You may have gathered that I am a fan of succulents!
I have been growing lots myself (see my blog on how to do this here) and I wanted to use some of them for a statement box frame planter to display in the conservatory. I won’t lie, this isn’t the easiest project – it’s a bit fiddly and you will need plenty of succulents, but it’s good fun if you’re patient and it is well worth having a go if you are a succulent lover like me.
You’ll need to gather up a selection of small plants, my largest ones were about as big as a cupcake and I had lots of little ones too. These will of course grow and fill out the frame in time.
What you’ll need:
- Lots of succulents
- Potting mix of half multipurpose compost and half perlite
- Box frame
- Chicken wire
- Bin bag
- Staple gun
- Double sided sticky tape
- Scissors
- Wire cutters
How to do it:
Take apart the box frame and apply double sided tape to the side of the frame that faces inwards, as this needs to be lined with a bin bag.
Apply the bin liner to the sticky side and trim the edges so they fold around the back and stick down with more tape.
Next, you need to line the frame insert. Run double sided tape around the inside edge and use strips of bin liner to wrap all around the frame.
Chicken wire then needs to be stapled to the frame. Cut to size and use a staple gun to attach to the frame. Then trim down so no bits of wire are sticking over the edge.
The frame can now be put back together and is ready for planting!
Make up a potting mix of 50% perlite and 50% multipurpose compost and mix together well (you can also buy succulent potting mix which is also fine).
Add this to the frame and shake so that it’s even. You’ll want a little gap between the top of the soil and chicken wire which will be filled in once the succulents are in place.
Now start adding succulents! It’s a good idea to lay them out in a design first to see where everything will fit.
A pencil is handy to make little holes in the soil for stems and for larger succulents you can clip the wire but be careful not to do this too much as the wire is holding everything in place.
Use a mix of sizes but try to use succulents with similar watering requirements.
Mine has a few gaps at the edges and this is basically because I didn’t have enough to fill right to the edge! The succulents will grow to fill the space eventually but too many gaps will mean soil falling from the edges so it needs to be fairly well packed.
Pop your planter on the wall and job done. Mine is angled because it’s not full yet but it can be hung if not too many gaps.
To water, you can use a spritz bottle or take it down, lay flat and use a thin spouted watering can to water as needed. There’s no drainage holes so don’t over do it. And remember, succulents don’t need much! Wait for the soil to dry out before watering.
