How to Make a Succulent Wreath

A sample wreath courtesy of Martha Stewart

You can create a miniature garden in the form of a wreath that will decorate your entry and celebrate any holiday, including the 'no-particular-reason,-but-isn't-my-door-decor-great? non-holiday!

Things You'll Need

• Rubber gloves
• Sphagnum moss
• A circular form or materials to make your own
• Floral wire & cutters
• Pencil or stick
• A selection of interesting succulent plants
• Bow or Ribbon

Instructions

1. 

   To make that wreath I mentioned, you will want to start out with a 'form'. You can find dried and twined stick wreaths ready made. Better, you can get a wire form that lies flat. Or you can sculpt a form out of chicken wire or recycled Styrofoam. Before starting, loop a piece of wire around the form/frame to make a hanger so you can suspend the wreath from a door or wall when it is finished. Use strong wire to support the maximum weight (like after you've watered your wreath). Whatever you choose for a base, you will want to cover it with a little moistened potting soil that you will wrap with sphagnum moss that has been soaked overnight. Lay out the moist sphagnum moss, add soil in the middle and wrap the whole thing, several inches at a time, around the form (frame). Some people prefer to leave out the soil and just use the sphagnum moss alone.) Tie it in place with wire twisted all around the form. Leave an inch or two between twinings so you can insert the plants.

2. 

   When the base wreath is done it should look like a mossy tire with a hanger protruding. Now you are ready to start adding plants. Choose low-growing, easy care succulents. Try hen-and-chicken (sempervivum), 'Pork and Beans' (sedum rubrotinctum), echevarias, dudleyas and other varieties of sedum - it, like the sempervivum family, has many diverse members. Make each plant cutting about two inches long and insert the end about an inch and a half through the moss and into the soil. Don't place the plants in rows. Either stager them so they look random or plant them on the diagonal from the center hole outward toward the outside edge. To insert the base of the plant you can use any wooden stick like a pencil or a metal peg, knife or other similar implement to poke the hole with before slipping in the plant.

3. 

   When the form is covered (make sure you leave at least a couple of inches between each plant to allow for growth), lie it flat for a week or two to let the little plants root into place. Give the wreath good light, but no direct hot sun. You may want to spray it with water every couple of days since you don't want it to dry out.

4. 

   The fun part of this wreath is that in not only can last for years, but you can dress it up with a different colored ribbon for any holiday. Give it a black and orange ribbon for Halloween, a harvest yellow, orange or rusty brown ribbon for Thanksgiving, red and green ones for Christmas, fun colors for birthdays ... anyway, you get the idea.

5. To maintain your wreath, hang it in a sunny spot. If you live in a hot climate, it will do fine in dappled shade or good, bright light. Spray it about once a week if the weather is dry, less with humidity. You don't want to keep the plants wet: they just shouldn't dry out completely. Once a month the living wreath will need a thorough watering. Remove the bow (if you are using one)and let it soak in a tub of water for about 20 minutes. Let it drip dry before hanging. If any of your plants gets too large or dangley, just clip it back. If any plants die, replace them with clippings from the larger ones or pop in a new member. Although a living wreath does take more care than a dried or fake wreath, it is much more fun, longer lasting and is sure to make all your visitors 'green' with envy!

Tips & Warnings

• Wear rubber gloves. In extremely rare cases, sphagnum moss has been known to harbor a chronic fungal disease.

Resources

• Gates & Croft Horticultural Design