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Succulent plant container

terence.mccallumterence.mccallum Posts: 72
in Garden design
Hi everyone,
I have been given a few succulent plants and was wondering if I could make a cement container for them, I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction to make one 
thanks Terry
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  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Hi @terence.mccallum - I think it's relatively easy to do but you need a mould of some kind and then you'd use concrete rather than just cement. I expect there would be Youtube videos you could access too. The weight is sometimes a problem ,but it's fine if you aren't needing to move it around too much. 
    An alternative is do a 'Geoff Hamilton' type of container. He used to make rocks for the garden by digging a hole and lining it with plastic, then putting a layer of concrete inside it.
    You could also do it with some wooden shuttering to make a 'box', with an outer and inner layer. You'd do a base layer first, using something to leave drainage holes - piece of pipe or similar, then put the inner skin in.  Then fill the gap. The ready to use stuff would be ideal. That would be quite easy to do. The drawback is that there's a shortage of concrete products just now. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    If you are able to construct as @Fairygirldescribes above, it also improves the appearance if you slightly roughen the outsides and paint with yogurt - sounds weird but it helps achieve an aged and more natural look in a relatively short time :)
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    You mean concrete not cement. Hubby made this one ready mix he said don't get the fast drying stuff. It was made in a flower pot,you can put another smaller flower pot inside,he didn't bother,he just moulded by hand. Said while it's still wet,wipe the outside with a cloth to remove any stones sticking out,you can at this point also add any pattern with a stick. Make sure you leave a drainage hole. He made a nice rectangular one,with a cardboard box. Wanted a China sink they are so expensive. Yes it is very heavy!
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited October 2021
    You can make one from a mixture called hypertufa (it's lighter and easier to work with than just concrete ... ...Geoff Hamilton showed how on a very old Gardeners World years ago .... can't find that but there's ots of stuff on the internet

    Here's just one of them https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/hypertufa/7925.html

    Edited to add:  Here's an old thread with examples and hints
    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1046092/hypertufa-pot



    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    The Alpine Garden Society at Tatton Show had lots of hypertufa pots, some were made from polystyrene boxes, so would be much lighter and easier to handle. What suits Alpines would be good for succulents too.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Or maybe go the green route and use a big log, hollowed out it makes a good trough and can be placed anywhere. I used an old stump to make a stumpery @terence.mccallum
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Hypertufa might be easier, bearing in mind the shortage of building products, but I don't know how easy that is to get either. 
    For a few plants, a concrete container wouldn't be terribly heavy. It depends how much moving around it would be getting though. 
    Almost anything [within reason]  can be used for succulents if there's suitable drainage etc.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Purple allim can I have a picture of the stumpery
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Of course you can @Nanny Beach 😁 this one is when it first went in.

  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    edited October 2021
    And this is a very wet one this morning two and a half years later @Nanny Beach needs a good end of year trim 😊

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