Cake Tin Succulent Mosaic

Running out of containers for succulents?

Raid the kitchen!  Or at least, think outside the box when out shopping – the dollar store is a good place to start.

Here are some cheap non-stick cake tins that I saw, and immediately thought of growing succulent plants in them.  Here’s how I did it.

Burning off the finish took only a few minutes. 

Then they’re left to rust naturally in the rain and weather.  This can take months, but without the paint or finish on them, this gives the metal a chance to oxidize. 

Drilling some holes in them took much longer; these are just large enough to thread the wire through to hang them up once the plants have rooted in.

Here’s one case where cheaper is better – lower quality pans will be easier to drill through!

Now; time for the fun part.

The panty hose legs are filled with potting soil.  I’m a big fan of using panty hose to plant succulents in; it’s amazing stuff. 

The holes in the nylon knitting are big enough for the tiny roots to worm their way through, firmly anchoring the plants in place.

The legs of the hose are cut off, after filling them with the soil, and knotted to prevent the soil from falling out.  Then, they’re coiled into the cake tin. 

I cut a piece of wire and drilled two more holes to attach it to, top and bottom, to stop the panty hose from just falling out. Initially, they’ll be laid horizontal to let the plants grow some roots through the nylons, but in time I’ll hang them up.

Wherever two coils meet is a place to hold a chick or two; most of these are Sempervivum arachnoideum, the cobweb hens and chicks, and a few sprigs of Sedum lydium, another favorite small scale beauty.

In time, they’ll completely cover the surface of the panty hose, in a year or two.

I’ll be sure to post more pictures as the season progresses.  It can take a while to get the plants big enough to cover the whole surface, but they’ll only take a week or two to make roots and start getting established.  Stay tuned!

Don’t forget to take them down once in a while to water them – they won’t get watered while they’re vertical.

Several months later, these are filling in with more plants, all by themselves. 

They have been laid flat for the most part, most notably in the vintage stove display. 

This makes sure that they are well rooted before I hang them up. 

Nothing looks worse than plants hanging sadly down because they aren’t rooted enough.

Moss will find the conditions it’s happiest in, all by itself – so this must be perfect for them – along with the succulents.

This type of craft is perfect displayed on old junk, like the vintage cook stove – give your garden a humorous touch!