When you plant succulents in sterling silver, they turn into fabulously elegant gifts. 

SUCCULENTS IN STERLING – What a lovely gift!

Add a ribbon & one of my printable signs to your succulents in sterling for a lovely Mother’s Day gift. I’ll tell you how to get your Mother’s Day printables at the end of this post.

I was given a lovely full tea set with a serving tray when my mother-in-law passed a number of years ago.  Unfortunately, as she lived in the humidity of South Florida, it wasn’t in the best condition.

Excited by the prospect of inheriting such an incredible set of sterling, I researched getting it refinished. My excitement was short-lived.  It would be just under $5000. to restore the set to its original glory.  Oh well, that popped my bubble, there would be no High Tea at my home anytime soon.  I chose to send my kids to college instead!

I found this set below being sold on Ebay for $24,000!  OMG… 

So, after cleaning it up as best I could, I’ve lovingly used the set whenever it was appropriate.  Unfortunately, I could see it getting worse over the years, with polishing becoming a non-existent cure.  So, that’s when I decided I would put several of the pieces I’d inherited to good use!

I can think of nothing more lovely than passing along one of these pieces to my Mom for Mother’s Day this year.  What a nice idea, my mother-in-law Lois’ silver sitting on my Mom’s sideboard.  The image warmed my heart.  And that’s exactly how this post came to be!

  

PLANTING SUCCULENTS IN STERLING SILVER IS SO ELEGANT

And so easy too!  Just a few supplies and a selection of adorable succulents and silver will give you a collection in less than an hour.

As you can see in the above image, it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to plant succulents in sterling!  Making sure you have the right supplies is more than half the battle, I assure you.

• Vintage sterling silver containers
• Assorted succulents
• Specialty Succulent and Cactus Potting Mix
• River stones or rocks from your garden for drainage
• Assorted mosses
• Fine stone mix (or aquarium filler)

 

IMPORTANT TIPS TO SUCCESSFUL SUCCULENTS IN STERLING

Especially if you’re planting succulents in sterling as gifts, you’ll want to make sure they are happy in their new homes! (both literally and figuratively)

• Since your sterling silver pieces won’t have any drainage holes, you’ll need to provide a drainage material at the bottom of each planter. Make sure you have at least one-inch of river stones or gravel at the bottom before adding soil.
• If your container is small, you might not need much, if any additional soil. But I found that using the deeper sugar and creamer necessitated a few inches of dirt before I could add the succulent.
• And speaking of soil, you need to invest in a small bag of specialty soil made specifically for succulents and cactus. It’s not expensive, and it will be around for when you need it.  It’s truly essential to having healthy and happy succulents!

 

HOW TO PLANT SUCCULENTS IN STERLING SILVER 

As you might have guessed, this is not rocket science, but you’ll need to be gentle during the planting process.  These tiny and beautiful plants are extremely fragile and can easily lose an “arm” or “leg” if you’re not careful!

1. Add drainage material to the bottom of your container at least 1 inch deep.
2. Remove the succulents from their pots, gently tipping them out into your cupped palm. 
3. Test the plant inside the container to judge whether additional soil is necessary before setting the plant.
4. Add soil, add plant and gently push down to set into container.
5. Top with a fine stone mix or more river stones to keep soil in place
6. Decorate with assorted mosses for a “finished” look.
7. CARING FOR YOUR SUCCULENTS:  Keep your succulents out of direct sun.  Keep them in a brightly lit area with indirect sun either in or outdoors. 

 

You may have noticed I also made a combination planter from an old chafing dish I had gathering dust.  I have a newer matching set of chafers I use these days, so I threw it into the mix for this post.  I’ll be keeping that one for my Mother’s Day gift to me!

 

WANT SOME MOTHER’S DAY RECIPES, IDEAS AND INSPIRATION?

Here’s some of the incredible Mother’s Day entertaining ideas you’ll find here at Ingredients For A Fabulous Life!

• Mother’s Day Planner PDF and Printables
• Roasted Strawberry Banana Buttermilk Sherbet
• “Pretty in Pink” Raspberry Petit Fours
• Apricot-Pomegranate Baked Ham with Pearl Onion Confit
• Yukon Gold-Leek-Fennel Gratin
• Spring Vegetable Platter with Ham Butter
• Overnight Whipped Cream Fruit Salad
• Individual Spring Vegetable Lasagnas

 

 

MOTHER’S DAY PLANNER & PRINTABLES

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