You have probably seen planters filled with succulents already this year at places like Costco, Home Depot, and your local nursery. Maybe you love the plants but not the planter, or vice versa. I typically don’t love the planters these come in and I’d wanted to try my own for a while. I was finally inspired by my friend Andrea at Life Love Larson to go for it last summer!
I picked succulents that I liked at the store. I grabbed two different snake varieties to add height at the back of the pots. I then knew I wanted something that would trail and a variety of shades of green for interest.

These types of shallow planters are available in a lot of different materials, from concrete and fiberglass to ceramic and polypropylene. I wanted to use my pots indoors AND outdoors, so I did NOT pick bowl planters with drainage holes. To avoid overwatering, I added pebbles on the bottom 1/3 of the planter to help with drainage. I then poured succulent soil on top. I used a large spoon to scoop out enough of a hole for each plant, placed it, and covered the roots back up with the dirt I’d scooped aside. Once I had them the way I wanted, I used the same large spoon to add more soil around all of the plants.

My pots are on a covered patio, so they don’t benefit from rainwater. I will give them a good water, and then don’t water again until the soil is bone-dry all the way to the pebbles.

Keep them outside once it’s consistently warm, and watch the plants fill in! Just be sure to bring them in again before the first frost.

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