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Deuce Cities Henhouse

It’s Succulent Time Again

Succulents
Hello All, and welcome to my yearly succulent post. Now, let me start by telling you that if a meteorite ever hit the earth and took out all the clocks and calendars that ever existed you would need my help so hard! I’d be able to tell you exactly when February 1st is. I’m a living, breathing, amazing (and cool) human calendar. Every year on this date I gather up the kids, head out to the flower store, buy some succulents, take them home, plant them in pots and then sit there and stare at them trying to will spring a long. I’m like one of those baby sea turtles that’s born on a beach and immediately jumps in the ocean, swims out to some kelp, rides some tyte currents for thousands of miles and ends up right in the coastal waters of the mother land. It’s just inside of me, man. Here’s the proof: February 1st 2011, February 1st 2012

All that being said, I thought I’d show you how to plant succulents in case you didn’t know. I think we all probably need our own little succulent haven.

 

You’ll Need:
Rock, Sand + Soil

Succulents
I picked up 4 new succulent plants when I made a stop at the home depot earlier this week. They were having some sort of “get here quick spring sale” and all their tropical plants were marked down. I got these guys for $1.98 a piece!

While you’re out picking up your succulents, make sure to stop and pick up some river rock (or pebbles) potting soil and sand. They do make specific potting soil for succulents that offer more drainage and less water absorption, but in case your store doesn’t sell succulent mix, potting soil mixed with sand will do. I’ve also read that you can add vermiculite or perlite to your mix; mixing it a ratio of 1 part soil, 1 part sand, and 1 part vermiculite/perlite. Basically you want a lightweight soil that allows for drainage, I’ve always had good luck with the 60/40 soil and sand combo.

Succulents by definition are water-retaining plants adapted to arid climate or soil conditions. Also known as, hard to kill because you they don’t need water every day. In fact they prefer to be watered after their soil has been dried out. A good rule of thumb is to water them once every month in the winter and every time they dry out in the summer. I did manage to kill quite a few of my succulents last summer by bringing them outside and forgetting to bring them in during a rain storm. They can be easily over watered, so be careful. Just a enough water to wet the dirt is what I go by for my potted succulents.

 

Layer your pots with pebbles and soil mix

Succulents
Make sure you are using a pot with good drainage, if your pot does not have a drainage hole in the bottom consider drilling one. I’ve had the best luck with layering a small amount of pebbles on the bottom of my pots. Since my soil mix is more of your standard potting soil the pebbles help with drainage and allows the dirt to lose some of it’s moisture. There are some experts out there who say “don’t layer rocks on the bottom, dummy” (and I’ve done that too), but I’ve had the most success with a thin layer of pebbles on the bottom, so screw ’em :)

Next, layer on your dirt filling your pot almost to the top.

 

Trim off old stems to start new roots on older succulents

Succulents
If you’re like me and you have other potted succulent gardens you may have some crazy looking things growing in there. Sometime my succulents start to get long stems on them. In this instance I remove the dead leaves, and trim back the succulent so the stem is just long enough to stick into the soil mix. Succulents are amazing and will begin to root on their own once you have them planted in the soil. You can even take cuttings of their leaves and they should start to root too.

 

Plant Your Succulents, Top off with pebbles

Succulents
Once you’ve got all your soil in your pot and all your cuttings ready to go, arrange your put using varying heights, colors, and textured plants. Cover the plants with another layer of soil and top of with a few more pebbles. Succulent roots don’t grow deep, but stay shallow. I find adding a few pebbles to the top helps to anchor them down and keep them in their place, especially if you’re dealing with kids who might like to pretend their gardeners from time to time.

Succulents
Here’s my little garden! It’s coming along very nicely. I keep it in my upstairs 4 season porch. They do quite well up there. There is good light and the succulents, being dessert plants, can handle it when temperatures get cooler during the winter nights.

So go out and get some succulents, and let’s get this spring thing happening!

15 comments
in DIY, gardening

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  • Keri February 1, 2013

    Love this! I am actually heading out today to buy some succulent potting mix for some aloe pups. I might have to pick up a few more succulents because you’ve inspired me!

    • Scoops February 4, 2013

      Strength in numbers! We’ll make this spring thing happen :)

  • Trude February 4, 2013

    My mom is a genius with her succulents and the ones from her are the only thing that’s thrived in my home. I love the touch of adding some river rocks to the top, because I have had some in the past that got a little tipsy with their shallow roots. :) Thanks for the tips!

    • Scoops February 7, 2013

      Hey Trude!

      That’s nice to have a mom with a succulent green thumb, I only aspire to have that (a succulent green thumb) some day.

