How To Make Mini Succulent Pumpkin Planters

These Mini Succulent Pumpkin Planters are such a fun and easy craft idea to get you in the mood for fall.  They are great for centerpieces on a Thanksgiving table, on your fall mantle or on your front porch if you are lucky enough to live in an area without hard frost.

Wherever you display them, these succulent pumpkin planters are easy to make and look gorgeous.

There are a number of similar tutorials out there right now but most of them don’t actually plant the succulents in any soil, some of them just hot glue the plants on top of a mound of moss. Maybe I’m a softie but my heart breaks for these plants!

So instead I’ve chosen to create an actual planter for my succulent babies. I’ve used a mix of tender and hardy succulents, so my pumpkins need to stay inside for the winter. Someday soon I would love to do a large pumpkin full of cold hardy succulents that I can leave out all winter on my front steps.

 

Supplies:

3-6 mini pumpkins

A sharp paring knife

A spray bottle of water for misting

2-4 cups of well-draining potting soil

Moss, either craft moss or wildcrafted moss

Assorted succulents, for each pumpkin I would recommend

3-4  1-inch succulents

3-5 1/2-inch succulents

and 3-5 trailing succulents

 

Step 1

Gather your materials together, your materials together and group together the succulents you’ll be planting together. I like to mix 1 bright coloured one, 1 complimentary colour and 2-3 fillers. Hen and chick is a great filler, it’s usually less expensive than the really colourful and tropical succulents.

 

Step 2

Carefully cut the stem out of your mini pumpkin. I like to start small and then work around the opening to create a 2-3 inch opening in the top.

 

 

Step 3

Scoop out the pumpkin seeds and set them on paper towel to dry, then use them for roasting and eating or save them for planting next year.  To learn more about Growing Organic Pumpkins see Home for the Harvest’s article here.

 

Step 4

Fill the pumpkin 2/3 with soil, make sure to leave enough room for your larger succulents if they have fuller root balls. Loosen root balls or rinse away excess soil if necessary, to ensure the succulents fit in the pumpkin. If you have any succulents that are too big for the pumpkins learn How to Pot Up Succulents here.

 

 

Side note: Above is a succulent that I grew from the leaf of another plant.  I would love to write a lengthy article on propagating succulents but Erin at Faith Food Family Fun has already written an excellent article on How to Propagate Succulents from Leaves. Her article is easy to follow, covers everything you’ll need to know and her technique works better than any other method that I’ve tried! So, if you are looking to propagate your own succulents, read her article, it’s great!

 

Step 5

Arrange your larger succulents around the pumpkin and use gentle pressure to secure them in place. I found that misting the soil with a bit of water helps stick them in place.

 

Step 6

Next, add your trailing succulents, if they have roots already ensure that the roots make contact with the soil so that they continue to grow.

 

 

 

Step 7

Add moss to the center of the pumpkin, this will help cover the roots and hide the cut edge opening of the pumpkin.

 

 

Step 8

Fill in with your small succulents, these are also ones that I propagated from other plants. I’ve seen tutorials where they use florist pins to secure the smaller succulents in place, this would work well. I just wedged them in as fillers and they seem to be holding in place just fine.

 

 

Step 9

After the pumpkin is filled and the succulents feel secure, mist the pumpkin and the succulents well. This will help to tidy up any dirty bits of soil and help to get a bit of moisture on the roots of the succulents.

 

 

 

Ta-da! Aren’t they cute?! 

 

 

Repeat the steps for as many succulent pumpkin planters as you would like! Mist them lightly every 4-6 days and keep them in a bright location to keep them happy. These pumpkins should stay looking good for 10-14 days, maybe more! When the pumpkins begin to look wrinkly and sad, simply Pot Up your Succulents into pretty pots and keep them on the window sill for the winter.

 

 

That’s it for now! If you do make these Succulent Pumpkin Planters please let me know, I’d love to see your finished project! If you or someone you know is a succulent lover, see my Ultimate Gift Guide for Succulent Lovers here!

Thanks for hanging out!

 

Jana

 

 

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