Fun Succulents Terrarium Party!

It was great getting together with the girls creating beautiful succulent terrariums recently.  The fun really begins when we all got our hands dirty with the soil, trying to figure out how to coordinate the plants to make it look good, layering the sand, sand stones, glitter sands of different colors, sparkly glass bits, potting soil, mulch, and when they are all assembled, it was gorgeous!  This is one of my favorite girlfriends out activity.

Succulents are getting lots of attention lately.  This is such a hot topic and the thing to do!  It is so calming to have a terrarium of green cuteness in your living or work space.  It does cheer one up especially when you can add messages and words like Good times, Dream, Imagine, Love, or a glow in the dark mini person for Holloween, Happy face, etc.

So this is the next important thing, now that we have this lovely succulent terrarium in our care.  How not to kill it!!!  It is low maintenance, but it still needs some basic care to keep it alive and looking happy!

Succulent plants, can also be known as Fat plant (I like the word Chubby!), since they have some extraordinary thickened and flashy leaves.  They are thick for a reason, to retain water efficiently which is a survival factor for these plants that are mostly found in dry soil condition in arid climates geographically.  They are low bearing ground plants, and have a variety of shapes, colors, and forms. So far, there are more than 200 species of succulents and cacti that are suitable for table top potted arrangements.  With the interesting variety, and low maintenance requirement, no wonder they are one of the most popular items/gift to be enjoyed by everyone.  Not to mention the love it takes to put one together for your family or friends!

Succulents do not behave the same as outdoor plants, it takes over a week for them to need water, and to ensure that their roots do not rot, we do not soak the soil and ensure that we have good drainage in the pot for the water to escape. Part of a successful potted succulent is to maintain layers of sand stone, with sand, and perlite with activated charcoal to prevent bacteria from starting.  The roots will be healthy and dry but not so dry to the extent of thirst.   They do not need direct light, but too little light can cause the plants to loose it's color, and became pale. Too much light can burn their leaves causing spots and marks and they will start to dry out and wither.  Sometimes, the glass terrarium can refract sunlight and so it is good practice to put them in an area that has indirect sunlight.
When watering these lovelies, do not pour a lot of water at the same time, gently seep water onto top soil and let it absorb slowly.  That's it!  You can enjoy them for a long time.

I am in the process of germinating some succulents.  Can't wait to see the baby succulents appear!  Will post some pictures later.

A few tips for succulents:

Use Cactus soil for succulents
Layer with rough pebbles and sand to maintain good drainage
Add activated charcoal to make sure no molds can be formed
Perlite is great for avoiding bacteria in the roots
Get a moisture meter to see how soil is 
Water a week to week and half 
Do not soak roots
Moderate indirect sunlight

HAPPY PLANTING AND ENJOY!