Sensational Succulents and why we like them…
Why do we love these fun and fleshy little rosettes called succulents? Is it because they magically multiply? We will tell you and show 3 fun projects to do!
They’re low-maintenance. I mean REALLY low.
Succulents like well drained soil to the extreme. They will grow very well on a half soil, half gravel mix. This give them the drainage they need.
They come from deserts and semi deserts and so need very little water. If you live where there is summer rain, do not water them yourself at all. Once planted, no care! Even in the western US, succulents can survive in containers when no other type of plant will. They are excellent for those who travel.
Sue Langley Sedum rupestre ‘Lemon Coral’
This sedum started out in the container and made itself at home in the surrounding soil. Now it fills the bed with evergreen green, in Zone 7.
If you see succulent leaves which are lying flat to the ground, this means they are getting way too much water. They are trying to dry out! On the other hand, if the leaves are closed up unusually tight, they are trying to conserve water and need a drink.
They come in all kinds of colors.
Barb Buckley’s succulent bed in a myriad of colors and shapes
Your garden won’t lack for color when planted with a bed of succulents,…They come in green, pink, red and even black!
Cherrie Carine raises her succulents high,…on a stump
They’re U-Neek.
Mary Taylor used great design elements in her container,..a porcelain basin
We adore the exotic shapes, sizes and colors. Here those elements show off fantastically. Mary Taylor says, I
love succulents! We call this ‘The Modest Fairy.’ You can see the silhouette of the fairy through the flapjack plant (Kalanchoe luciae).”
Kathy Schumacher’s framed suculent garden
Kathy Schumacher
They’re reasonably priced.
You can find succulents in teeny tiny pots and six paks. Sometimes they are sold in flats that contain hundreds!
Project # Six pak for six pots
Take one 6 pak of succulents and six medium sized clay pots, found at a Flea Market for 50 cents each! Total cost with soil $7.00.
Plant and mulch with a gravel topper as mulch
Use these along paths or as an edging
You can collect a bunch and still be considered normal
Glenda Glasscock: My old firepit full of succulents!
Jeanie Merritt’s stack-a-pot succulent tubs
For how to, see How to make Jeanie’s tiered succulent garden
They can live in pumpkins!
Project #2 Pumpkin planter
“Here’s one more thing to do with Halloween pumpkins,..after.. Plant some succulents for a planter,..it’ll last a week or two.”
Take a large squah or pumkin and make a succulent centerpiece
My living centerpiece in a pumpkin!
This was displayed on our dining table for a bout two weeks.
Succulent Squash…you can display them outside as well…
Composting succulent pumpkins,…the succulents will sprout!
When the pumpkin breaks down, just pop the whole business in a shallow hole. The pumpkin dries and decomposes and th succulents sprout where they sit!
Or ON pumpkins
Anna Zakaria’s pumpkin perchers
Anna Zakaria says, “I saw plants planted in pumpkins earlier, and want to share this. Succulent topped pumpkins are really easy too, just glue some moss and cuttings. The succs will root, and at the end of season, cuttings can be replanted. Glue, even hot glue won’t hurt them. These will last for months!”
You can use them as house plants
Succulents grow in low light and don’t need much soil to grow. Stick a cutting in apot with no drain hole. Even in a bathroom with little natural light, your new succulent pot will grow and thrive for several months indoors!
Elizabeth Williams’s elegant hens and chicks
And best of all:
You can use their cuttings to grow more succulents.
How? Easy! Just snip off succulent rosettes leaving a 1 or 2 inch stem. Set them in the shade for a day or two so the cut end can ‘callous over.’ Then simply poke them into gravelly soil up to their ‘necks’ and water. Water infrequently,…they don’t need much.
Kay Bassett’s propagating her succulents
Project #3 Succulent chicken feeder
Sue Langley’s succulent chicken feeder
More succulent ideas
Sue Langley’s Three holed brick- roadside treasure
Find out MORE about how I created my little succulent planter. “Plant puzzles-Creating a design in succulents’
Myra Glandon wheels away her succulent garden in a wagon
Jackie Cammidge’s succulent wreath
Gudrun Toler shows why Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ is so popular
Constance Ann McAlpin’s hen and chicks in vintage swan planter
3 Comments
I have some in a concrete lady’s head, but it fell during a storm and the wire broke I pulled them out they are in my cat’s litter box with water, I need some new idea’s to put them and you did give me many. . I will replant my lady head, but I need to fix her so she can hang again next time I will put her on the fence post, not the fence.
I just wanted to say thank you for this article, my mother in law, just brought me a bowl full of succulents, I never knew about watering them and the poor thing’s were stressed now with a bit of water they are doing wonderful. Now I have to find new places to put my newest plant’s.
I love all these wonderful ideas for succulents. Thanks