Sunday, January 1, 2012

Tutorial: A Succulent Wreath That Doesn't Suck

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to make your own succulent wreath. The great thing about these wreaths is that once they are established, they will last you for years with a very minimal amount of work!

Step 1: Buy a wire wreath. They can be found at most garden centers or craft stores. You want a three dimensional wreath since you will be planting the succulents inside of the bowl of the wreath. Sizing is up to you, but remember that these will become quite heavy once they are finished.

Step 2: Using peat moss, line the inside of the wreath, shaping it as a bowl, leaving the top open. Then fill this moss bowl with planting soil. Once the wreath bowl is full, add a top layer of moss so you have a middle soil area, surrounded by moss, surrounded by wire. A soil sausage, if you will.

Step 3: The most important step! Since your wreath has loose moss and soil in it, you will now need to cover your soil sausage with more wire. You can use just straight wire, or to save some time, you can use sheets of wire - think wire similar to chicken fence. This will keep everything secure.

Step 4: Now you are ready to plant your succulents! What kind of succulents you want to use is up to you, as well as the pattern. Common succulents used are Sedums and Hen-and-Chicken succulents. This is your wreath so use whatever you want! Some people prefer to have a the same kind of plants next to each other, while most people prefer to have a random planting order:



Step 5: Using a pencil or a pair of scissors, dig a hole throw the wire and into the soil. Take your succulent and bury the root into the soil.

Step 6: The second most important step! Using floral pins or craft pins, secure your succulent. This is especially important if you plan on hanging your wreath. This fastens the plant into the soil until the roots take a strong enough hold.

Step 7: Be patient! Give your new living wreath some time to adjust. The roots of the succulents will start to grow, intertwine and fasten to their new surrondings. Slowly let your wreath adjust to the sunlight. Once a week, soak your wreath in a tub of water for about an hour. Use fertilizer sparingly. After soaking, let the wreath drip dry on a plate or sheet. Then hang back up and enjoy! 

These wreaths will last you years to come. My mom is on her 3rd year with hers, while her friend is on to her 5th year. Come back in the spring for a picture step tutorial!


Here's the wreath the day it was made. Three years later and it is going strong!

1 comment:

Peter said...

I see you've used my photo of a succulent wreath for your blog post - the one with the black background. Can you please provide credit to my website?

www.cactusjungle.com/blog