybe consider these types of plants.
Making The Baby Groot Head Planter
Once you have decided on what type of plant or flower you will be showcasing on your Baby Groot head, Its time to shop around for the right coconut! Think about the expression your Groot head will reflect. Keep in mind the long narrowness of Groot’s head when choosing that perfect coconut…
My favorite scenes from Guardian Of The Galaxy were the ones when Baby Groot got angry. I wanted to instill that adorable moment so I searched for the coconut shape that best captured that expression.
You may also want to consider buying two or three coconuts so you have an extra if you mess up or decide to change his facial expression.
Materials:
- Coconuts – Coconut shells make great planting pots as they are durable and will last a long time. https://amzn.to/2JSZ3o6
- Soil Media – I went with coco fiber but any type of potting mix that holds moisture well will work. https://amzn.to/2LPS2q9
- Plant – whatever plant you decided from earlier will be used to culture and showcase in the soil. https://amzn.to/2uNbq0r
Tools:
- Drill – This will make it easy to create holes in your coconut. https://amzn.to/2LGZWoZ
- Soldering Iron – This made sculpting much easier but not necessary. https://amzn.to/2O9WtO1
- Carving Knife – For carving out the facial features. https://amzn.to/2LzqTuA
- Permanent Black Marker – Used for sketching out the initial idea and coloring eyes. https://amzn.to/2Oe55Db
- Pliers – This will help break open the coconut in a more strategic way. https://amzn.to/2LloiF3
Constructing The Baby Groot Flower Pot:
- Let’s Start by drilling a hole into the top of the coconut so we can fit pliers into the top of the coconut. It will be a good time to drill your bottom hole as well if you plan on watering this planter frequently.
- Take your pliers and start to break away the top of the coconut. Keep in mind the shape of groots head while breaking away pieces.
- Once satisfied with the initial shape, clean out the inside of the coconut and boil away bacteria that might reside on the coconut shell. about half an hour should do the trick.
- Now that we have a decent shell to work with. we can start to draw out the facial features. Experiment with different expressions and positioning. You can always sand off mistakes later.
- Let’s start carving! I used the soldering iron to trace an outline of the eyes and mouth. This makes it easy to carve out the remaining pieces.
- Once satisfied with the results, color in the eyes and mouth with the black marker.
- We can now add soil and plants!!
- If you drilled a hole underneath the coconut, you will need an overflow trey to catch the extra run off of the water. You can easily use a piece of the spare coconut shell to create a tray.
Final Thoughts
Having this custom Baby Groot head planter has been an awesome experience. My friends and family get a kick out of seeing it when they visit. The best part about this project, It didn’t require a 3d printer for those of you that don’t have one. Did you consider using something besides a coconut to create your angry Groot head replica?
