PLANTS AS ART

GET ARTY WITH SOME GORGEOUS TEACUP SUCCULENTS

SUPPLIES

Shallow pots — we used these lovely oversized teacups found at Bunnings

Cacti and succulent mix Small pebbles or stones Succulents in a variety of sizes and shapes

Trowel and gloves

HOW-TO

Before beginning the planting process, set your succulents before you and play with the aesthetics of how they will look in each pot.

We allowed for growing room in our largest pot, and decided to go with some balance with the taller plants towards the back and smaller ones at the front.

However, we also played with having the desert rose in the centre and surrounded with more low-lying plants.

A quick internet search will bring up a plethora of inspiration.

the base of the pot with some succulent mix — about five scoops, depending on the size of your pot.

Ease the desert rose out of its container and tease most of the dirt out of the roots, being careful not to damage any of them, then set it in the pot.

Fill the pot with dirt around the desert rose until it is about three-quarters full, then gently insert the smaller succulents around the remainder of the pot.

We used burro’s tail, two different varieties of haworthia, and elephant’s bush.

With some of the succulents, the “leaves” may fall off as you plant them.

Obviously you want to be careful with the more delicate plants, but don’t stress too much as it is quite normal.

The lost leaves and stalks can be treated as cuttings. Set them on top of a tray of dirt and spray with water regularly until roots sprout.

Fill the rest of the pot with the Cacti and Succulent Mix, pressing down gently as you go.

Once the pot is full, shake a layer of rocks over the surface until you can no longer see the soil.

Repeat the process with the smaller succulents.

We used two of the medium-sized plants for these; a lovely green-gray echeveria, and the coral-light finger jade.

Come spring, the succulents will grow rather quickly, so we just planted one per smaller teacup — however you can fill them with many smaller plants if you wish.