Pumpkin planter idea for your succulents
If you want to decorate your home in true autumn style, you can’t go wrong with a pumpkin planter and some beautiful succulents. Even if you have never made your own planter in the past, you will find these steps really easy to follow and you can get as creative as you like.
What you need:
- Foam pumpkin
- Decorative accessories of your choice (i.e. markers, paint, glitter, etc)
- Hot crafting knife (or regular knife)
- Succulent potting mix
- Moss
- Variety of succulents
Carve your pumpkin planter
A foam pumpkin will be a solid unit but, not to worry, they are easy enough to cut and hollow out. Much like a fresh pumpkin, you will need to slice off the top and hollow out the pumpkin. Do so with care since you don’t want to accidentally damage your pumpkin. While you’re at it, make sure that you cut at least three holes in the base of the pumpkin to allow for drainage.
Decorating time
Depending on your personal preferences, you can get as creative as you like with your pumpkin planter. In other words, you can draw or trace various images onto the exterior of the pumpkin. You can paint various colours and you can even use glitter if you like. It really is completely up to you.
Add soil
When adding soil to your pumpkin planter, you should only fill it 75% of the way. You want to leave room to actually plant your succulent. You should press the soil down just enough so that it fills all the spaces in the planter. Don’t press too hard or you may end up damaging the foam.
Add some moss
This is a great way of bringing everything together and it will hide any possibly unsightly bits of cut foam. Place your moss in the pumpkin planter but allow it to drape over the edge to conceal it. Do this all the way around.
Add your succulents
Depending on the size of your pumpkin planter, you can add one or more succulents. It’s usually best to choose an uneven number of plants since it creates a more balanced appearance – as odd as it may sound.
Top with soil
Once your plants are in place, all you need to do is top with some more potting soil and gently secure each succulent in place.
Water gently
Finally, you can water your plants generously. Make sure that you place your pumpkin planter in an area where it will allow the excess water to drain away before you put it on display. You should also place it on a drip tray just in case. You can spruce up the drip tray by decorating it with some autumn leaves.
Finally, you will need to make sure that you keep an eye on your plants and monitor the soil. Insert your finger into the soil (about an inch deep) and, if it is still moist, you can wait a few more days before checking again. If it is starting to dry out, you can water lightly. Remember, succulents do not need saturated soil and, during the winter months, you will not need to water as often either. When you do water, make sure you place your pumpkin planter somewhere to allow the excess water to drain away and don’t allow water to build up in the drip tray.