Do You Need Soil to earn a Succulent Wreath?
As a switch from wreaths composed of dried flowers and leaves, you can craft a living succulent wreath to hang on a fence or wall or to use as a centerpiece, encircling a candle. Round is not the only wreath shape available. Square forms give a contemporary look, and also a heart-shaped wreath makes an perfect present for someone you love. For wreaths which are displayed, lightweight sphagnum moss can substitute for cactus-mix potting soil.
Moss Wreath
Purchase a ready-made sphagnum wreath type, equipped for planting, or construct your own. Start with a wreath shape made from wire, line it with mesh tubing and fill the tubing using sphagnum moss. After soaking the wreath type, use a pen to poke holes in the web wherever you would like to plant a succulent cutting. Typically, 12 to 24 cuttings fit around the form. Planting fewer permits space for them to develop larger and fill the gaps. A great growing medium should incorporate three components: water absorption, quick drainage and nutrition to get the plant. Sphagnum moss prevails over ground in each feature.
Benefits of Moss
The main concern about having potting soil in a succulent wreath is that the weight of the dirt can cause the plants to shift or drop out. Long-fibered sphagnum moss weighs small but features texture which prevents the medium in slipping from the form. Quality sphagnum moss, not the common peat moss, brings in moisture during its leaves, storing it in mobile tissues. Afterward the moss releases the water faster than dirt can, preventing problems with root decay. However, since the moss dries faster, the wreath may require more frequent watering.
Hybrid Soil/Moss Version
Using a procedure to stabilize potting soil and keep it inside the wreath frame, some gardeners prefer putting their plants into soil, because they can buy or mix a particular blend intended for succulents. Lining the form using sphagnum moss and filling it with dirt offers the advantages of both. For the plump succulents usually included on wreaths, a mixture of half pumice and half commercial potting soil provides the suitable drainage. If pumice is not available, substitute perlite. The moss will clasp the cuttings’ origins to hold them in position.
Completion of the Wreath
Utilizing different colors and shapes makes your wreath intriguing. Little succulents that develop in rosette forms, such as Sempervivum arachnoideum, hardy in USDA plant hardiness zones 6 through 10, Echeveria secunda, hardy in USDA zones 8 through 10, and Aeonium haworthii, hardy in USDA zones 9 through 10, will not likely outgrow the wreath. If you have suitable succulent plants growing at home, cut off little rosettes with a little stem attached. After hardening off, insert them in the holes of the wreath frame. To provide the cuttings time to root, keep your abode flat for the first week or 10 days. Slowly introduce it to the lighting.