Thrifted Succulents Centerpieces | Project 4
How I transformed thrifted findings to beautiful succulent centerpieces
My love for succulents began when I received my first cuttings from a sweet lady who can’t keep all her plants due to moving. Walking to her backyard was like walking to a fairy garden covered with succulents in mismatched containers. Each planters were uniquely cute.
Since then my succulents collections grow to the point I started to use them to make beautiful centerpieces. Above are some of my favorite succulents centerpieces I have created. Each centerpieces are unique in the way that they are only one of a kind. Almost all the planter pots and containers I used are thrifted. They came from thrift stores, Craiglists, recycled containers, friends, etc…
Today I will be sharing with you how I transformed candle holders, wooden boxes, and other thrifted containers into beautiful centerpieces. Hopefully, these pieces inspire you to start create one as well. The wooden candle holders and the wooden boxes are made by my awesome coworkers who crafted this for me out of his trees.
Before and after photos
Before:
After:
Materials I Used
- Succulents of choice (Recommendation: choose succulent in the color of your theme)
- Succulent dirt
- Perlite
- Containers of choice (candle holders, wooden boxes, etc…)
Step by Step Instruction
Cleaning out the pots
These wooden candle holders were made for candles. I carefully removed the candles and cleaned the holes. I used the beading awl tool to poke out the candles. I then used a flat end tool from my nail kit to clean out the leftover wax. Afterward, I cleaned the holes with a damped wet paper towel.
For the other pieces (the cat and the mason jars), I emptied out the dirt and gave them a quick rinse. With whatever leftover droplets of water, I left it. The extra water will just help water my plants when I plant the plants, so save the towel.
Prepping the dirt
Since these containers has no drainage, I made my own succulent dirt mixture of 1:3 to perlite: succulent dirt. I don’t drill out drainage holes because I wanted to display them at my work desk. Don’t want to buy perlite? Check out the Tips/Failure section to learn how to. After I made the dirt mixture, I added them into all of my centerpieces, making sure to pack the dirt tight into the centerpieces holes.
Laying the succulents out
As always, I laid out my succulent into the centerpieces before I actually plant the plants. That way I can visually see the final products and made changes if necessary. I chose the green/pink color succulents for the wooden candle holders. I love the how the light wood color complement the succulent light pink colors. Especially when the succulents grow out and hang over the ledge of the wooden candle holders. For the tallest candle holders, I wanted to do a group of jade bushes. I thought the contrast of the white stripe and the light green color of the succulents balance out the dark wood log.
For the cat, I also chose the red color succulents. 3 mini cactus would look lovely with this centerpiece, but unfortunately, I don’t have any in stock in my succulent garden.
As for the mason jars, I decided to go with a sea theme. I had these orange seashells from my patio decoration and thought it would go so well of the bright pink and red succulents. As for the 3rd mason jars, I didn’t want to waste all of my tiny cuttings, so I decided to make the 3rd mason jars a mix containers.
Planting and watering the succulents
This is my second favorite parts of succulents projects. My most favorite part of every succulents projects is the hunting process. I love searching for that unique antique pieces.
One trick I learned with planting so many succulents was that the root need to be discard. I trimmed all the cuttings down, removing all the roots. I also removed some leaves to make the stems a little longer, so they can pierce into the dirt.
After, I watered each of my centerpieces making sure the dirt was fully wet. Be carefully with this step. When the first drop of water hit the dirt, it formed water droplet bubble and pushed out my plants. I just put them back in the dirt after I wet the dirt a little bit.
Before displaying these beautiful centerpieces, I placed them outside in the sun for 1–2 days so they start rooting. I kept the dirt wet for 1–2 weeks. Once the succulents rooted, the plant won’t fall out and will grow quickly. Only then will I water my succulent less. Instead of once every 1–2 days, I will water them twice a week.
Final Product
Final pictures time!
Tips/Failure Experiences
Conclusion:
Overall, the centerpieces turned out as I expected. The plants in the mason jars that are meant for the huge wooden boxes look so tiny. Once they grow out, it would be much prettier. For now, they looks cute. As for the wooden candle holders, I wish I have drill out a deeper holes. Unfortunately, I don’t have a drill for that currently.
Failures:
- Candles holder holes are not deep enough, so my succulent cuttings kept on falling out. Once they rooted, they will stop falling out just like the beautiful seashells I made.
Suggestion and Improvement Ideas:
- Another ways to avoid having to use perlite is cover the bottom layer of your pot with rocks. The rocks help drain the water from dirt. The only downside to this is that the pot can get really heavy. Since I usually repot my succulent centerpieces every 1–2 year, so I don’t mind adding perlite.
Thrifted Succulents Centerpieces | Project 4 was originally published in ThriftedCrafts on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
