Succulent Quilt

How to make a planted wall using cuttings of succulents contributed by you, your friends and neighbors. This is primarily meant as a group activity. Skills learned include propagating plants from cuttings, basics of drip irrigation, and soil-less gardening methods. The cuttings will root faster when it is warm out so best to do it during the summer months.

This instructable is based on an activities I did for Clone Home, a workshop on plant propagation at Critter Salon in San Francisco, and the Succulent Quilt build at Machine Project in Los Angeles.

Step 1 Pick a location

Decide where to put your succulent quilt. It will need lots of sun and a way to be watered. I use a drip system and let the excess water drip down onto plants below. You can also use a recirculating system and catch the drips with a gutter.

A south facing wall is best. Partial sun will work but some plants may not be able to grow as well. You will have to experiment with cuttings from different plants.

Comments

[StumpChunkman]

Congratulations on being featured on ABC News!

[Miss415]

I made one!  I followed your excellent instructable and had so much fun!  I made a mini one too (bottom pic) with left over scraps!  I'm not sure if I should fill it in more or just wait & let it root & grow.  I did not install a drip line since it will be outside.  I'll probably still play with it & add some kind of frame or border.

[Miss415]

Im not sure what I did wrong but they aren't doining so well~ like the stem aren't reaching the soil so the plants are drying out!  I na
eed to try again!

[denisek.sf]

 Wow these look fabulous! Thanks for posting pics.

[luvit]

 this was named appropriately. 5 stars.

[Miss415]

I really want to try this!  I'd love to know how you design has held up too!  I have been scouring the internet for some decent clear instructions and found there are many different styles & scales of using walls for gardens~ but your instructions are very clear! Thank you so much for sharing!  It seems the term being used for this growing trend is "Vertical Garden".  You can do a photo search on Flickr and see vertical gardens around the world!

[porcupinemamma]

So beautiful!  I wonder if I could work out a way to make one in front of an ugly fence?

[monsterpie]

HA when i get 6 of these ill have a "living room" .......ha........er...........get it...........coz its a living wall

[DebbiD]

Fantastic idea! I will try it this weekend...Thankyou

[cloverbee]

Do you think it's possible to have this indoors as long as it got enough sun and something that might catch any excess water from the bottom?

[denisek.sf]

Yes, I think it would work, but if it leaked you may have a mess on your hands. But the same goes for fish tanks and water beds indoors too. As long as there is light then you are growing!

[nixFixr]

This is really cool and a great insctructable. Thank you for taking the time to put it together. I really like the reuse on the air conditioner and the float valve... great idea!!!! I don't live in a warm weather climate, but am looking into doing something similar to this. Could this same build process / trellis design be used for other types of plants - flowering, vegetable, herbs, etc. ?

[denisek.sf]

I think it could work but you would have to get add an automatic fertilizing feeder to your drip system since veggies need much more than succulents.

[monkeysee]

That's really cool! any chance u could post up some pictures after it has had the opportunity to grow out a little?

[denisek.sf]

Sure, I will add another picture in a few months. Also, I am always adding more cuttings to it as I find them.

[OnePrettyThing]

Whoa, that is way cool! I'm going to have to start a tiny one with my cuttings. Maybe I'll frame it too. Thanks so much for the great idea, I'll be linking to this.

[iliketocraft]

I want to do this project at my daughter's school in San Francisco. Thanks so much for this tutorial.

[Z..]

I'm trying to decide on an outdoor wall 'picture'. I've just found it!! Very nice; well done!

[fungus amungus]

Awesome! And you had Mose help you out. Great stuff.

[jessyratfink]

Beautiful! I love succulents! :D