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Sunday 2 March 2014

cacti and succulents



I've been building up a collection of cacti and succulents ever since last summer, when I posted about making some DIY planters for cacti. I realised the other day I hadn't shared any photos of my little plant family since it's grown. obviously that needed rectifying immediately, especially as I picked up some AMAZING planters over the Christmas period. the dolls head planter was a Christmas gift from my sister - she got it from Bella Does Brighton at the Renengade Craft Fair. the ceramic eye planter, and the two ceramic face planters, were both from an artist at the Southbank Festival Market, but I can't for the life of me find her online :(


I know you're not supposed to plant cacti or succulents in pots without drainage holes - well, actually I didn't know that, but soon realised after two of my cacti died (not just because of the lack of drainage holes, it was also partly to do with my boyfriend getting a bit over-zealous with watering them!) however what I do to get around it is I either plant the cacti in a small plastic pot with holes in first, and then plant it in the ceramic planter. alternatively, I put LOTS of gravel at the bottom of the pot first, which means the plant and soil isn't sitting in water constantly.


I'm no plant expert by any stretch of the imagination (my mum had to help me replanting these as I was clueless!) but basically my top tips for looking after cacti are;

- plant them in cacti soil, not in ordinary soil. you can buy cacti soils from the garden centre, but I made up my own using a mix of coarse sand and compost. make sure you use garden grade sand, not building sand, as building sand has a lot of salt in it usually, which will leach into the soil.
- don't overwater your cacti. if the soil is dry, that does not mean they need watering. I water my cacti about once a month in winter, and about once every 10-14 days in hot weather. and when I water them I only give them a small amount at a time.
- keep them somewhere really sunny. even somewhere that's a little bit shady can have an adverse effect on them. they like as much sun as possible, which is why I keep mine on my windowsill and on a shelf directly next to the window.



does anyone else have a collection of plants going on? what do you plant yours in? do you find them easy to look after? looking at my little plant family here makes me feel very proud - I've never been good at keeping plants alive, but I think I may have finally got the hang of it, and I can't wait to get even more in the future!

10 comments:

  1. I love the doll face plant pot and cactus - amazing!

    Thanks for sharing x

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    1. it's so awesome isn't it?! my sister knows me so well! Bella Does Brighton do a whole selection of them, I definitely want more!

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  2. What a fantastic idea for displaying cacti. Oh wow, I'm inspired! I confess I've always found them a little...dull, and have killed every one I've ever had but now I feel I want to get creative and find something jolly to plant them in and have another go!

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    1. I always found them a bit boring too, but then I saw that my friends Harriet (from Hello Harriet) and Rachel (from Oh No Rachio) had an amazing collection of them, and they looked so pretty, so I bought a couple. it's definitely all about having good pots though - I bought some plain mugs from Ikea and drew on them :)

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  3. <3 I love love love succulents! I have so many of them now, they're actually taking over my flat! ooh and I think they eye and face pots are by Kinska? https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KinskaShop?ref=l2-shop-info-name I've had those very ones on my wish list for a while x

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    1. THAT'S IT! thanks lovey, I'm gonna go update the blog post. I literally spent about half an hour googling different things trying to find her! she was selling at the Southbank Market with me and is SOOOOO lovely! and it was yours and Rachel's collections that actually inspired me to start my own! you're my hero xoxo

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  4. I looooove succulents and cacti, unfortunately being back at my parents atm means I don't have the room for any in my life. One day! Love the array of pots you have them in!! :D
    Raffles Bizarre Blog

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    1. ahhh yeah I still live at home with my parents :( but I've dedicated a windowsill to them - I'll have to wait until I move out to really go cacti crazy!

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  5. Here's another plants and succulents lover!! I have lots of plants inside, but in one of my corners i only put white pots, lovely collection i gathered from thirftstores, fleamarkets or shops. And when it's summer, most of my succulents and cacti move outside :)

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  6. Beautiful ideas for home and office decor to make it look interesting! These indoor office plants are also available online which you can purchase and create such innovative decor for the house. Keep posting such content!

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