DIY // Succulent Planter

02/25/2014

These DIY Succulent Planters are really simple and leave your outdoor pots with a really cool, unglazed finish look. Turn your unused collection of pots into beautiful homemade pots!

Do you ever find that you end up accumulating the most eclectic assortment of things?  If you look inside one of my cabinets you will be greeted with quite the collection of vases– skinny, square, glass, silver– you name it and it’s in there!  The same is true for outdoor pots, so why not make some DIY succulent planters!

Some of them we inherited with the house as they were left in the garage and backyard, others have come with plants that didn’t survive my not-so-green thumb, and then there are those that I saw and just had to have.

When Lindsay said she had a simple solution for making this eclectic collection cohesive, I was all ears! Take it away, Lindsay…

Supplies For DIY Succulent Planters

• Flower pot
• White matte spray paint
• Grey matte spray paint (we actually used grey primer)
• Glossy top coat spray paint
• Painter’s tape
• Bone folder
• Saran wrap
• Protective tarp

How To Make These DIY Succulent Planters – Step by Step

1. With the pot standing right-side up (and the tarp protecting your work area), begin spraying even layers of white paint around the top half. Don’t worry about completely covering the bottom portion since you’re going to paint that a different color later. Pro tip: If you’re painting on a high-gloss pot, you’ll want to sand it down first so the paint has something to grab onto.

2. Once the white has dried, use the painter’s tape to mark off a curved edge for the grey paint. Gently press a bone folder alone the tape’s edge to ensure a clean line for the paint.

3. Tear off a sheet of saran wrap that’s long enough to cover the pot. Cover the top portion and tape the saran wrap to the painter’s tape that’s already on the pot. This creates a protective “bubble” for the white paint.

4. Flip the pot upside down and spray thin, even layers of the grey spray paint until you’ve built an even color block.

5. When the grey has dried completely, carefully peel off the tape and saran wrap. Give the entire pot a generous coat of the glossy top coat, plant a few earthy succulents, and enjoy!

Are Concrete Pots Good For Succulents?

Absolutely! Concrete pots are porous so water can evaporate quickly, making them the perfect pot material for cacti and succulents. … Concrete pots are durable and great at insulating plants against sudden temperature fluctuations. Make sure you use masonry spray to paint them.

What’s A Good Size For A Succulent Pot?

Too big of a pot is probably the number one issue that people have when growing succulents. 

Not only does it take a ton of soil, but it also holds way too much water. 

A succulent plant stranded in the middle of a large pot will not be happy, they may survive, but there’s no incentive to grow much. 

The ideal size of a pot for most succulents is that it’s about five to ten percent bigger than the size of the plant at the surface. 

For rosette type succulents, this would mean that an Echeveria of around 3″ across would fit into something that is around 3.5 to 4″ across, or just a little bigger than the rosette..

Echeveria and many other succulents don’t have much in the way of tap roots, so they can be planted successfully into a shallow bowl shape of a planter.  Other plants like Jovibarba heuffelii need more depth with their extensive tap root system.

How Do You Make Succulent Soil?

Making your own succulent soil is not only cheaper than buying the commercial stuff, it’s really easy! 

The succulent potting soil recipe you can use is:

1. 3 parts potting soil.
2. 2 parts coarse sand (turface or poultry grit)
3. 1 part perlite (or pumice)

Top Tips For DIY Succulent Planters

• Soak the pot in a tub of warm water for up to an hour, then scrub it with a stiff brush.
• Use tarp to protect your work area, ideally spray outside. If inside make sure it’s a well ventilated area.
• Use a bone folder along the tape’s edge to ensure a clean line for the paint.
• Apply additional coats until the desired color depth is achieved.

Check Out These Other Great Outdoor Posts

•  10 Dreamy Before and After Outdoor Projects
• Summer Adventures in Our Own Backyard
• Glamping
• A Backyard Kids Halloween Party with Minted

Have you made these DIY Succulent Pots? Feel free to leave a star rating and I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

Print

DIY Succulent Planters

These DIY Succulent Planters are really simple and leave your outdoor pots with a really cool, unglazed finish look. Turn your unused collection of pots into beautiful homemade pots!

Prep Time5 mins

Active Time10 mins

drying30 mins

Total Time15 mins

Yield: 1 pot

Author: Jen Pinkston

Equipment

• White matte spray paint
• Grey matte spray paint (we actually used grey primer)
• Glossy top coat spray paint
• Flower pot
• Painter's tape
• Bone folder
• Saran wrap
• Protective tarp

Instructions

• With the pot standing right-side up (and the tarp protecting your work area), begin spraying even layers of white paint around the top half. Don't worry about completely covering the bottom portion since you're going to paint that a different color later. Pro tip: If you're painting on a high-gloss pot, you'll want to sand it down first so the paint has something to grab onto.
• Once the white has dried, use the painter's tape to mark off a curved edge for the grey paint. Gently press a bone folder alone the tape's edge to ensure a clean line for the paint.
• Tear off a sheet of saran wrap that's long enough to cover the pot. Cover the top portion and tape the saran wrap to the painter's tape that's already on the pot. This creates a protective "bubble" for the white paint.
• Flip the pot upside down and spray thin, even layers of the grey spray paint until you've built an even color block.
• When the grey has dried completely, carefully peel off the tape and saran wrap. Give the entire pot a generous coat of the glossy top coat, plant a few earthy succulents, and enjoy!