How to Make a Succulent Wreath

I told you about the workshop we had at work helping women make their own succulent wreath. And I promised you I'd show you how to make one when I made my own at home. I was off today so it seemed like the perfect time to get to it. I took pictures as I went so I hopefully can show you 'how to' with more than words. Sorry, it's a bit long, but I didn't want to leave out any steps! Please show me what you create, I'd love to see them. 

First, gather all your supplies! The fun part. :)

You will need:

A wreath frame

Sheet moss

A bucket of water to soak the moss in

Twine

Scissors

Lightweight soil

MYKE™ (optional, but recommended)

Your favourite succulents

Large saucer or some other vessel to fit the wreath in

Assorted decor

A hook for hanging it!

I started with an old rusted wreath frame I purchased at work. 

I had my bag of moss soaking. It is far easier to work with wet moss than dry. 

I put down a used tablecloth from the dollar store to stop the water from running through the cracks in the top of the potting bench. 

Have a bucket (or like me, use an old pot) and fill with water for use later.

We use twine instead of wire.

Cut one and a half arm-lengths of twine. You will need 4, one for each cross section on the frame.

Tie each piece of twine to the cross sections. This was suggestd by one of the women after we finished the wreaths and I did find this was easier than tying it on after you have the moss & plants in the frame. 

Tidy it up by trimming off excess twine.

Now you can start adding your moss! Make sure to get the sheet moss, it will hold together better. When you are adding it, you want to use chunks that are still one piece. 

When you have filled in the frame with enough moss, make a trench in the middle. You can see how it looks hollowed out now. 

Add your soil to the trench. Because I'm using succulents, I want a well draining, light soil. I didn't use cactus soil, I mixed a good lightweight potting mix with extra perlite. 

For great results, we recommend adding MYKE™ to the top of the soil. You want the roots of the plants to be in contact with MYKE™. You can find this product at the store. 

MYKE™ is a Mycorrhizae which helps the plants better absorb moisture and the nutrients in the soil such as phosphorus, copper and zinc. Also, the roots grow better helping to hold the soil to prevent erosion. And in a hanging wreath, that is a bonus! We recommend it with all plantings and I can't believe the difference it has made in my gardens this year. You should see my tomato plants!!! 

Ok back to the wreath...here you can see I have added the MYKE™.

Have you selected the plants you want to add to your wreath? Here are the ones I choose...

Arabis caucasica Rock Cress 'Variegata'

Echeveria sp

Hens & Chicks from my garden

Lithops

Sedum lineare 'Variegatum'

Sempervivum 'Oddity' from my garden

String of Pearls

Crassula sp

Once you have your plants selected, set them around the frame until you are happy with the arrangement. 

Working with one at a time, remove it from the pot and carefully jiggle the soil from the root ball.

Here's where you use that pot of water. Dunk the root ball in the water and work more of the soil loose. 

Set the plant's roots in the soil on the frame. Don't worry that it seems loose, we will be adding more moss to cover the roots. :)

Continue with all the plants you selected, and add more if you find it is too sparse. But don't worry, it WILL fill in! If you have one that is too big (like my Sedum) divide it to the size you need.  I only needed 1/4 of this plant! 

And I found I had a bare spot, so I dug up a piece of a different hens & chicks from the garden.

Here is a picture of the plants all in place.

Now it's time to top them off with more moss!

Shoot, sorry's it's so blurry :(

Continue until you have it all around the plants...you don't want to see any soil! It's starting to look like a succulent wreath! :)

But we aren't finished. Remember that twine we tied on the four crossbars? 

Now comes the tedious fun part...you get to tie it all together. ;) We found it easier to place the wreath on a pedestal of some sort...I used an old hanging basket, we had buckets for the women at work.

Grab your first piece of twine & start working it around the wreath. Make sure to get in the middle or as close to the root ball as possible to hold your plants in place. And wrap it around every inch or so in order to hold the moss in place too. 

I was lucky...String of Pearls is very delicate but from what I could tell I only lost one little ball!! 

When you get to the next crossbar, tie up the twine you've been working with, then start with the next one. Once you have finally finished finished tying up the wreath, turn it upside down and give it a gentle shake. Yes! I said shake! You will be able to tell if you need to reinforce any spots that are loose. :)

Again, I was lucky...only a bit of moss came loose! :)

Here is my finished wreath. As you can see, there are still a couple bare spots, but the plants will fill those in over a few months. I have it sitting in a large saucer for easy watering. You can use whatever you have lying around, like a garbage can lid. It needs to rest for a week or more so the plants have time to secure themselves. 

Well, almost finished. Now it's time to clean up! Yuck Yeah!! Be sure to drain your moss and let it dry out (if you have any left) before you store it. Otherwise you are going to have one heck of a stink in a day or two!! 

After it rests for a while, I'll add an ornament or two. I haven't decided what I'm going to add...but here's a few ideas I'm tossing around. 

I might wire on a bird...(bird on a wire?)

And/or maybe I could hang a candle holder from the top so it hangs in the middle of the wreath.

A charity I support, it could be a themed wreath.

 Then again, I might plant another small succulent in this teapot and have it hanging in the middle

 Tillandsia...I think this would look neat wired or glued to the outside of the wreath. We had these for the women at work, a couple used them and they did look great!

Or maybe I could use parts of this broken wind-chime?

Chances are, by the time I'm ready to hang it up I'll have something entirely different in mind. You can change your decorations with the seasons. You can use it as a table topper, too! Put a hurricane candle holder in the middle and voilà! You have a beautiful centrepiece. The possibilities are endless...your imagination will come up with wonderful ideas. 

My wreath is a mixture of hardy and tropical succulents. So, I won't be able to over-winter it outdoors, I will have to find a home for it inside. If you make yours with hardy succulents, you can have it decorating your outside all year round. Or, if you live in the south-west, you seem to have a larger variety of succulents to use and you get to have it outdoors! Lucky you!! :)

After you have let it rest for a while, be sure to hang it on a sunny door, wall or fence. And enjoy the labour of love you created!

I want to thank and give credit to my boss, Diane Hutchinson from Walter's Greenhouses, for teaching me all I know about creating these wonderful wreaths! Thanks Diane, you are a wealth of information! :)

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