I love plants inside our house. The addition of house plants in the winter months is a great way to warm up your space after the holidays. I got industrious and decided that making a live succulent wreath would be fun!
I’m a little bit obsessed with succulents. Those lovely low maintenance plants that store water in their leaves and/or stems. The secret to having healthy succulents, is to neglect them-what’s not to love about a pretty plant in need of neglect?
I’ve seen several wreaths made of live succulents and most any home and garden center have the most gorgeous selection of healthy succulents in every delicious shade of green you can imagine.
If you want to have a go at one of these pretty wreaths, read over the instructions first because there are things you need to do before you start your project!
***UPDATE~ To save yourself loads of trouble I found out these moss wreath forms from Amazon …
However, you can make your own like I did!
Here’s what you’ll need: You can find these things at your local craft store or nursery.
The list below contain some affiliate links…
* wire floral wreath frame- LIKE THIS
*Sphagnum moss- LIKE THIS
If you happen to have succulents already growing, using cuttings from your own plants would significantly cut the cost of this project!
*Cactus Potting Mix – LIKE THIS
*Rooting Powder- LIKE THIS
*Floral Pins- LIKE THESE
*Floral wire- LIKE THIS
***Do This BEFORE You’re Ready To Start Your Project***
I took the plants out of the dirt and clipped off stems and let the clippings dry for 24-48 hours (or longer). The end of the stems need to have a callus.
***On the day you start your project***
Completely submerge and soak your moss in water for 30-60 minutes before using it.
When the soaking time is up squeeze the water out of the moss.
Squeeze moss together and flatten some onto your work surface. Put the wreath frame on top of the moss and spoon some cactus potting mix into the wreath like the picture below.
“You’re going to make a burrito with the moss”, wrapping it on top of the soil and all the way around. The moss is still moist– so squeeze it together. If it seems like it’s falling apart, just add (and squeeze) a little more moss in that area…this comes together better than you first think, hang on…
Now, grab your floral wire and secure the end around the metal of the wreath frame and wrap it tightly around the moss. The more times you wrap it around, the more stable the moss becomes…
Follow those same steps to finish wrapping your wreath frame.
*I kept the wire about an inch apart and pretty tight to help hold the moss together.*
When you’re done: trim any crazy strands of moss that may be sticking outside of the wreath shape and squeeze wreath all the way around to kinda pack everything together.
Your succulents, which have been sitting out for 24-48 hours should be dried out at the end of the stem. (Make certain a callus has formed over the end of the stem)
First, I placed my succulents on top of the wreath to get an idea of where each stem would go.
Now dip the stem into the rooting powder…and tap it to shake off the excess (this photo was before I tapped! )
With a screw driver, make a hole in your wreath where you want the stem to go-then gently push the stem into the wreath-
Use a floral pin on either side of the stem to hold it in place once you’ve put it into the wreath, being careful not to puncture the stem-
As you fill in your wreath, be careful not to damage the stems of the first ones you put in.
All the instructions I read tell you to leave room for your succulents to grow-in other words: don’t plant them so close together. I did not follow those instructions because I wanted a fuller looking wreath now. Instant gratification … one of my many character flaws.
Most ‘experts’ say to leave your wreath flat for 2-4 weeks while the roots are getting started.
So I used it as a centerpiece along with some candles…
When the roots begin growing you can hang up this little sweetie! Succulents like sunlight, so find a bright spot in the house!
From my online research, they need watering about every 10 – 14 days in the growing season (spring – summer – fall), always letting them dry out between watering. In winter they only need watering about every other month!
See the end of the post for updated watering info.
This spring I may just move her out onto the screen porch-
If you use the wreath as a centerpiece, just keep a platter, charger or even a cake plate underneath to keep the moss from shedding on the table!
I so love this project and wouldn’t it be a great Mother’s Day gift???
***What I’ll do differently next time***
I think I’ll use all smallish succulents. The Jade leaves are slightly larger and although the Jade plants are less expensive, I like the look of the smaller, less lanky succulents.
FYI on the wreath- My wreath lasted 9 months. To water it, I put it in shallow water in the sink. The water only covered 3/4 of the moss base. I left in in the water long enough for the wreath to soak up water, then I drained the remaining water and left the wreath in the sink to drain out the excess. Often times I took the wreath out on the screen porch to continue draining so as not to drip water everywhere!
And if you want a succulent wreath for your front door, one that lasts forever, see my POST HERE!
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