The festive season has long been resembled by masses of twinkling lights, scrumptious food, and a towering tree decorated from tip to trunk. Add to the décor and green up the holiday this year, with a stunning living Christmas wreath.
More sustainable than its typical plastic counterpart, a wreath created from living plants will not only make an eye-catching statement piece to adorn either a front door or use as a table centrepiece; but can also be repurposed in the New Year, since the plants can be potted up for use in either a garden or as individual gifts. In this case, succulents are ideal for Christmas decorations since they grow slowly, live all year round, and require little water or maintenance. Mix and match from a wide array of colours, shapes and textures to create a festive display that is sure to impress. And as an added bonus, embracing the eco-friendly option is also surprisingly easy!
Creating living wreaths begins with the base, as this determines how it will be used. You can craft a stunning gift line that can either be hung over doors as hanging gardens, or laid flat to adorn a Christmas feast. For hanging wreaths, you’ll need to use sphagnum moss wrapped around a wire or mesh mould. Poke holes into the moss by using a chopstick or pen for where you want each succulent to sit. Use Florist’s pins or thin wire to hold the succulents in place. Tip: To really nail the look, first lay out your succulents on a table prior to this, in the exact arrangement that you want to achieve. Take a photo before you begin adding plants to the peat, to ensure you can remember the design!
For flat-lay wreaths, use a shallow, doughnut-shaped bowl or planter which also makes it easy to move the display from table to table as needed. Add a good quality potting mix that incorporates sand to facilitate better drainage. Create holes in the soil using a chopstick or pen, and add each succulent as per your design. If you cannot source a shallow bowl or planter with a hole in it, simply arrange the succulents around the outer edge, then when finished, add a squat column or pillar candle to the middle. Warning: lit flames close to foliage are a fire hazard, so place the candle inside a glass cannister or on a wide saucer to sit safely amongst the arrangement.
Water the wreaths whenever they feel dry— this could be approximately every four to nine weeks, depending on the ambient temperature and lighting.
Our range of 10cm succulents are perfect for crafting a living wreath. Christmas is a festoon of bright colours, and this can be easily incorporated into your wreath with the aptly named Aloe Christmas Carol, or Crassula Campfire and Peperomia graveolens, all of which have red and green coloured foliage that suits the season perfectly. For extra festivity, add Sedum Gold Mound, whose slim spiky leaves will glow sunshine yellow all year round. Similarly, other succulents with star-shaped foliage like Sedum Blue Feather and Crassula Surprise Party work well in a living wreath.
For a softer and more demure look, opt instead for classic flower-shaped succulents with a rosette growth habit. This is where Echeverias shine! Choose the pale blue and pink shades of Echeveria Blue Bird, Echeveria Morning Beauty and Echeveria Pearl von Nuremberg, or go bold with Echeveria Chocolate.
There really is no limit to this new tradition, other than your imagination…