succulent |ˈsəkyələnt| Botany (of a plant, esp. a xerophyte) having thick fleshy leaves or stems adapted tostoring water.
I’ll be first to admit I do not have a green thumb. I enjoy planting, but I haven’t been super successful at keeping the plants alive. I’m really more about the flowers (orchids) or plants that need very minimal water and minimal attention. So when I found the inspiration for a succulent wreath from Better Homes and Gardens, I knew I had a good chance of keeping them alive. I decided to put my own spin on it and I’m sorry, I don’t have the before and after of my finished wreath (which by the way, I’m super proud of), but I can tell you the supplies you need and the steps I took to make it. Hope you enjoy the finished product!
How to Make a Succulent Wreath
Supplies Needed:
- A wreath frame I used a 12″ wire frame
- Sphagnum moss I bought four bags worth
- Fishing wire
- Floral pins or bobby pins that you bend ( I ended up using bobby pins)
- Succulent clipping or you could go out and buy some ( I did a little of both)
The wreath is alive and will continue to grow. Make sure it gets lots of sun and spritz it with water occasionally. This is my kind of gardening! The only way to kill it is to drown it in water.
Wreath Instructions:
- Cut clippings from succulents around your own garden. To clip it grab a branch and cut.
- Throw all the clippings together in a bag
- Lay the clipping out in a line somewhere for a few days. The end of the stem will be wet once first clipped, lay them somewhere to dry so the stem will form a dry scab. It doesn’t kill the plant it is just setting it up to grow again. (I let my succulents dry for three days)
- Remove some of the leaves closer to the end of each clipping. This will make it easier to plant on the wreath.
- Get out wreath frame and sphagnum moss. Moisten the moss in a bowl for about 5-10 minutes until it is fully wet.
- Stuff your wreath full of the moistened moss tightly from the back.
- Use fishing wire to wrap the frame and moss to make sure it holds.
- Turn your frame over and add another layer of moss and fishing wire on the front side.
- Yay, designing time is here! Make a hole with a pen, or a stick, or something pointy and put one of your succulents in it. Continue this step all the way around the wreath.
- If the succulent has a short stem and doesn’t feel super secure, bend a bobby pin or floral pin around the succulent to hold it in place.
- You really cannot go wrong when arranging your succulents!
- As you plant your clippings leave a little room for them to grow, don’t pack them in like sardines! Stand back every now and then, stand it up, and see where you can add more. Add until you like how it looks!
- If you used pins to hold in the succulents it will hang on a door safely or maybe you’d prefer to use it as a centerpiece on your table. The possibilities are endless!
Enjoy! Let me know what you think!
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