Succulent Garden Decor and Tips

It is that time of year again when my succulents are starting to multiply! I am amazed at how quickly the succulent garden expands once the weather has warmed up substantially. At the beginning of spring, I am always alarmed at how my outdoor succulents appear shriveled and small. But, like magic, once the weather is consistently warmer, the succulents begin to explode. I’m sharing my newest succulent garden decor and my best tips on caring for succulents.

What a great time for the Thrift Store Décor Team to provide a special edition featuring SUCCULENTS! Each team member is providing a new succulent post along with links to other fabulous succulent posts. Be sure to check out the links posted at the end of this project.

My shabby rustic loving heart found this beauty a few years back. So this is what I started with. From the moment I saw her I knew she would hold lovely succulents!

I have developed a nice collection of succulents in my garden.

Some are planted directly in the ground.

But most are in pots scattered around the deck, patio, driveway and pool area.

Year Round Succulents

An added bonus of gardening in the south is that, in mild winters, you can leave your succulents outside. Every now and then we get an unusually cold winter with extra instances where the temperature drops below freezing. When this occurs, a greater percentage of succulents don’t recover. But in general, most of my succulents winter well and double to triple in number each year. My first tip for successful succulent gardening is always move your succulents indoors when there is a threat of frost. This will ensure that your succulents survive the winter. In the north, of course, you MUST move your succulents indoors for the winter.

Here are some photos of the succulents in March. In this first photo, you can hardly even tell there are succulents in the pot.

In my hurried excitement to pre-emptively welcome spring, I once again planted way too early resulting in the demise of these poor zinnias. If you look closely, you can see that tiny little succulent rolling its eyes at me as I do this every year. The bright green tiny succulent at the front looks so sad and lonely. There are a few more tiny pops of green to the left.

Here is the same pot just this week .

The dead zinnias are replaced by a single red geranium and a successful attempt to grow a few replacement zinnias from seed. But you can see how vibrantly the succulents grow when the weather warms.

I will be adding some colorful additions in the empty spaces, probably some pink and white geraniums or zinnias. Our front stoop gets full Alabama summer sun all day long. There are only a handful of plants that will survive that heat. So far, only zinnias, portulacas, wax leaf begonias, geraniums and select succulents survive. If you have any suggestions, I am all ears.

Another Succulent Garden

I had another galvanized chicken feeder.

So I added succulents to her too! I left room for them to grow.

This should be gorgeous in a month or so.

Tips to Perk Up Succulents in the Spring

Succulents will double to triple their winter size. During the winter, they are just trying to survive. When the warm weather arrives, they awake and begin vigorous growth. Since they can grow very quickly, I thin my succulents out by spreading one plant among three new pots. Take this one for instance.

The poor plant is root bound. When I lifted it out of the pot, it was very difficult to separate the individual roots and plants.

They had expanded so much that they ran out of room and were very tightly crammed in the pot.

Use your spade to cut the entire plant into halves or thirds. Gently loosen the roots and then place each separate plant into a new pot with fresh soil. The plants will thrive!

I divide many of my succulents and simply pop them into other pots as fillers and spillers. The succulents that aren’t rootbound are very easy to split. Just plant them into some soil and they will grow.

I added these hens and chicks to a hanging planter that needed some filler. And I added a few to this pot of petunias that I planted last month. I usually fill my pots in stages. I see what remains from last season and add new annuals for color.

Once the new additions have settled, I fill in with succulents or more colorful annuals. I’m in stage two right now…filling in with succulents. I am always sure to add succulents that will trail over the edges of the planter. It will take a month or so, but soon they will be spilling out of the pots.

Did you know that many succulents will root themselves? I often find pieces of succulents laying next to my pots.

I poke a hole in some soil with my finger and push the stem into the hole. Pat the soil around the base of the stem and in a week or so the piece will root and being to grow as a new plant.

Spiller and Fillers

I planted some annuals into two hanging scale bases back in April after the last frost.

Here’s what one looked like earlier this week.

I waited until this week to add some of the succulents to the edges of the planter. This allowed the plants to settle and grow a bit.

The added succulents will expand and add fullness.

Maintain Your Succulent Gardern

Give your succulents some attention when they have experienced growth. Move them to a bigger pot or divide one plant into several smaller plants. Before you know it, you will have so many succulents that you will be compelled gift some to unsuspecting future succulent lovers.

Here are some other important tips to remember:

Allow proper drainage in your planters. Succulents like to be moist but not overly wet.
Succulent gardens like full sun most of the day. Succulents do well in shade also but they thrive in the sunlight.
Separate succulents often and replant in new pots with room for the plant to grow.
Water your succulents generously. The full sun will dry the soil so water frequently to try to keep the soil somewhat moist. Don’t worry though as succulents are quite hearty and can go days without water.

Propagate Succulents

Did you know succulents are easy to propagate from a single leaf?

Simple pull off a leave and place it on a window sill in bright direct sunlight. After a few days you will see roots beginning to grow on the bottom of the leaf and new growth on the top. After a week or so, place the leave with the roots down into some soil. It will continue to grow.

There is something about planting succulents in unlikely vessels that simply make my heart happy. A unique and unexpected planter adds to the beauty of the succulent.

You can see some of my favorite past planters by clicking on the following photos.

shopatblu easter tablescape vintage dad tea cup

shopatblu vintage bicycle refresh with succulents

I have a collection of pots “waiting” for succulents. There will be more succulent posts soon!

Thrift Store Decor Team Succulents

Here are the before photos of The Thrift Store Decor Team succulent projects. Click on each link below the photo to see the projects! Be sure to comment if you see something you love.