DIY Succulent Garden
Succulents are a group of plants with fleshy stems and leaves that are efficient for storing water. Because of this, they don't need much supplemental irrigation. In Florida's rainy, humid climate, a good way to grow succulents is in containers, where water and soil are easier to control.
Got the urge to try growing succulents? With just a few supplies, you can create a unique plant focal piece for your home or landscape.
Start with a well-drained creative container.
While not terribly creative, this terracotta container will drain well.
For your soil you’ll want to combine garden soil, some small rocks, and sand (we used play sand) to create a coarse, well-drained potting mixture.
A mix of gravel and play sand makes for a well-draining medium.
Once you’ve filled your container with soil gather your plants and plan out where they'll go in the container.
The succulents we chose for our planter.
Start planting! Be aware that succulents are delicate and may have leaves that break off when you move them. This is okay, you can either discard the broken leaves, or plant them in the soil where they may take root and thrive.
Don't worry if a few leaves break off, they can be planted too.
It’s that easy. Add a little more soil to the container if necessary and you are done. We opted to cover the soil in our container with some black river rocks which gave our planter a finished look.
The finished product.
Now you have a lovely, low-maintenance container planting! Succulent gardens can make great personalized gifts as well.
The succulents used in our container are Kalanchoe tomentosa Panda (back right and left corners), Crassula spp. (back middle), Huernia zebrine (front left corner), Echeveria spp. (front middle), and Kalanchoe spp. (front right corner).