Indoor Gardening with Succulents

Today brings us Kim from Sand and Sisal with a project to bring some green into your home. With all the snow we've had in my area, some green is welcome. I've had the pleasure of meeting Kim in "real life," and she is just precious! Keep reading to learn how to make your own Indoor Succulent Garden.

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Thank you so much Amanda for letting me guest post for you and your lovely readers! Hi everyone! I'm Kim from Sand and Sisal- where love of home and sea meet. Amanda and I actually live only about 2 hours from each other! Living in Virginia, we love our temperate climate and are quite thankful that winter doesn't last that terribly long here. But in the winter after all the fresh greenery from the holidays are taken down, it's nice to be able to replace it with indoor plants you won't have to worry about! If you have a brown thumb or a green one, you should try your hand at Succulent Gardening.

We are all busy people with kids and homework, jobs, and responsibilities galore. The last thing on my list is remembering to water the plants. Right? Then when I do remember …I guilt water. Tell me I’m not the only one! I feel bad that I have neglected the little living species and I drown the poor things in an over abundance of “wash-the-slate-clean” water. Time to try something new; something that is hard to kill, something that actually prefers to be neglected, something interesting and beautiful. I am finding a new passion in Succulent Gardening.

        

Succulents are becoming quite popular once again. There are many varieties to choose from. All of them do not like a lot of water, but they do love indirect, bright sunlight. They don’t even necessarily need a lot of soil to thrive in. You can easily find succulents at all nurseries and big box hardware stores. I like buying a few large ones and then some tiny dollar pots.

         

I was actually surprised at how expensive many of the succulents are. Really, it’s ridiculous. Go for the tiny pots. They will grow quickly and often self multiply. Succulents need a very loose soil that drains easily. Normal potting soil hold too much water. I recommend using Miracle Gro’s Cactus, Palm & Citrus Soil.

        

Succulents will grow in almost anything. Take for instance this whelk shell my kids found on the shore. I placed a few spoonful's of soil in it and planted an Echeveria succulent in it. How cute is this? You can grow them in a tea cup or any small container you choose.

       

I have a shallow dish which I added several different succulents too and placed on my piano. There are many Echeveria, an aloe, a Hawthoria, and a few that I don’t know the a names of, but that’s ok! I even stuffed one in another whelk shell that was partially broken on top. The key to keeping these beauties alive is…

• BASK THEM IN BRIGHT LIGHT.
• NO NOT OVER WATER.
• NEGLECT THEM.

        

Their roots must dry out for a few days. This is what triggers the plant into producing NEW roots. Then you may give them a nice watering. Never let them sit in water or even you will be guilty of plant murder, sad but true. Once a week to every other week watering (if that even) is more than ample for mature plants. And we are talking moist, not wet or soaked. Thicker fleshed plants need less frequent watering than thinner fleshed plants.

          
         

Think succulents might be a smart choice for you? Try a few out and let me know what you think! Thanks again, Amanda, for having me today!

You can find me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST, G+ .

Kim

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Beautiful post, as always, Kim!


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