The Great Succulent Experiment

I am embarking on a grand experiment entitled “Houseplants and the Possibly Detrimental Effects of My Brown Thumb on Succulents.”  Okay, so keeping houseplants may not seem like a big endeavor to most of you, but for me it is.  I cannot keep houseplants alive.  Can.  Not.  

I have killed every houseplant I have ever owned – including a bamboo plant.  The plants I grow outdoors at least have a fighting chance at survival, although survival is not guaranteed.  I once killed a dill weed plant that I was growing outside.  Think about that for a minute.

I have wanted to buy some succulents for a while, but I was worried that with my past track record I would just be throwing money down the drain.  But, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?  So, I sucked it up and bought a few.  Let the great experiment begin!

I loved the color and shape of this Senecia or “Blue Chalk Fingers” succulent.  It looks as if it has already bloomed for the year, and I don’t know if they bloom more than once.  The blue color of the plant itself is almost as pretty as a flower anyway!

I potted the succulent in a pottery bowl from Goodwill (which was originally from Target).  I used some of my Martha Stewart brass gilding to create the drips down the side of the bowl.  I like the way that the shapes of the drips reference the shape of the chalk fingers too!.

I planted an Echeveria pulidonis or “Hens and Chicks” and a Crassula ovata ‘Compactum’ or “Mini Jade” in a small crock, also from Goodwill.  Succulents have such pretty variations in their colors, and my reading tells me that the colors will change slightly throughout the year.

I might be getting ahead of myself, but I am hoping that these plants grow well enough that I will be able to propagate them next year.  With succulents, you just need to make a cutting of the plant, let it dry for a few days, and then set it in some soil.  The cutting will send roots out into the soil and make a new plant!  Cool, right?  I found this really helpful Instructables article by user MrBrownThumb that I have pinned for next year.

I will keep you posted on the continuing results of my houseplant experiment.  Hopefully my plant-killing history won’t repeat itself!

Do you have any succulent-growing wisdom?  I would love to hear your advice in the comments!

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Thanks,  Jessica