Succulent Wall Art

Step 9:

I arranged the succulents how I wanted to make something interesting and beautiful. They will take root in about 6 weeks and at which point, I will put the planter box vertical.

Comments

[MsJaxFla]

Your succulents sure do look like what we always call "Hen & Chicks" or maybe "Ghost Plants"....... (Graptopetalu paraguayense), Okay, can't type with broken wrist and forget spelling.

And I would use MORE moss than dirt, and just spritz with the hose in the hot summer once in awhile. I guess you do need to take it down once in a blue moon to water & feed it..... but just let the moss dry in between waterings.

I use MIracle Gro in a very weak solution.

[janetsellers08]

Beautiful. I always wanted to make one. So far, does it leak or what happens to the wall it is on? Or do you keep it outside? Where I live, it is snowy and cold, so we would need to keep it indoors. Thanks.

[designrevolver]

In order to water it, you have to take it down off of the wall. Give it a day to absorb the water and then put it back on the wall. Making the box out of sheet metal would be the best, but not very easy to do. I live in California so these plants thrive in this environment.

[janetsellers08]

Thanks! I grew up in CA, but this snow stuff is quite a challenge - things just stop for fall and winter gardening, whereas in CA we had kitchen gardens all year, etc.

[suayres]

Very clever and creative--and beautiful, too! Another planting medium (which would work especially well for bromeliads) are the thick, pleated felt wall pockets you can buy at some home improvement stores and garden centers.

[Crystalline_Chaos]

They look similar to a succulent that were pretty commonly found growing in planters in and around my parents' house. Common name for it was I think "Hen and Chicks". Which when you think about it many different plants share similar if not the same common names, which is why binomial nomenclature is used. Same thing with insects and arachnids; one in particular comes to mind. "Daddy-long legs" and you may have heard of this common name, there are three creatures I have seen it used for, and in-fact, they all fall in the arthropod phylum. Two of which are arachnids; only one of which is a true spider (otherwise commonly referred to as a cellar spider [Pholcus phalangioides]) and the other is more closely related to a mite (often called a harvestman) [Phalangium opilio]. The third is actually a crane fly (Tipulidae oleracea).

Ugh... sorry, I get a bit spacey when it comes to stuff like that.

Great instructable by the way! I may have to try this one. I wonder if it would be possible to make a more temporary wall art from cut flowers? Make a box and some how water-proof the sides (possibly make it out of plastic) then use the florist foam stuff (the fine gritty textured stuff [ewww! hate the feel] usually a green color). I guess you could decrease the depth of the box? Do you think that would work? Anyways, fantastic idea and Instructable!

[designrevolver]

That's right, it is hen and chicks. Haha thank you for the extra data. :)

I plant to construct a few planters that you can hang on the wall. Think planters to put flowers in that look modern and whatnot. I'll do an instructable on those, but they will be pretty easy to make. I love the modern look, so I would like to make them out of a darker concrete material. Possibly a dark gray plaster with epoxy on it or something of the sort. Anyway, I'm rambling now!

Thank you for the feedback!

[kewlkiwi]

Perhaps, when you get to the hanging up stage, you could arrange the hooks/nails/whatever on the back of the box so that it can be hung in all four possible ways 'up'
That way, the moisture in the soil wont drain towards one side all the time, which may leave the plants at the top a bit dry.

[azolina3]

True, I was wondering if he had to take it down to water it and let it settle for a certain amount of time...

[designrevolver]

Yes, I take it down to water it.

[Karina Q]

I love it!! Can you tell me the name of that plant?? Thank´s and i really like your work!

[designrevolver]

They are succulents and the genus is Aeonium. There are numerous types and I have a couple of them in this piece. I made this piece 3 months ago and hung it in my backyard on a brick wall. It is still looking great! :)

[Karina Q]

He visto de esas plantas pero nunca supe el nombre, me encantan!! Thanks a lot!! You are really nice!