DIY Succulent Teacher Gift

We are huge fans of succulents in this house. They are such a simple and beautiful plant. Even better, they make a great gift. With Teacher Appreciation Week and Mother’s Day coming up I decided to work on a fun gift idea with my daughter. I hope you enjoy this diy succulent teacher gift.

DIY Succulent Teacher Gift

This is a simple gift idea that will be a great way to put a smile on someone’s face. I will share tips to make a simple gift for someone in your life. You will also find tips for propagating your own succulents, caring for succulents, and a free printable thank you to add on to your gift container. We went with a simplified version of this. However, your children can decorate the pot as much as possible. They can also paint it so that it is customized for each teacher. My daughter did music notes for her music teacher, a beaker for her science teacher, and a ton of other special themes.

You Will Need

Succulents – You can buy succulents at Lowes, Wal Mart, and a variety of other stores. Our best deal on a large selection was found at Lowes. We did 7 planters and picked up 7 of one plant and then a variety of others to mix in to the pot. (You can also buy them on Amazon but you may pay a bit more.)

Small Clay Pot – I picked these up at Wal Mart for 70 cents each. I needed an extra while at Lowes and paid a dollar for the same one.

Potting Soil – I picked up a mixed soil that was a cheaper soil. You don’t need the pricier soils as succulents are meant to be dessert plants.

Making your Succulent Teacher Gift

If you are going to decorate your pot in a way that will make the teacher smile, do that before you do anything else.

Fill your pots 3/4 of the way with soil. – You will want room to add your plants later so make sure to not overfill your pots. (The ones above had to have some soil pulled out of them.)

Add your first larger succulent in the back portion of the pot. – You will want this succulent to be 1/4 inch from the rim of the pot. You don’t need to plant it terribly deep either. The goal is to cover the roots with soil and make sure they are stable.

Add your second smaller succulent. – Make sure to have it a 1/4 inch from the rim of the pot and from the other plant. It will need space to grow. Make sure to not crowd larger succulents into a smaller pot. Your succulents will grow and expand a bit so you want to give them room to do that.

Add your third succulent to the pot. – Again, keep spacing in mind. You want to leave a bit of space for these succulents to grow.

Once you are done planting your succulents add a small amount of water. – I would say probably 2 tablespoons of water in order to make sure they will grow well but so that you don’t overwater. Overwatering succulents can kill them because the plant will get soggy and decay.

Want to add a special touch?

While we didn’t add this because my daughter did something different with hers, I wanted to give you a free printable you could use if needed. These printable thank you notes would be perfect on card stock or paper on some twine around your planter.

Download your Thank You printable

How to Propagate your own succulents

Do you want to save some money on succulents and make future gifts?

Start with the leaf from your succulent of choice.

Fill a container that can drain well with soil.

Put the leaf flat on the soil.

Take a spray bottle and mist these leaves once a day.

Leave in direct sunlight at least 6 hours a day.

Your leaf will start by growing roots. As it absorbs the nutrients from the leaf, it will grow a tiny succulent plant and the leaf will start to die.

Let your small succulent establish roots for at least a week or two before transplanting to a new container.

Caring for your succulents

One of the first questions anyone gifted a succulent will ask you is, “How do I keep from killing it?” So let’s talk about that. The care of your succulents will depend greatly on which ones you pick up.

Water sparingly – Succulents aren’t made for wetter soil. In fact, they are best in desert climates. This means that you will want to avoid overwatering. A friend of mine always suggests an ice cube or two once a week.

Full sun 6 hours a day – Succulents need a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight a day. Put your succulents near a window that gets sunlight so that your succulent can stay healthy.

Thinning it out. – Many succulents can have babies. If you don’t want them to overcrowd your container either transplant those to a new container or just pull them out and toss them.

Moving succulents outside – I live in Florida so succulents live well in the ground here. I can easily plant them in the yard and have them grow. That said, if you don’t live in a warmer client, you probably want to grow them in a pot or container that can be brought inside during the winter. Succulents don’t like temperatures below the 50’s in the winter. If you live in a climate that gets those temperatures you will want to bring them inside.

Best Indoor Succulents

According to an article from Balcony Garden Web the best indoor succulents are:

• Burro’s Tail
• Zebra Cactus
• Aloe Vera
• Crown of Thorns
• Hens and Chicks
• String of Bananas
• Lithops
• Christmas Cactus
• Ponytail Palm
• Snake Plant
• String of Pearls
• Panda Plant
• Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana
• Pencil Cactus

There are many more. These are simply his top suggestions. I find that if you ask the garden people at a Lowes or local garden center they can advise you about the best succulents to plant for inside.