Can succulents grow in sand | DIY Layered Sand Succulent Planter

Can succulents grow in the sand? many get this thought as they are found in deserts. Succulents are beautiful plants that store a lot of water in their leaves, stem, roots. We can call them the camel of the plant world as they can survive with very less water and also they are the desert plants. Most of the people often wonder can succulents grow in sand and if they can grow in the sand then how can we grow them and what steps should we take, lets find out the answer to your questions.

Can succulents Grow in sand?

Well, the quick answer to this question is YES !

But wait there are few precautions and steps you should ensure to grow succulents in the sand. Succulents will thrive more in potting soil as they will get required nutrients through the potting soil whereas if you grow succulents only in coarse sand then your plant will lack a lot of nutrients to grow. So it is often recommended to grow succulents in a combination of both coarse sand and the soil.

Why coarse sand to grow succulents?

We can use coarse sand to grow succulents but this should not be the only ingredient while growing your plant. Now let’s understand why you should use coarse sand, while growing succulents the first thing we should take into considerations is it’s drainage as these plants do not like excess water stored in a pot. If you use beach sand for growing your beautiful succulent then it is too dense and it will hold the water which is not a good sign for your succulent whereas coarse sand has fine particles and it will provide good drainage as it won’t hold water. This is the reason why we should use coarse sand.

How can Succulents grow in sand?

Now that we know that we can grow our succulents in the sand (coarse) the next question is in what proportion you should use coarse sand for your plant. A healthy succulent will grow beautifully in a potting mix. A perfect potting mix should contain one-third (1/3) of coarse sand in ratio to a potting mixture. If you want to create your own potting mix at home visit How to make the potting mix at home. Once you have made your own potting soil then add coarse sand in the recommended proportion.

How to make a layered sand succulent planter?

If you are using sand to grow your succulents then why not learn to make a beautiful yet very simple layered sand succulent planter at home. This planter is super easy to make and very attractive let’s dive in and get to know what stuff you will need to gather for the sand succulent planter.

Things you will need for planter

Let’s make a sand planter!

Once you have gathered all of the above things now it’s time to start our step by step procedure to create a beautiful planter for our plant.

#1 Plant a succulent in small container

The first thing we are going to do is to plant our succulent in a small glass container. Take a container and then add your potting soil in a small glass container. Get to your succulent and slowly plant succulents in the container if you don’t know how to re-pot your succulent visit Re-potting succulents. Groom the succulent before planting, once you have planted the succulent it’s time for the big container.

#2 Get a large container

Now take a large container then gently put the smaller one inside it. The reason we are putting small a container inside is that we want to get enough space to create some pretty sand layers and also all of the water we are using to water them will remain contained and will not spread and mess away all the plants. By doing this you will get enough space for your creativity.

#3 Use stiff piece of paper

As you have put a small container inside the large one, adjust the small container in the center so that we can have perfect alignment. This is where you will need a stiff piece of paper, this will actually help you to guide your sand to go through the container. Hold the paper in a way by covering the small container so that no soil can get in the planted area.

#4 pour Sand in container

Take the sand in your hand and start pouring it with the help of paper. If you have two or three different colored soil then pour the first layer then the second one and so on, so that you would create a beautiful planter. Do it all around your smaller container. Continue layering the soil until you just barely cover the small container at the top.

#5 add rocks at the top

The last thing we would want to do is to add a few rocks to the planter just for the different texture at the top. Just put a few rocks at the top don’t overdo it just a few would be great. Add a few small and few large rocks to maintain the balance.

Watering the layered sand succulent planter

Few of the people have doubt that there isn’t any drainage in the planter then how should you water it, this is when you will need a syringe and a moisture meter.

#6 syringe for watering Succulents

Syringe might look scary for many people but in this scenario it makes watering too easy for us. All you have to do is direct the water right down towards the roots start and just pour a little to few drops, you do not want to overwater because there is no drainage. And that’s where the moisture meter comes in to the play.

#7 Use Moisture meter

Moisture meter is really very handy for knowing when and when not water the succulents. You just slip the meter down in not right down in the middle if the roots but towards the outside of the container and the little dial on the meter will tell you how moist the succulent is, which I think is very useful for such arrangement.

Final words!

I hope you got all of your answer in this article if you have any doubt then don’t forget to leave a comment below I’ll definitely get back to you. Succulents are real beauty with very low maintenance so start growing them and surely they will make you feel great.