DIY Project ~ Make a Succulent Wreath

DIY Project ~ Make a Succulent Wreath

~ Succulent Wreath ~

Were you one of those mud-pie making, play-in-the-dirt kind of kids? Well. if you were, this is the project for you: Making a succulent wreath! Lenny Wilson, Assistant Director of Horticulture & Facilities at The DCH, donned his presenter hat this week and explained how easy it is to make one.

He had done the hard part for us and gathered all the materials together. We got to have the creative fun. Buckets of soil were ready to have water added and mixed to a thick dough consistency. Two wire wreath frames were already wired together and ready to go, and the wheelbarrow full of sheet moss was dampened outside by a sudden rainstorm. Tables of sedum and sempervivum plugs, garden harvested perennial and callused tender succulents were all ready for this enthusiastic group of designers. And design we did.

Even though the process and materials were exactly the same, each wreath took on a personality of its own in the hands of its maker. Take a look at the following pictures to see the materials and steps we used. Also included are some examples of the wonderful wreaths we made. Be brave and try it yourself! There’s something very zen about squeezing handfuls of muddy dirt. The results are spectacular!

*note – to callus succulent cuttings, trim and place them out of the sun until they start to form tiny hair-like roots

~ my finished succulent wreath ~

• 2 wreath frames wired together
• wire attached for hanging
• floral wire & pins
• sheet moss
• scissors/pruners
• a variety of succulents (we used sedums -red carpet, pachyclados,spurium “John Creech”, sexangulare and sempervivum as well as callused cuttings of jade, chalk fingers and aeonium)
• about a gallon of potting mix (wet and add a small amount of Soil Moist crystals & slow release fertilizer like Osmocote)

sedum sexangulare

sedum spurium “John Creech”

sempervivum “Cobweb Buttons”

sedum pachyclados

callused tender succulent cuttings

sedum “Red Carpet”

Step # 1 ~ place your wreath frame on dampened sheet moss, leaving a hole in the middle and 2 or 3 inches on all sides.

Step # 2 ~ Mound wet soil onto the wire frame and push it into all crevices.

Step # 3 ~ Hold the sheet moss together and wrap tightly with floral wire. * Mark where you started!

Step # 4 ~ Lay out your plant materials and decide on your design.

Step # 5 ~ poke holes in the sheet moss and insert succulents. Floral pins can be used to help anchor the plants.

Step # 6 ~ finished! Now water thoroughly and place flat in partial shade for 3 weeks to let plants get established

Original article and pictures take ourfairfieldhomeandgarden.com site