Hanging a Plant From the Ceiling: A Beginner’s Guide

Hanging a plant from the ceiling is a great way to add greenery to your home. And adding plants to your indoor space not only enhances your interior design, it’s good for your health, too.

There are many studies that point to the benefits of having plants, like this one that concluded that interacting with indoor plants may reduce psychological and physiological stress.

But if you start looking around, you’ll find all sorts of tools and tech to help you maintain the best indoor garden possible, and that can be daunting. So let’s start with the basics: how to hang a plant from the ceiling.

Hanging a Plant From the Ceiling

A hanging plant can add style to your living room or any room in your home. And the great thing about hanging a plant from the ceiling is that it frees up counter space. Another plus is that suspended plants are also safe from kids and pets.

Fortunately, you can hang a planter from the ceiling in no time at all. All you need are basic tools, a plant container, the right hooks, and the following guide.

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

You should begin your hanging-a-plant-by-the-ceiling project by making sure you have the necessary tools. These tools include: 

• A drill
• Drill bits
• Stud finder
• Ceiling hook
• Toggle bolt (if needed)
• A pot
• Your plant

Start with a drill, such as the DeWALT 12V MAX. And if you want to hang your plant using a toggle bolt, you’ll also need a drill bit that’s roughly half an inch. 

Alternatively, you may wish to mount the hook—also called a swag hook—right into a beam. In this case you’ll need to use a drill bit the same size as the swag hook’s shank (not including the threads). This size should be on the packaging your swag hook came in. But if not, choose a drill bit slightly smaller than the total width of your hook’s threaded shank. 

But whichever method you choose, you’ll also need a stud finder, like this one from Franklin Sensors.

Another tip before you start hanging a plant from the ceiling is to think about the plant container as you’re gathering supplies. This is because the type of plant container you have will influence how you hang it as they can vary in weight from lightweight plastic to heavy terracotta.

Pro Tip: Make sure wherever you hang your plant it’s easy to take down as you’ll want to take it off the hook to water it to prevent leaks onto furniture or electronics.

Step 2: Choose a Swag Hook

You can find a swag hook at your local hardware or home improvement store. Or, you can buy a swag hook online, like the Color Cord Company’s Polished Copper Round Swag Hook.

It goes without saying that you should know your potted plant’s weight before buying the hook, and you should choose a hook that exceeds this weight requirement.

Pro Tip: A plant is heavier after you’ve watered it. Remember to add the weight of the volume of water needed to nurture your plant when calculating weight requirements.

Step 3: Drill the Hole

Drilling the hole for hanging a plant from the ceiling involves a few easy steps:

1. Attach a drill bit that matches the shank of the pointed screw of the swag hook you plan to use. 
2. Mark the center of a beam in the ceiling using the stud finder. You can do this by sliding the finder until it beeps and then marking that spot with a pencil. This is the first edge of the stud.
3. Do the same from the other direction to find the other edge of the stud. Now you can safely drill in the middle of the two marks.

Firmly press the drill bit against where you want to make your pilot hole and pull the drill trigger to engage the motor, starting slowly and building up enough speed to make the hole.

You need a hole big enough to accept a toggle bolt if you’re hanging a plant from the ceiling in hollow drywall. While it varies, generally speaking you’ll need a hole about an inch and a half in diameter for most toggle bolts.

Pro Tip: If you’re using a toggle bolt, the packaging should tell you the right hole size to drill. If it doesn’t, make sure the hole is larger than the folded anchor.

Step 4: Finish Installing the Hook

Now you’re down to the final steps. If installing a toggle bolt, do the following:

1. Close off the wings of the toggle bolt flush against the shaft of the bolt. 
2. Now you can push the toggle bolt into the hole. 
3. Tighten the toggle bolt by turning it clockwise. This action will create a vice-like grip on the drywall or plaster between the wings and the hook flanges.

Or, if just using a swag hook, use these steps:

1. Press the pointed tip of the threaded end of the swag hook against the pilot hole. 
2. Turn the hook clockwise until the base of the hook is flush with the ceiling.

Pro Tip: Wrap the swag hook with a rag to protect its finish, and use a vice grip or pliers to turn the hook if you’re having trouble screwing it into a stud in the ceiling.  

A hanging planter makes a lovely addition to your indoor garden setup and can even help keep stress at bay. By hanging your plant from the ceiling using our simple guide, you’ll know your friendly hanging plant will remain “planted” to the ceiling.