Decorating with succulents at Christmas is the perfect centerpiece for a topiary tree, it needs much less care than a floral arrangement and looks good for months. I started my tree last February so the succulents had plenty of time to grow, but you can create a stunning tree using rosettes of succulents from adult plants in the morning and by evening it will be ready to adorn your table. ..
When I saw succulent Christmas trees made at a local nursery last Christmas for hundreds of dollars, I was inspired to create my own for Christmas. Succulents are so versatile that I use them in many decorative ways. Air plants are right up there in popularity and ease of cultivation.
Other succulent ideas for a great gift for a plant-loving friend is a small garden filled with Christmas succulents and miniatures. For Thanksgiving succulent decorating ideas, go to A Succulent Thanksgiving Centerpiece or Pumpkin Succulent.
Expand and explore the many textures and colors of succulents. I enjoy the colorful, sculptural quality of succulents so much that I continue to find ways to use them around the house and garden.
Preparation
It took weeks to root and fill in, and I wanted to make sure my tree was fully grown by the holidays, so I started on the tree last February. Small succulents in two to three inch pots are available at big box stores for good prices, and if you have any containers of succulents, you can trim the tips to make cuttings. But don’t despair! If you are making your tree now, simply use more cuttings to fill more of the surface, plus you can hide the gaps with reindeer moss.
Aim for a variety of colors and textures when selecting your succulent to make the tree attractive and interesting. There are so many varieties of succulents that this is not difficult to do. The containers are scattered around my property in the fall and I can’t bring them all in, so I take cuttings to root into my tree form.
Echeverias are my choice for tree selection and form a nice large rosette. One called ‘Red Velvet’ sells widely during Christmas because of the fuzzy maroon markings.
- Cut a piece of chicken wire about 18 inches long. This length depends on the size of the tree you want to finish. Mine ended up being 15 inches tall and 10 inches wide at the base.
- Form the chicken wire into a cone and secure by folding the ends inward.
- Saturate the sphagnum moss in water and firmly fill the form with the moss; Be sure to pack down the moss so you have a firm base to work on.
- If I take cuttings, I cut off the growing tip, which is about 2 to 5 inches long, remove the lower leaves, and let the cuttings sit at room temperature for a few hours to form a callus.
- If you are using small potted plants, remove the plant from the pot, shake off most of the soil around the roots, and you are ready to insert it into moss.
- Using a pencil or pointed stick, insert the tip into the sphagnum moss and wiggle the end to make the hole large enough to receive the cutting or plant.
- Insert the cut as far as you can; If the cutting is loose, you can use fern pins to hold it steady.
- Place the filled moss cone in a pot of soil and secure the edges to the soil with fern pins.
- For the first few days, keep the cone in the shade, gradually moving it towards the sun, when the cuttings begin to take root, which may only take a week or two.
- To water, soak the cone in a bucket of water for a few minutes until completely saturated, about once a week; Alternatively, you can completely spray the entire tree.
- As the plants grow, you will need to cut the tips and use these cuttings to fill the holes.
My succulent tree continued to grow all summer, and periodically I would cut off a tip that was getting too long and fill in an empty spot so that by the end of the growing season, my tree would be completely full.
If you want to see how to make other succulent creations, such as a wreath, a sphere, and a small garden, go to Succulent Creations to see step by step how to make other shapes.
Finally, for Christmas, I placed the pot in a decorative container and decorated it with some Christmas balls. As a final touch, I glued some reindeer moss and/or small air plants in the empty spaces.
To keep the tree alive over the winter, I will place it in a sunny window and keep it watered by soaking it in the tub periodically so everything roots and the succulents begin to actively grow.
