Create An Adorable Succulent Display Using Upcycled Old Terracotta Pots

If you tend to a lot of houseplants, you may have a collection of tiny starter terracotta pots around. When all your plants have outgrown them, it can be tricky to find a good upcycle, especially if you've paused on starting any new plant babies. But one handy way to repurpose the planters keeps them around your plant collection in a visually playful way. Incorporate three mini terracotta pots into a succulent display by placing them sideways into the soil in a bigger planter, above some wood chips arranged to look like a table. The succulents you plant above the small pots will appear as if they're growing out of them, creating a sweet scene for your garden or home. If you like the look of pebbles on top of the soil, you can incorporate them into the design around the plants and wood chips.

The brain child of @kristysketolifestyle on TikTok, this DIY improves on other pot-in-a-pot succulent arrangements that call for placing one small terracotta pot on its side within the larger container. While those projects give the look of succulents growing from one pot, this one creates a more complete picture. To make this living tableau, you'll need one large pot with drainage holes at the bottom, three small terracotta pots (such as those nursery plants are started in), a soil mix made for succulents, clippings of different types of succulents, and pebbles, if desired. It's a very reuse-friendly undertaking, and if you already have extra small pots, succulents, wood chips, and pebbles, you won't have to buy anything! Some tree removal services offer free wood chips. Pebbles can be found at major retailers, plant nurseries, and on the banks of local streams.

You can DIY your own succulent soil by combining an organic material, like coir or compost, with a mineral ingredient, like pumice or sand, but a store-bought soil for succulents or cacti will also work well. The larger pot should be wide but shallow, to match succulents' root growth patterns and prevent excess moisture from accumulating. 

Get started by pouring the soil into the big pot until it's about ¾ full, then nestle the smaller pots, positioned on their sides, on top of the soil in its center. Lay the wood chips down underneath the pots: one horizontally for the "table" and two underneath to make its "legs." Dig small holes into the soil and press the plants in above the pots, using your artistic skill to make it look like they're draping outward. Finally, place pebbles over the soil if you want an extra design element and some help keeping the soil in place.

Succulents are ideal for this adorable planter project, since they grow slowly and may be able to stay in the same pot for years, but some types lend themselves more naturally to the DIY. The succulents which play well with each other in this arrangement include various types of echeveria (Echeveria spp.), jade plants (Crassula ovata), and string-of-pearls (Curio rowleyanus). Plants with dormant seasons opposite to each other, though, are succulent plants you shouldn't grow together. Whatever you have in mind, first research whether the plants have compatible light and water needs.  If you're using cuttings from the succulents you already have, let them sit in a dry place for around a week and form a callus before you add it to the arrangement.