How to Plant Succulents on top of Pumpkins

How to Plant Succulents on top of Pumpkins

I made this post a few years ago but it is so appropriate for this time of year and deserves to have another go round. The pumpkins are available and what is nicer than a pumpkin planted with succulents? It's the perfect centerpiece for all of Fall and even Thanksgiving. The pumpkin doesn't have to be orange either. A white pumpkin would be darling!

Succulents are my FAVORITE!! The pumpkin is not cut into at all so it lasts a very long time! The trick to this is getting a pumpkin that has a dip where the stem is so it's a little bowl to plant the succulents. Succulents don't have much in the line of roots and they can root on a leaf alone... no roots necessary.

I just love succulents. They are such unusual and attractive plants not to mention HARDY which is really, really important for people who kill regular plants (not me,of course).

What is a succulent? It's a plant with thick leaves or roots in which water is stored for the plant in case of drought (or in case someone forgets to water it... again, not me). So these plants are easy to care for. In the winter here in Connecticut they only need to be watered once a month and kept in a cool place.

I did a post on my pretty succulents HERE.

I decorated them with paper butterflies. That was lots of fun.

I tried to think about how I could link both the plants that I love and a Fall theme... namely PUMPKINS! I love pumpkins, too, so I put the two together. (I might have had a little inspiration from the internet). You can google succulents and pumpkins and a lot comes up.

Okay so to start with you need a few things:

* A pumpkin with its stem removed and that has a dip in the middle (Cinderella pumpkins are lovely).
* A small group of succulents to transplant onto the pumpkin.
* Flat sheet green moss (comes in a package from Joann's or Michael's
* Spray glue

No soil is needed.

The first step is to spray the top of the pumpkin with spray glue lightly and then lay the flat sheet moss in pieces onto the pumpkin. I put 2 layers in the middle of the pumpkin where it is the deepest which makes room for the roots of the succulents.

Then I take the succulents out of the pots and try to pull them apart a little into small sections but with some roots. It's okay if you don't get roots. Just push the leaves into the moss. You can secure them with a bit of glue like Fabri-Tac or E-6000, something that dries quickly and is waterproof. Otherwise, I just squinched the roots down into the middle of the moss and close together. They might be a bit wobbly to start but they will take hold quickly.

I picked out one that is like a rose for the middle of the front so that it's a focal point, a place of beauty for the eye to focus on. Go around the whole piece until it's the way you want it. I bought tall succulents, short succulents, green and blue succulents for variety and interest.

Once you have it the way you like it, spray it with the water lightly until all the moss is wet. After it soaks for a while I tip the pumpkin over so that the extra water can drain off. I don't think it would be good for there to be a puddle up there on the top of the pumpkin.

Here is the way mine looked. It's gotten a little fuller in the past week and a half since I made it.

I asked Mom what I should do with it and she said, "Give it to me" so I did and set it up on her dining room table. She just loves it.

I had these Fall scented candles that I put in a plate. Mmmmm... I love the smell of these candles.

I also bought a small winter squash that had a big dip in the center also so I spray glued onto the top of the squash and then put a few pieces of flat sheet moss on the top and a few little succulents.