During my first trip to the sea this year (which was actually at the end of March) I saw tons of driftwood, including a long branch with a perfect hollow that had been broken lengthways, and a new idea was born: This time I wanted to plant succulents on wood! No sooner said than done...
Why the decoration is such a great idea
Anyone who has ever worked with succulents knows how incredibly easy and promising it is. Even beginners can't go wrong. It's even the case that succulents, which are typical for our latitudes, feel better the less you take care of them (I'm not just saying that, I've actually discovered them).
So succulents are perfect if you have onelively decoration for the gardenor want the terrace without having to worry about much.
A few little tips in advance for the inexperienced
- When is the best time?
Spring or early summer are probably the best times for such a project because the weather conditions are more pleasant and help with initial maintenance. But since the plants are so robust, you can theoretically do the whole thing in the summer. At first, you should keep the plant decoration in the shade or only in the morning sun until the plants have grown. Otherwise even these stubborn people could die.
- Which soil is best for planting succulents on wood?
There is always talk of special soil that you should use and for succulents this is usually cactus soil.But: My experience has shown that this doesn't actually matter, unless even loamy soil (like in my case) won't kill the plants from waterlogging if you don't water them constantly. And you don't need to (at least not if you choose my types of succulents). The rain every now and then is enough.
Since my project was supposed to come about spontaneously, I simply scraped together some soil from the garden (you don't need a lot for a piece of wood).
- Won't the soil from the flat wood be washed away?
Over time, some of the earth is washed away by rain. But that doesn't matter to the plants, because by then they have already developed enough roots to be able to hold on to the wood. You probably know that succulents also like to grow along bare rocks.
If you value good-looking, dark soil and perhaps a few pebbles as additional decoration, you may want to choose a location protected from the rain (but still sunny) so that raindrops don't ruin your work of art. In this case, you should water every now and then (preferably with a very small can or a spray bottle so as not to wash away the decoration).
- The wood also stores moisture
When it rains, the wood also becomes moist and stores the rainwater. This water is then absorbed by the plants for some time.
Planting succulents on wood: It's really super easy!
Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the individual steps, only the final result after about 2 months (as you can see, some of the plants are even blooming). But it's not really difficult to understand it even without pictures:
- First I rinsed the wood and let it dry a little in the sun. I wasn't sure whether the sea salt residue might harm the plants. The sun, in turn, is said to have a disinfecting effect.
- Then the earth from the garden was added. I spread them in the hollow of the branch and moistened them straight away. Since the layer is not particularly thick and it would have been more difficult to keep the plants in place in the loose soil, I used the sticky properties of my moist clay soil. Instead, you can also use floral wire and attach the succulents. After a while, when the roots have grown firmly, you can remove it again.
- Then I got the plants. To be more precise, I simply plucked shoots from my other pots; after all, there are enough of them (as you can see in some photos).
- I clipped a few longer shoots to the desired length and then scattered them around the wood. It should look as natural as possible, but of course you can come up with your own system and arrange the plants more densely.
- Here and there I pushed the earth over the shoots with a stick so that they were at least partially underground and the root formation was accelerated.
- After I was happy with the arrangement, I moistened the whole thing well again.
- In the coming weeks I always kept the soil moist, and the rain also helped. Now I only pay attention to this wooden decoration when it comes to care when the dog knocks it over again (yes, that happens often and the plants still sit perfectly in their place).
Planting Succulents on Wood: What Types Did I Use?
The species I use are actually some of my favorites, because some bloom reliably and beautifully every year and others are attractive enough just because of their rosettes (they haven't bloomed for me yet).
- houseleek (Forever living) - It's growing big and lush since I hardly water it anymore. Dryness is true wellness for them. It hasn't bloomed for me yet, but it does for my father-in-law every year.
- White sedum (A white seat)
You can see one of my long-standing pots below.
Present the beautiful decoration
When you make a decoration out of driftwood and succulents, you can display them in different ways. It can stand in the middle of an elongated table or, like mine, on a half-height wall between the lawn and the terrace. Since my branch is a little wobbly, stones have been pushed under the wood on two sides to provide support.
Once my succulents have spread well, I will probably make a hanging decoration out of them by tying rope to both ends and then attaching them to the patio canopy.
Do you perhaps have a few more ideas?
