Garden

How to Make a Succulent Planter in Four Easy Steps

Succulent planters are a unique and easy solution to add some extra low maintenance greenery to your home this holiday season! A succulent planter is a fun and festive way to add colors and texture to your living room or dining room table decor for your intimate meal gatherings. This DIY guide provides a four-step process to create a planter to match your own unique style and provide some holiday cheer for family, friends and guests.


Materials

Materials

  • Succulents
  • Planter of your choice
  • Decorative stones
  • Gloves
  • Brush
  • Soil scoop or hand trowel (your hands work too!)
  • Succulent/cactus soil

Steps

1. Choose Your Succulents

This first step is one of the most important steps of the process! When selecting succulents for your planter, it is crucial to identify varieties that thrive in similar growing conditions. Some plants are hardier than others, require more or less water than others, etc. Similar to the precarious relationship between roommates, these plants will do best if they are cohabitating with plants that share similar living and growing requirements such as water, sunlight and temperature sensitivities. Choose succulents that are similar in size, with a larger plant for your centerpiece. Colors and shapes can somewhat vary, so long as there is consistency to create a pattern for your planter.


2. Drainage & Soil

Drainage Soil

Plants don’t like sitting in water, and succulents in particular need well-draining soil to prevent waterlogged roots or root rot. Select a planter container that has at least one larger drainage hole and use a succulent or cactus specific soil mixture–allow the soil to remain somewhat lofty by not packing it in. If you use a planter without holes (pictured here) use river rock before adding soil to allow for makeshift drainage. We prefer to fill the container or pot with soil about half an inch from the top to make it easier to arrange plants and make a little less of a mess while planting.


3. Arrange & Plant

Arrange Plant

When arranging your plants, keep in mind that while succulents do not mind crowding, allowing for some excess room in the planter will encourage further growth. Identify which of your plants you’d like as the centerpiece (usually the larger more showy plant) and arrange the rest of the succulents around the perimeter of the planter, tilting away from the plant in the center. Consider how to best balance the colors, shapes and sizes of your various plants as you arrange them. Use your soil scoop to create holes large enough to plant each succulent so that the base of their stems are eye-level with the planter. Use excess soil to fill in any gaps remaining around the succulents while creating an even top layer of soil.

FillInGapsWithSoil

Brush off any excess soil from the succulent leaves using the brush, or by gently blowing on the succulent plant.


4. Decorative Rock

DecorativeRock

Complete the look by carefully placing decorative rocks next to each other on any spaces of exposed soil. We prefer natural looking rock to allow the stunning succulents to speak for themselves! Voila! You’ve got your own succulent planter!


Succulent Planter Care & Additional Tips

Watering: Don’t water your new planter for a few days in order to allow the plants to adjust to their new home! When it’s time to water, and your planter has drainage holes, soak the soil completely and allow the planter to completely dry out and drain before watering again. Use our PlantDoc, a biodegradable soil moisture indicator, to better help visualize and identify when to water your plants!

PlantDoc

Sunlight: Succulents prefer high exposure to sunlight so place your planter next to or on a windowsill that provides bright indirect light (this is usually a South or West facing window); this is especially important during the Portland rainy winters!


For more tips on plant care and design as well as to find more information on the PlantDocs, visit www.daphnesbotanicals.com or follow them on Instagram @daphnesbotanicals