Just filled my planters up today. It will be interesting to see if the self-watering feature works since my porch gets tons of sunlight and my plants need continual watering. I was pleasantly surprised at how much water the planter holds (~6 gallons) which will also keep it from blowing over during high winds and storms (hopefully).

just received the planters. Ordered Gray but received Dark Cedar (aka Brown). returning these & will reorder them in Black. Like the shape and how tall they are. Perfect to frame the front entrance of our home with provided they were the correct color. Especially liked the price.

As there were no instructions included on how to utilize the self watering I am posting pictures of how to set up the pot. First you need to drill a 11/16" hole in the corner where the dimple is located to place the included plug. Next you need to drill a 1/4" hole in the side where there is also a dimple to allow water to escape when filling to let you know it's full. Then I cut 10 pieces of 3/16" poly rope or paracord to use as the wick. I suggest poly or synthetic instead of cotton so it's rot resistant. I cut them approx the height of the entire planter 28" as it won't hurt if more is in the lower part. I then figured approximately where the top of the gravel would be in relation to bottom and loosely tied a knot to keep it from dropping into the bottom. Place the rock in the area and work the ropes up a bit until you have the knots just above the height of the gravel. This will leave the long end in the bottom of the pot and in the water. Add potting soil and work it around the ropes as you fill the container with soil. It's easy to move the ropes around to get them to the top. Once you have planted, use a small funnel and a garden hose to fill the planter until water starts coming out the back hole in the side you drilled. Don't drill any holes in the bottom if you are wanting to use the self watering feature! See the pictures for the process.

I am pleased with this planter. Bought 2 for my front door and they are what they say they are. The price is right and it looks good. They are very light weight, so beware, if you worry about high winds or plan to put it in a place where it could be knocked over.

I bought this in June. Today I am about to re-pot a small palm tree. There were not instructions where and how to drill holes for self-watering. Did you drill holes or just plant as is. Strange there were no instructions. Someone mentioned a video-- can you post the link please-- would have given it a 5 star otherwise. I plan to hold off planting to find out is anyone can send the link to the video or detailed instructions. The planter was on my patio this week after a big rain. Water is trapped in the bottom. I turned the planter upside down but the water will not drain. Strange.

Such a great time and plant saver! I have two of these, one has dahlias, a spider plant and trailing vinca and the other has achillea and three mini vista petunias. Even though these are sited in completely different situations (one in part sun and one in FULL sun) they both perform beautifully. We used the hack suggested in the comments here and drilled holes into the top of the reservoir with poly ropes going down into the water section in about a dozen places and drilled a hole in the side for the overflow. Even though all of the plants like different amounts of water everybody is happy as they take a drink when they want. The only downside is that these are VERY heavy when planted and full of water. They were totally worth the price and look like they should last for years.

Love the planter and the price. The instructions are with the grey planter (click the color and swipe) and the company Step2 is listed. I googled them and sure enough the planter is there. Hope this helps. https://youtu.be/OULzMvvLcIs?si=OsBRawcLDSWY6t6L

Beautiful garden addition. Needed a large barrier pot to keep dog from corner of fence and this works perfectly. Drilled holes, added rock below dirt for stability. Folks saying there are no directions…flip the pot over and see it's made by Step 2, the same company that makes kids toys. Go to their website under pool %26 patio and you'll find the self-watering directions.

The price I paid was decent but the quality just isn't there. There are no instructions at all so I have no idea how to make this planter a self-watering planter. The planter feels like cheap plastic and the insert where you sit your plant on is not removable. For $40 I'm quite disappointed.

The height is very beautiful next to the lounging set. Shows up better than the shorter version