How to Make a Living Succulent Wreath

Say no to tired old grapevine wreaths adorned with dried flowers. Make a living wreath of succulents, an earthy, modern option for door decor. These jewel-like plants are hardy enough to live in a wreath of sphagnum moss. Just give them water, sunshine and an occasional shot of fertilizer and they’ll thrive.

Step 1: Make Cuttings

Make your cuttings the day before you begin the wreath. Remove the lower leaves, leaving a one-inch stem. Place the cuttings on a tray and let them sit overnight so the ends can dry and callus. This will keep the succulents from rotting before they can root. Any succulents will work, but we’re using sedum, aeonium, echeveria, kalanchoe and jade.

Step2: Soak Wreath Form

Submerge the wreath in water. Let it sit a couple of hours, or until it’s completely saturated. Cuttings can’t root if the moss is dry. Take it out and lay it on a flat surface so you can begin planting it.

Step 3: Insert Succulents

To make a spot for planting each succulent stem, make a hole in the moss with the scissors or another pointed object, like a pencil or screwdriver.

Step 4: Fill in Entire Form

Push succulent cuttings into the holes. Handle them gently so you don’t knock the leaves off. Design Tip: Aim for density. Plant the largest succulents, like the echeverias and aeoniums, first and fill in with smaller cuttings.

Step 5: Secure

It’s going to take six weeks or so for those cuttings to grow roots. Pin them on the wreath so you can hang it now without all the succulents falling out. Voila, you’ve got a hanging garden.

Step 6: Care

Keep your new wreath out of direct sunlight for a week so the cuttings can adjust to their new home. Gradually increase its light exposure, giving it a little more light each day for two weeks.

Hang your wreath in bright but not direct sunlight. If you hang it outdoors, protect it from the midday sun. If it’s staying indoors, put it on a south-facing wall, window or in a sunroom. A full day of blazing sun will cook it.

Water your succulent wreath only when it feels dry, every 3 to 6 weeks, depending on how much sun and heat it gets. To water, soak the wreath in a container of water for at least an hour, until the moss is saturated. Let the moss dry out completely between waterings. Watering too much kills more succulents than watering too little. Err on the side of dry.

Feed It. In the spring and summer, add a shot of liquid fertilizer to the water you soak your wreath in.