If you’ve been contemplating of using plants for adornment in your apartment, may I, Mark Roemer, recommend succulents? You may be wondering what succulents are. Succulents are the most recent trend in the plant world, of course! But if I had to define succulents, they are described as a type of plant (frequently linked with cacti) that store water in their leaves. Upon further inspection, you will notice that their leaves are denser than most plants. They flourish in dry environments and only need around six hours of bright, indirect sunlight daily. This fact makes them perfect apartment plants (if you position them close to a sunny window). 

Succulents are chic, attractive, and overall a fantastic plant for any household. If driving to your local nursery to buy a pre-potted succulent, then you are going to need a little bit of DIY. Don’t worry, I am here to help! You won’t even need to have a green thumb. Planting your succulents in your DIY pots will happen in no time if you follow the steps I outline below. So, are you ready to begin planting your succulent in your apartment? Let’s not waste any more time and dive right in.

Steps Required for Planting Succulents

Make a list of everything you are going to need – As with any project, the first step should always be making a list of the supplies you will need to complete the task. It makes it easier when you have a plan to follow instead of going about it blind. Some of the supplies you are going to need to make this project happen are potting soil, gardening gloves, different types of succulents, terrarium or pot, decorative rocks, and maybe some garden miniatures.

The potting soil should be designed for succulent. Regular potting soil may contain or retain too much water. Having the wrong soil could suffocate your succulents with too much moisture. Remember, these plants don’t get much water in their natural habitat. Overwatering will not make them grow bigger; it will kill them.

The gardening gloves need to be thick and puncture-resistant. Some succulents have very long thorns. A set of regular gardening gloves would not stand a chance. Spend a few extra dollars for the thicker gloves to avoid getting pricked.

The garden miniatures are entirely optional. If you are going to be doing a project with succulents, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make a little fairy garden while you are at it.

Set up your planting station – After you have your supplies, you are going to want to decide on a place to assemble your new plants. I am not going to lie; this can get a bit messy. You may want to consider doing your project outside. If going outside is not an option due to weather, make sure you put down newspaper or a plastic cover. Going outside or putting down some floor cover will keep the dirt off your floors. It doesn’t take more than five minutes, and it will be time well spent, especially if you have to spend half an hour cleaning up if you opt not to protect the floor.

Place the rocks and soil – You may be wondering why you are putting rocks in first. Well, it helps with drainage. If you are using a clear container for your succulents, it will make it look good too. Drop a few handfuls of these rocks at the bottom of your container. After this, you will place some of the potting soil. You will want to put enough dirt that the entirety of the root system will be covered entirely. Don’t put too much so that the soil overtakes your pot. It won’t look good, and you will run the risk of the soil falling out when you water it. Depending on the number of succulents you have, this shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to accomplish, provided you have all the supplies from step one.

Dig and prepare – Now, we are very close to planting our first succulents. Don’t go rushing into this next step, though. You want to make sure that you dig a big enough well that your succulents will be level with the top of the soil. If you dig too far down, you will suffocate the plant. Test each plant before moving onto the next. You can just put the temporary pot in the hole. If that pot fits, when you remove it from there, it will fit perfectly.

Plant the succulents – You are now ready to complete the planting process. Gently remove the cactus from its temporary home and place it into the hole you dug. If, for whatever reason, the plant is sitting too low in the hole, drop some soil in the bottom and press down firmly. Remember, we want the base of the plant to be at or above the top of the soil. At this point, you are free to add more soil if necessary.

Water – This is the most crucial step of transplanting your succulents. You need to provide them with a little water. Doing so, will moisten and begin settling the soil. Additionally, it will seal any gaps in the temporary potting soil and your permanent potting soil.

Decorate – Technically, this step is optional. However, you have taken all this time to get your succulent looking good. Why not take it a step further? Add rocks, moss, marbles, or miniatures to make it stand out. These are indoor plants, so you can go all out.

Conclusion

There you have it. I, Mark Roemer, love walking into a house with succulents. They are a great way to accent certain parts of the house. They can even be used to detract from an otherwise undecorated apartment. As a bonus, you have learned a new skill. You could take this new skill and turn it into a profit if you wanted. People are always looking for plants to put in the house. The more detail you give to your DIY project, the more you could get for it. Either way, I wish you the best of luck in planting your succulents.