Micro planters are really popular right now, and for good reason. First and foremost, they’re adorable! They’re also quick and easy to make, take up little space, and add a nice touch of green at a time of the year when many of us are already thinking spring. Taking care of your planters is easy if you pick the right plants, too. I like smaller succulents, and those that are easy to propagate by breaking off leaves. They don’t require much soil or water, and they come in cool shapes and textures that keep your planters interesting!
Supplies:
- Wood Carving Tool Set –You can also use a Hobby Knife Set, but the curved carving tools make this even easier
- Corks*
- Small plant or cutting
- Potting mix
- Beads for topdressing – I used both turquoise and blue seed beads
Directions:
Push the curved blade from your wood carving tool set into the top edge of your cork to begin. I started a little more than 1/8 inch from the edge, to give myself a little room for error, and pushed in all around my perimeter as a guide.
Working from the perimeter–always leaving that 1/8 inch edge–toward the middle, use your curved carving tool to scoop out the cork. Shallow cuts are best–with deeper cuts, you may end up levering your tool against the side and breaking the cork that you want to keep. If the sides of your cork are slanted like mine, remember to take that into account as you go.
Now for the fun–it’s time to get a little dirty! Take your planting soil and drop a little bit into your new cork planter. Hold your plant carefully in one hand at the level you want to plant it, and use your other hand to fill around the roots with more planting mix. I like to put a little soil in the bottom first, to the level of the bottom roots, and then start to fill in around it (shown above) so I don’t accidentally pull the plant too high or low.
To up the cuteness quotient–or tie them into a color scheme or theme–finish them off with seed beads, small pearls or some other sort of small-scale “pot dressing” to add even more color and fun!
They’re quick to make, and even more adorable in groups, so feel free to make a bunch! Enjoy!
A note on care: Succulents don’t like to sit in water, so make sure that you don’t overwater them and/or leave water pooling inside your cork planter. The easiest way to take care of succulents in small pots like these is to give them a spritz (or a couple of drops) of water as needed. I set mine in the sink when I water them, just to make sure that no water escapes out a space in the cork and makes a mess on my windowsill.
* The corks we currently have on the site work well for really tiny plants. I used slightly larger, 1.25 x 1.25 inch corks for the bigger plants. We’re working on getting more corks up on the site soon, but in the meantime you can order the 1.25 x 1.25 size by calling 1-888-552-7238 and asking for product #P10994.
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21. February 2012 at 11:43 am
Those are adorable!
21. February 2012 at 12:46 pm
love love love this idea!
21. February 2012 at 4:39 pm
Loved and shared on facebook and twitter. SO stinkin’ cute!
21. February 2012 at 10:38 pm
To ensure that the roots don’t sit in water, you could push a fat needle (such as a yarn needle) two or three times through the bottom before you put the plant in, keeping the underside against a hard surface so that you don’t blow the cork out. Just make sure you water them in the sink and let them sit for a few minutes until they’ve drained.
22. February 2012 at 10:24 am
Aww, thanks everyone… they were really quick and fun to make, too! I think I’m going to use cute little planters like this for rooting leaves from now on.
Also, making drainage holes with needles is a good solution, Layinda. I like that idea!
27. February 2012 at 2:29 pm
What a great idea! This would be a great way to re-use cork wine stoppers too!
29. March 2012 at 2:55 pm
What is that long trailing plant on the bottom left of the picture? It looks like something I tried to grow from cuttings in college (I failed miserably, btw, and then my mom killed it even more dead). I’d love to try it again, armed with some information.
30. March 2012 at 8:46 am
What time of plants would be best?
30. March 2012 at 9:23 am
Beth, its common name is watch chain plant (crassula muscosa) and you might be able to find it in the succulents section of your local garden center. Greenhouses sometimes have them as hanging baskets, and other times you can find them in small pots. I’m guessing that you might have “killed it with kindness”–they don’t like to be overwatered at all.
Here’s a link to its plant profile on Davesgarden: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2410/#b
30. March 2012 at 9:26 am
Jessie, I recommended smaller succulents because they don’t need a lot of water and they won’t outgrow the pots as quickly. Or you can use the corks as small planters to start seeds, knowing that they will outgrow them quickly. They would be great to root small leaves/pieces of some of the succulents shown in the picture above, too!
9. April 2012 at 8:54 am
I like the variety of your plants here. I have done some of these with jade plants but would love to ‘branch’ out!! I wanted to let you know the corks are also easy to drill with a small bit especially if you’re doing a bunch, sometimes husbands have good ideas ; )
11. April 2012 at 9:04 am
jemerson, that’s great to know! I pretty much appreciate ANY excuse to use power tools…