  • Bipasha December 3, 2013

    lovely! i am a big fan of succulents myself, but this winter i managed to kill some by leaving them out in the cold :'(
    on another note, do u get tiny bugs/ flies in the soil? they look like fruit flies & aim right for your eyes & nose, ugh! that’s one of the reasons i let them stay outdoors for so long…

  • Mindy January 20, 2014

    Love your collection!

  • Bec (from Melbourne) March 7, 2014

    Hi there,
    I came across you post on Pinterest and was wondering how your keep your pretty succulent garden in pots inside, if the pots have holes in the bottom for drainage? x

  • Bipasha September 22, 2014

    Succulents seem to be the only plants that agree with me, and I love them for that. Plus, there’s an unbelievable variety to choose from! Those blue pots are so pretty, by the way :)

    • Scoops September 26, 2014

      Thanks, Bipasha! I love succulents too, although I kill them often. That doesn’t stop me from getting new ones ;)

  • Actually no matter if someone doesn’t know then its up to other viewers that they will help, so here it happens.

  • Jennybell January 21, 2018

    Love your arrangement. I planted up a succulent bowl/garden about two years ago. Stuff has died off but mostly it’s really healthy. I live in the U.K. on the east coast and I’ve never brought my arrangement indoors. Is that unusual? They get rain, cold and occasionally dappled sun! Seems very healthy, so fingers crossed I’m going to make some more now you’ve inspired me!

  • Sierra July 24, 2018

    Hi wow I just really had to tell you how freaking beautiful your website is!!!!!! I haven’t even read the article yet, but your web design is so amazing I want to cry It’s also great to see that this post is from 2013, I found it today on Pinterest 5 years later, and you’re still at it! GO YOU!!

    • Sam July 26, 2018

      Same!!! Here I am 5years later as well. I’m super in love with this website as well. Succulant lovers unite! :-)

  • Sam July 26, 2018

    I’m just stumbling onto your page and whoopieeeeee spring has finally sprung. Actually it’s summer right now lol. My absolute very favorite season! Thank you for your blog post. As I’ve scoured the interwebs for any and all advice about succulents. I’ve never had a green thumb. Such a bummer, man, because I’ve always loved plants. I am in love with any and all succulents. So much so that I went to Lowes yesterday and got my plant search on lol. Even talked the guy into selling me a hen and chicks assortment, because the little dudes were about gone. Which I love because that means I can give them all my love and care and not break the bank. They didn’t have the soil for succulents so I was told to go to the local nursery, not even a mile up the road. Man oh man! Am I glad I did (my wallet isn’t haha) I’ve lived here all my life and drove by this gem a ton and never stopped. I found succulent potting mix and they had an exquisite breathtaking amount of different green houses. I made my way back to the tropical section. At this point I’m like a kid at Disney! I’m oohing and ahhing like crazy. I had no idea what was in store for me. Duuuuuuuude I was literally in succulent heaven! I bought several. Even got them to come down to half price for a an almost dead little dude. They had an assortment I fell in love with for a whopping 84$ I wasn’t spending that that much. The ones I was super in love with I found smaller versions sold in a single pot. I want to be able to one day make my own assortment like theirs. Fingers crossed I can make it that far and they get big enough. Got home and cleaned out broken pieces and took new ones off the plants to propagate. I have more than I can count ( plants and cuttings). I’ll be honest I’ve always been the killer of the plants of my home… I have thrusted myself straight into succulent ownership heaven and I’m convinced I’ve got it this time. Also adding I’ve never tried my hand at succulents… dun dun dunnnn… here goes nothing right?! Haha also its worth mentioning that when I bought my first 4 about a month ago I also got some lucky bamboo discounted at lowes because the little guys were yellowing. Yay me again, right. They are still alive. Here’s the awesome part. When I bought some clearance plants in the little black sectional doo-hickeys ( not sure what they’re called lol) I had a section empty. Well when I was admiring the succulent section, I noticed so many laying on the ground, in and around little pots that had been bumped off. I figured what the hell why not fill up my empty space with them. The worst they can say is no right? The cashier did give me a rather perplexed look, I explained I was trying my hand at propogation. She looked at me funny, shrugged and rang me up. Well that was a round a month ago and I have little babies and and roots sprouting up like crazy.
    This inspired me that maybe, just maybe, I can keep them alive. Scored several more discarded ones at lowes this go round too. I didnt have an empty section so I slid them into the plants I was buying. Which are mostly overpriced so I figured hey I’m really getting my moneys worth. Has anyone else done this? Is it considered stealing or saving them from doom in the dustpan and trash? So here goes. Wish me all the luck because, if successful, I will have more succulents than I can count.

  • Sam July 26, 2018

    Same!!! Here I am 5years later as well. I’m super in love with this website as well. Succulant lovers unite! :-)

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