Plant a Succulent Bowl

Creating a lush and lovely bowl of succulents for your patio table is easy. In fact, you can do it in 5 easy steps.

What are succulents?

They’re plants with fleshy leaves, stems, or roots from all over the world. Examples include Agave, Echeveria, Semperviven, and sedum. Lowe’s Garden Center sells a mix of succulents in different colors and leaf types. Choose your favorites and mix them up because succulent bowls are all about color and texture!

In addition to plants, here’s what you need:

Bowl. Make sure you use a container with a drainage hole in the bottom. If the container doesn’t have one, drill several small holes.

Potting mix. Succulents don’t like wet feet, so your soil should drain easily (and that’s why you need the drainage hole in the container bottom).

Light. Succulents love sun. Be sure that your location, such as a patio table, is in full sun. Ideally, your plants should receive 6 to 8 hours of sun each day.

Water. Of course all plants need water to live, but succulents don’t need a lot. That makes them very low maintenance too!

Gravel or another ornamental topper (optional). This provides a finished look and keeps soil from splashing on foliage.

So let’s getting potting!

Step 1: Fill a bowl of your choice with potting mix. You can use a special soil mix for succulents or create your own by mixing potting soil with sand to make it more porous (remember, succulents don’t like wet roots).

Step 2: Add a focal point as a centerpiece. This is usually the largest or most colorful plant. Remove the plant from its nursery pot by turning it upside down in your hand, pulling off the pot, then setting the plant into the center of the bowl. If the plant has sharp edges, such as agave, wear gloves.

Step 3: Plant the edges of the bowl. Use a mix of succulents for texture and color. Don’t worry about planting too close. These plants can go shoulder to shoulder. You want them to have a lush, crowded look.

Step 4: Fill in any gaps with soil mix, tamping lightly. Finish off with a topper of gravel, aquarium stone, or some other ornamental material.

Step 5: Water. Use a watering can with a narrow spout so you can direct the stream into the soil rather than on foliage. The root systems of succulents are very good at providing moisture for the plants, so be careful not to overwater.

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