Top Tips for a Succulent Garden Planter
- cmloader96
- May 26, 2020
- 2 min read
Like many others, I have found myself with a lot more spare time during lockdown and decided to put that into a creative outlet. With my love and collection of succulents growing, I decided to make an outdoor planter out of an old pallet.
Firstly, no one tells you how hard it is to pull a pallet apart?! Pinterest is full of so many cool pallet projects, but it required blood, sweat and tears to deconstruct!
With multiple pieces of wood, we set to work cutting them to the same lengths, then sanding them down to nice smooth surfaces. We used power tools but you could do this by hand if you don’t have any, it’ll just take a lot longer.
We went for a simple butt joint with screws, with the lower piece at the front of the planter. The next step is important to have a long lasting planter – exterior wood varnish. This needs to provide a waterproof seal to protect the wood.
Always need a cup of tea!
Line the bottom of your planter with gravel/stones/smashed up terracotta pots to reduce the chance of your succulents suffering from overwatering or drainage issues. This is a really important step as you do not want to let your plants’ roots rot. An alternative is to drill small holes along the bottom of the planter to release excess water.
Finally, fill your planter with succulent and cacti soil, best mixed with perlite for good drainage, and arrange your chosen succulents.
I have gone for a nice mix that was available locally to me, however, some of mine will not be hardy enough to survive the UK winter. Wintering options include bringing indoors, putting in a greenhouse or separating out the less hardy ones to come inside in pots. Sempervivum are my favourite hardy succulents that can survive low temperatures and come in many beautiful forms.
Top tips:
1. Allow good drainage using gravel at the bottom of your planter or holes in the wood
2. Varnish your wood with exterior wood varnish to ensure it lasts well
3. Fill with succulents that are suitable for the environment you live in
Disclaimer: Please only use tools you know how to use, are within your skill/ability and wear appropriate protective wear!! These images are not supposed to encourage any unsafe behaviours and any attempts to recreate this planter are done at your own risk.
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