GARDENING SUCCS
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Teapots, corks, and sempervivums--oh my!

12/3/2012

 
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Developing a succulent obsession means looking at objects in new ways.  Everything in my house became a potential succulent planter.  Jars, lights, corks, coffee cups, pieces of driftwood, the dog's ears--nothing was spared from my greedily succulent-centric gaze.

Fortunately for the dog, my obsession didn't knock all the sense out of me, so her ears were spared.  But as you can see, not everything in the household was so lucky.

See the little sempervivum sprouting from the cork on the lower left side of the picture?  I took an old wine cork, used a steak knife to hollow it out (I can imagine better approaches, but whatever), put in a pinch of dirt, and set a sempervivum offset on top.  I think a bunch of these would look cool all in a row, lined up along a windowsill.

The teapot was a gift from my mom.  I used it as a teapot until three or four years ago, when the lid fell into the garbage disposal and was chipped up beyond repair.  Still, I kept the teapot because I really liked it; I just couldn't use it for anything...  That is, until my succulent-crazed peepers rested upon it and realized its potential.

The only thing that made the teapot hard was the lack of drainage.  As bold as I am with my cordless drill, I wasn't willing to risk ruining it.  So I put a bunch of large rocks and terra cotta pot shards into the teapot first, filling it up about 3/4 of the way before I added dirt.  I wasn't sure if it would work, but the semps have been going strong in here for several months, so I'm calling it a success. 

Gwen
12/4/2012 12:58:26 am

Very cute, I make containers out of almost all the things you wrote about and sell them at the flea market. They are called "How Cute Plants by Gwen" because everyone comes up and says how cute.

Debra Lee Baldwin link
12/4/2012 01:22:41 am

Really cute, and the pattern on the teapot lends itself to rosette succulents. Just know that semps are highly sensitive to overwatering. If you should happen to need to replant this, simply underwater the plants a bit. Succulents prefer that. No rocks, etc, in the bottom needed, in fact, it's not recommended as it becomes an anaerobic soup (ew). One thing you might do is use a really coarse soil mix (lots of pumice) and from time to time pour any excess water out the spout (hold the plants in place when you do so). Anyway, it's a charming idea!

Candy Suter link
12/4/2012 11:56:16 am

It is really pretty. And definitely don't do the rock in the bottom any more. What happens is that some water stay there and builds up bacteria which will then move up the dirt into the roots of the plants. It is yucky. Unless kept dry. I have learned this the hard way! Oh and if you watch my video How to drill holes in pots on Youtube you would be able to drill a hole in that pot with no trouble at all!


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