A Wreath in the Making

12 years ago

There are many different ways to make a wreath if you look on google, but most have basically the same idea.

I used two 12" metal wreath forms purchased from a craft store for $6 total. I bought one cu ft of spagnum moss for like $4, and a roll of fishing line which holds the moss on the form.

Here are the forms, plants, moss (soaking in water at right), and plant clips to hold some of them in place:

Stuffing the wet sphagnum into the wreath forms...

{{gwi:494909}}

Although not all instructions do this, I elected to put a layer of soil in between the two moss-filled forms so they will have just a little organic stuff to snack on. You can skip this and just spray liquid fertilizer every month or so.

Using tweezers, scissors and flower pins, I poked holes, and inserted the cuttings and small rooted succulents.

Some people go for a specific color theme, but in general, I like mash-ups of as many bright colors as I can fit in, so I went with this here as well...

Completed, about two days later:

{{gwi:494912}}

After two weeks in a brightly lit, 75 degree room, I hung it:

{{gwi:494913}}

I lost a plant or two, including sunburning that small bromedliad at the top. Also, I went to lowes after a fresh shipment from altman plants and found a few that I thought would fit in nicely. (see below for current pics).

Things I would do differently:

1. Allow the cuttings to dry more than two days (I am very impatient in general). I lost a couple cuttings to rot because they weren't calloused over quite enough.

2. After rewetting the spagnum, I would let it dry for several hours or a day so it's not super wet when the cuttings are placed into it.

All told, it took about 3.5-4hrs start to finish, but I think I could do the next one in about 2 hrs.

Total cost: initially it totaled about $25 including plants(I used quite a few cuttings from my own garden), but I added 2-3 $4 plants since then.

Overall difficultly: maybe a 5 out of 10? I am not very crafty in general, and did not have too much trouble.

Final pics:

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Comments (15)

elichka
12 years ago
Looks awesome, TFS. I just dont have enough patience, all I can do plant in a tiny pots and obsess over them.
greenclaws UK, Zone 8a
12 years ago
Fantastic!!!.....I especially like the pic taken against the pinkish background, it looks really awesome!! Will be interesting to see how it looks in the weeks to come. Lovely work, I hope it lasts for you.
Gill from the UK.
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ssk22 Ohio 5b
12 years ago
CG,
What a nice wreath! Makes me want to make one....
Thanks for sharing
Sharon
rosemariero6
12 years ago
Most EXCELLENT, ChemGardner! Great colors-nice variety & simple instructions WITH PHOTOS, including your adjustments! Fabulous!!! Good job!
seedmoney
12 years ago
I want one!
Lovely colors--thanks for sharing with us.
emerald1951
12 years ago
Hi...Your wreath is beautiful...great job...I have always wanted to do one, or a ball, I just don't have enough plants yet...maybe this summer...I like how you added plants after you lost some...that gives me the idea of planted what I have a add as I go...
thanks for posting....linda
pennyhal
12 years ago
Absolutely gorgeous! Yours are far prettier than mine. Was this your first wreath?

Making wreaths is what got me started in this obessesion last spring. I didn't know I was buying plants that would grow tall and others that would creep along at that time so they became table decorations! A learning experience. I've made a couple of kissing balls, but the wire frames are expensive.

Please post again after the plants start growing! They say you just keep it pruned, but that could be a scary thing to do.

Penny
ChemGardner
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you all for the kind comments.

Linda- you could absolutely start small and add to it continuously as time and budget allow. One recommendation would to buy a one gallon portulacara afra (variegated or not), and a one gallon sedum of some sort. They would yield you 10's of cuttings, and even more a month later.

I lined the inside of mine with sedum rubrotictum So it would be inexpensive, and fill in over time.

I expect the Pink aloe to outgrow its space over time, heck, I even had to trim the roots to fit it in. But I loved the way it looked and can cross that bridge when I come to it.

Originally, I was actually deciding between making a wreath, a hanging orb, and a framed hanging art piece. I may tackle one of the other two next.

Penny- yes, this was my first one. Check local craft stores for the frames, they should be just a few bucks each. I will keep it updated as it fills in :)
paul_
12 years ago

WOW!!!
squishyplant
12 years ago
Very nice! I've been tossin the idea around to try myself.
Matthew
dellis530
12 years ago
Just beautiful!! Maybe I'll try one myself. One question, what do you do with it when the cuttings start to grow taller and now the arrangement is a little stragley? Do you just cut the cuttings back or replace etc?

Denise
chaparralgirl
12 years ago
CG: EEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (That's my squeal of delight.) :)

*CG*
ChemGardner
Original Author
12 years ago
Denise- I haven't quite got there yet :) If the plants start to inhibit each other's growth and general happiness, I'll trim it and put those cuttings towards another wreath or maybe a ball or framed living art. If not, ill just let it go crazy for a year and see what it does.
pennyhal
12 years ago
I found the easiest way for me to water the wreaths was to set it in a plastic drip pan...or whatever those things are called that you put under pots with holes. For a 12" wreath, a 16" pan worked until the plants start to outgrow it. Just fill the pan about half way up with water and let the moss get completely soaked. Add more water if needed. That moss gets pretty dried out and trying to give it a good drenching with a hose is difficult as the plants often block the water from getting to the moss. And it takes a while for the moss to get wetted too. I usually left it for 20min or so. Those wreaths get heavy with water and after a couple of times you'll be able to tell by its weight if it needs water or not.

You can always remove plants that aren't happy and stick others in, or add more!

The wire wreath frames I got at my local Joann's store very cheaply. But the globes, I've had to order online. The place I got mine no longer carries them, but they are still available. I want to try a topiary next.
pennyhal
12 years ago
When I was at the nursery today this gal behind me had this HUGE cart full of succulents. She works at the classy mall near me. Apparently they have these huge wire globes there that they use for decoration and when they are done with them, she gets them for free and makes succulent globes out of them. I inquired if she had to spend $$$ for plants...of course, she had a ton of 6in pots in her cart so she must...and she said that she had lots of plants at home from purchases from prior globes she had made that she'd take cuttings from too! She then trotted off and I saw her grabbing bags of moss. I wish I had thought to get her to email me a photo of her creation. Anyhow, I thought I'd share that source of globes, if you are interested in something really big! Go to the malls and look around!

A Wreath in the Making

Comments (15)

elichka

greenclaws UK, Zone 8a

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A Wreath in the Making

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