REUSE, REPEAT: Succulents!
Hey there! Welcome to the second rendition of Reuse, Repeat!. It’s Jamie again. I’m going to take you through planting succulents in your empty Theraplant Glass Jars.
Succulents are the quintessential houseplant. They’re relatively easy to maintain, look great, and if you buy them tiny, they’re not that expensive (on average $2-$4 per plant). Seeing as we will be planting them in our small jars, therefore only using small succulents, this project is relatively budget-friendly. Let’s dive in!
You Will Need:
1 clean, dry Theraplant Glass Jar
1 tiny succulent
About 1 cup of either cactus soil or potting soil mixed with either sand, pumice, or perlite.
Side note: If all you have is potting soil, that’s ok. I’ve potted my succulents over the years in plain potting soil and they turn out fine. I typically water them even less if they’re just potted in potting soil, as potting soil doesn’t have as much drainage as cactus soil or mixed soil. If you use cactus soil or mixed soil you will have a bit more leeway with watering cycles and will be able to water slightly more frequently and with slightly more water (there’s a delicate balance though so there may be a period of trial and error). I’ve put some additional helpful watering tips down towards the bottom of this post if you’d like to read more on this.
Step 1:
Set up your workspace. If you’re anything like me you will 100% get soil everywhere. So, I suggest you set up in a space you don’t mind getting a little messy or doing this project outside if you can. Some newspaper or a small tarp protecting your workspace surface will help with cleanup and will only require a few extra moments of your time.
Step 2:
Take your empty, clean, and dry Theraplant Glass Jar and fill it halfway with soil. Press the soil down slightly, focusing on the center of the pile so that a small indentation forms. Add more soil, but as you do, press it into the sides of the jar. You’re trying to create a little pocket for the succulent to fit into.
Step 3:
Once you have enough soil in place, remove your succulent from its temporary pot. To do this, grab the bottom-most exposed part of the succulent, being careful to not knock any leaves off, and pull. If your succulent is a little stubborn getting out of its pot, you can squeeze the sides of the temporary pot to help it along.
Step 3.5 (optional):
Once your succulent friend is free, pull out the bottom roots a bit (really, just a little bit). This encourages the roots to grow and will help the succulent adapt to its new home quicker. You don’t have to do this, but it will make your new plant friend a bit happier. You may notice I completely forgot to do this in my demonstrative video. My succulents are doing just fine regardless.
Step 4:
With your soil shaped around the inside of the jar, place the succulent right in the hole. Anytime I’ve repotted a plant of any size I always have to adjust the soil at least once to get it at the right height. Hopefully, your ability to eye-measure soil levels relative to plant size is much better than mine, but if it isn’t, don’t be afraid to play around with the soil to get the perfect situation. Ideally, there will be a bit of headroom between the bottom leaves and the top of the soil. The surface level of the soil should not be at the same level as the lip of the jar. Once you’ve situated the succulent in its hole in the soil, start adding more soil to fill in the dead space. As you do this, press down into the soil to lock your succulent into place. Keep doing this until your succulent is situated nicely in the jar and looks secure (ie. isn’t wiggling around / there’s no dead space between the wall of the pot and the succulent).
Step 5:
Add a teeny tiny amount of water to give your succulent some extra love. You may notice the soil level goes down a bit more than you’d like at this moment. You can always add extra soil to level it off.
Step 6:
Find a nice spot for your new plant friend and snap a picture for us! If you’re feeling extra generous you can post it on social media and tag us :). We’d love to see what you all do with our new jars!
Important Notes About Succulent Care
Watering:
Succulents are unique in that they require a different watering cycle than your average house plant. They prefer to have a lot of water per watering to fully submerge the roots, but they like their soil to be dry shortly after. This is why succulents are often potted in soil with good drainage, such as cactus soil. As mentioned above, if you do not have anything but plain potting soil, it’s going to be okay. I’ve used just potting soil to pot my succulents and while they’ve been through a lot, they’re thriving now, some are approaching 7-8 years old. It’s all about finding the right watering routine & finding that good light.
Due to the fact there are no drainage holes in our glass jars caring for your succulent will require a teeny bit of extra TLC. If you are not interested implementing this level of care to your succulents, you can opt to keep the succulent in its original tiny pot (these should have drainage holes) and simply use our glass jars as a decorative vanity container for the original pot. This way, when you water the succulents, the water will drain into the glass jar and you will not have to worry as much about overwatering. But, if that’s not your look, keep reading.
Once you’ve potted your succulent and it’s lookin’ good, as suggested, water your new friend just a tiny bit. If you want to be exact about it, you can water it with 2 tablespoons of water at first. Once you’ve initially watered your succulent, you’re going to want to check on it daily. If it dries out in 1-2 days, continue watering the succulent with that amount of water. If it takes longer than 2 days for the soil to dry, decrease the amount of water by 1 tablespoon. Let your succulent go without water for at least a full day, but continue to monitor the soil for a few weeks until you find the right water amount & the right cycle. This sounds like a lot at first but once you get it down you won’t have to worry about it again.
Sunlight:
Succulents love light! They prefer at least half a day’s worth of sunlight, but if you give them a full day of moderate to bright indirect light they’ll still be happy. They are certainly not a low light plant, though, so place them in your home accordingly.
Seasonal changes:
You may need to adjust your plant care when between seasons. In the warmer months, plants shift into high growth cycles and will require more frequent waterings. The opposite applies for the colder months. Due to the decreased daily light, your plants will not grow as rapidly and will not need to be watered as frequently.
Things to look out for:
Growing patterns - plants grow towards sunlight; it’s their food and their livelihood. When you notice plants starting to lean, or grow heavily in one direction, give them a spin and train them to grow in the opposite direction.
Falling bottom leaves - This is commonly mistaken for a plant health issue. Just like any plant, some bottom-most leaves will fall off. This is part of a plant’s natural growth cycle. If top leaves begin to fall you may need to address other issues. It could be due to root rot caused by overwatering.
Shriveling leaves - This is often a sign that your plant needs more watering. Try increasing your watering volume first, then if that doesn’t seem to help, try increasing the frequency at which you water your succulent. Always be sure to keep an eye on the soil moisture level. An overwatered plant can have many other issues that are more challenging to remediate, so be careful not to over-do it.
Thinning / stretching - If your succulent begins to grow tall, but with sparse leaves (leaves that are spaced very far apart), your succulent needs more light. Try to catch this issue before it gets too bad, as it will permanently change the appearance of your succulent.
Ok, phew! That was a lot. Thank you for sticking around. I tried to keep this post short and sweet but there was simply too much information to share. This post will live on forever in Theraplant blog land and you can reference it at any time down the road. If you have more specific questions regarding succulent care, I’m far from an expert, but feel free to contact me and I can try my best to assist (j.gouger@theraplant.com).
You know I can’t sign off here without requesting some cute pics of the result of this lil project, so if you repurpose your glass jars into succulent planters, please send us pictures or post on FB or IG and tag us @theraplant!
Much love friends, happy planting <3
- Jamie
