Are you looking for the perfect activity to let your kids get their hands a little dirty? Gardening is a fantastic activity for kids and these DIY succulent planters are the perfect place to start.
My kids love the idea of gardening but unfortunately, we are still in the learning stage and a lot of the things we have planted in the past have . . . well, come to an untimely end.
I love succulents for kids (and me as as slightly black thumbed adult) because they are seriously so hard to kill.
Need a little proof? We had a succulent that my son was caring for. We all kind of forgot about it and at some point the pot fell off the table it was on and got tossed on the floor, laying on its side next to my bushes.
Months later I picked up the pot only to realize that the succulent had been growing the entire time and it looked gorgeous.
I was sold on succulents after that experience.
There are a few rules you need to keep in mind when planting succulents.
- When in doubt, water less. Succulents can survive with surprisingly little water. If you have kids who are overambitious waterers you may need to reign them in a bit.
- Give them plenty of sunlight. Succulents thrive when put in the right conditions. Minimal water and plenty of sunlight will give you a fantastic looking plant that is also low-maintenance so you can really forget about it for days (or even weeks) at a time.
- Prep the soil. Succulents are not hard to plant but a little prep work can go a long way towards a nice, healthy plant. Since succulents don’t like moist soil, make sure you have good drainage in your pot. You can do this by layering sand or rocks with succulent soil. I have a little trick I’ll share with you later that really simplifies this process so keep reading to find out what that is.
We are lucky that our local farmer’s market has a great selection of succulents that we can choose from so we made a day of it and let each of my kids choose their favorite succulent for our planter.
It was so fun to see how different their choices were and together they had some great variety.
Assemble your Succulent Planter
I promised you a shortcut. There are some great ways to make a really gorgeous looking succulent planter. Since I was planting these with my kids, I wanted easy.
Typically you’d layer sand, succulent soil, and various rocks to create enough drainage to keep the soil dry. This looks awesome when it is done and you can get creative with all kinds of decorative arrangements.
Since my goal was easy, I just needed something that would provide drainage.
I found just the trick.
Marbles.
Marbles provide great drainage and they are easy to kids to work with. They are the perfect solution!
For your succulent planter you will need:
- succulent soil
- marbles
- succulents
Fill the bottom of your pot with a handful of marbles (or rocks if you have them on hand). Have your kids fill up the rest of the pot with succulent soil.
It’s really helpful to have kid sized gardening tools for this. I love this cute set of kid sized gardening tools. It’s perfect for using all summer long.
Show your kids how to gently break up the roots of each succulent plant. Go easy with this. Because the soil is so dry they tend to crumble.
Before you go any further, I want you to take a step back.
I mean literally, take a step back.
It’s my tendency to jump in and “help” when I have a vision in my mind of the way I want a project to go. I also want my kids to experience things first hand though and those two things don’t go well together.
Your kids will not do things the way you would. That’s okay. They will probably make mistakes. That’s okay too. Just let them get in there and do their thing.
After planting your succulents, top your planter off with a bit more soil and some small rocks if you’d like.
Succulents are great starter plants for kids and they look great lined up in your kitchen window sill.
Put your kids in charge of watering. They’ll love seeing their succulents grow!
You may also like:
- Soda Bottle Compost
- Why I’m Okay with My Kids Being Bored
- Gardening with Kids: 5 Easy Tips to Get you Started
- How to Create a Salsa Garden with Kids
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