Summer is quickly approaching and nothing says summer like adding a little green to your home after the dry, dead winter. Subtle hints of green around the house can brighten up your day more than you may realize. While anytime is a great time for gardening, this may be one of the best. Here’s why.
Since we just recently launched our new and recreated concrete collection, one of the best uses, and one of my personal favorites, is a small planter.
Gardening of any kind can be challenging, to say the least, however, with a little practice under your belt, you may find you are not the anti-green thumb you always thought you were. Here we hope to guide you in the right direction with some tips and tricks for planting and caring for succulents whether you are a professional gardener, or a plant’s nemesis.
How to plant succulents correctly
- Choose a planter. No matter what planter you plan on using, one important detail to be aware of is your planter’s drain hole. A drain hole lets water escape from the bottom of the planter so the plants don’t drown. If your planter doesn’t have one, then you’ll need to create a drainage layer at the bottom.
2. Add rocks to the bottom of the planter to create a drainage layer. Add a few rocks to the bottom of your planter. A mix of different sizes is ideal. The idea here is to leave enough room for any water going into the soil, to come out of the soil. Succulents shouldn’t have wet roots.
3. Carefully take your succulent out of it’s plastic container and slowly start exposing the roots. Take your take with this and be very gentle!
4. Put some succulent soil at the bottom of your planter.
5. Put the succulents into the planter and carefully fill with succulent soil mix and pack firmly. Succulent soil provides excellent drainage and water retention.
6. Top with decorative rocks.
How to care for succulents
- Make sure your succulents have enough sunlight. Succulents usually only require about half a day of direct sunlight so putting the plants on a window sill usually does the trick.
- Watering will differ based on where you live, but for the most part, you should only need to water them 1-2x a week during the summer months. You should water the soil until it is noticeably saturated, and then do not water again until it is completely dry. These are dessert plants so they don’t need much water. In most cases, water should be limited. During the winter, the succulents go dormant, so you should only need to water them about once a month.
- Make sure your succulent has correct drainage. Like previously mentioned, a drainage hole is key.
How to design a succulent garden
While planting and caring for succulents may be a challenge on its own, designing succulents may seem to present an even greater challenge. However, this could just be your favorite part. One succulent on its own may be perfect the way it is, but you can add a whole new dimension to your decor by creating a succulent garden.
A succulent garden can be made up of few materials. Get yourself a large planter pot and a few succulents in a variety of shapes, colors, and textures. You can go about planting them the same way as before, but start by placing the largest succulent in the center of the pot and plant the smaller ones around it any way you fancy. Ta-dah! You have yourself your own DIY home decor.
If you didn’t think you were very plant savvy you may feel a little different after you give this succulent DIY a try. The steps for planting the succulents are pretty simple and the tips for caring are even simpler. In no time, you will have your own personal gorgeous green house. Be on the look out for near by nurseries so you can pick up your own succulents and give your home a new summer make over.
For any further questions, shoot us an email at hello@thesavvyheart.com. and also take pictures of your own creations and tag us on Instagram! (@thesavvyheart)
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