Living Succulent Wreath

Succulents are hot items these days. I love the succulent arrangements and wreaths in the stores but they can be so darn expensive! 

I decided to jump into the deep end and try to make a wreath myself. The succulent clippings that you use in the wreath take 6-8 weeks to root so if you want to give one for a holiday gift, now is the time to plant it.

The cost of these, even when you make them, is not cheap. I suppose you can make it less expensive if you are growing your own succulents but I don't have enough varieties right now. I am going to take some of the clippings from the succulents I purchased and plant them. So maybe next year I will have enough to make a wreath from my own clippings. 
 
The items you need to make your wreath are:

• Wreath form. You can make your own, but I purchased mine and they are fantastic!
• Succulent clippings. Get a good variety. I bought mine off of eBay.
• Living Wreath Pins. These help you hold some of the pesky clippings into the wreath form.

Start by soaking your wreath form. Make sure it is good and wet all the way through. I used the bathtub and let it soak in the water. I  purchased my wreath form from Topiary Art Works. This wreath base is fantastic. It comes with "feet" that will keep the finished wreath away from the wall so it hangs straight, and a chain from which to hang the finished wreath. Since this wreath form will we filled with plants, it will be heavy. You can make this yourself but I highly recommend purchasing your form from Topiary Art Works instead. 

Let the wreath form soak for at least a few hours. Let the excess water drain before you pull it out to work on it. The excess water will drain away but the wreath form will be saturated. I put the soaked wreath form into a box lined with a trash bag to move it outside to my work area.

Next you need to take your clippings and sort through them. Mine sat in the box a little too long (okay, a LOT too long) before I used them so some were a little wilted but they were still fine to put in the wreath. Succulents are forgiving that way. I purchased 150 succulent clippings from SharkoftheGRC on eBay. They have various amounts of clippings you could buy. I am able to make2 wreaths from these clipping and plant some of them. You can also create more succulents from the leaves that you break off and I will show more about that in a future post. 

Start with a focal piece. I chose a large flower shaped succulent and put it in the lower left side of the form. Just poke a hole in the wreath form and shove the stem in. If you have let your clippings wilt like I did, you need to be careful because the stems and leaves are weak and bend. I ended up using my finger to make the holes because I found it easier to get around the metal pieces in the wreath form than when I used a tool. 

Next I used a different type of succulent to add interest next to the focal point. I used one with longer thinner leaves so there was a contract in texture.

If you pick up a piece and the stem isn't long enough to insert, break off a few leaves until you have the stem length you need.KEEP THESE LEAVES! You can grow new succulent plants using them. 




Work your way around the wreath form, poking holes and inserting succulent stems. Vary the type and color so you end up with an interesting piece. 

If you run into a stubborn succulent that won't stay in the wreath, use one of the Living Wreath Pins, which you can also get from Topiary Art Works. Just take the pin and add the pin on top of the stem to hold it in place. 

Hold the succulent where you want it to stay and push the pin into the form over the stem. Don't squish the stem, just attach it firmly to the base. The pins slide into the base easily and are very easy to use. 



Save some long succulent pieces to use as filler at the end. In the picture at right you can see longer brown stems with little green leaves that I used as filler. 


The colorful succulents make a nice change from all the greenery. Place different succulents, grouping them with 3 or 5 of the same ones, then change to a different succulent. 

Look at various wreaths online to see what you like and gain inspiration from your favorites. 

When it is complete move the wreath back to the lined box. I left mine outside in partial sun. I use a watering can to water the wreath every week. As the succulents take hold and start to grow I will add in additional clippings if I see spots of the wreath form that aren't being covered. 

Comment below if you have questions or need information. I am happy to help! Remember, plant now if you want to give as a gift. 

Enjoy!
Laureen