Why succulents? Because succulents are easy to care for, they can live anywhere indoors given a sunny location, plus they come in so many colorful varieties! There’s no need to wait for them to flower or to flower at all to create a stunning living display in your home.
Another benefit of using succulents is that they are simple to find no matter where you live… more on that later.
Okay, so why hanging succulents? Using suspended planters is just a fun departure from the normal ways of displaying succulents, plus this method doesn’t take up any space! Try any sunny window, like a window over the kitchen sink if you have one there.
You can also hang these from any outdoor structure like a pergola, porch overhang, or a shepherd’s hook out in the garden. Do you have cold Winter’s in your area? Simply bring them indoors!
Popular Ways To Hang Indoor Succulents
Glass Terrariums
If you prefer a sleek and modern look then you might like the new glass terrariums. They come in many shapes from spheres to pendants and more.
When using glass terrarium planters the appearance of what’s underneath the plant becomes much more important since it will be exposed. Treat them like an aquarium and top-dress the soil using small decorative gravel or try sphagnum peat moss or colored sand. You can purchase these at most craft and fish/aquarium retailers.
Kokedama Moss Balls
Kokedama is a ball of soil, covered with moss, then wrapped with twine for support. The plants are either inserted into the top part of the ball or in some cases all the way around the ball. This method is popular in Japan where it originated.
The plants used are typically some sort of spreading or trailing plant that can fill in the uncovered areas over time. Another way to do it is just plant some type of plant at the top of the ball that will not spread, leaving the sides and bottom of the ball exposed.
When only planting the top part, it is more important to show off the plant ball by using a nice looking sphagnum peat moss together with an attractive sort of twine like burlap.
Hanging Ceramics
Ceramic containers designed to be suspended by strings are found in a very wide variety of colors, shapes, and finishes. You can likely match the decor of your home or patio with ease.
Types Of Trailing Succulents
Here is a list of some of my favorite trailing (or spreading) types of succulent plants that will produce foliage that ‘spills’ over the sides of any sized hanging planter.
Non-trailing succulents to try:
- Sempervivum (many vibrantly colored varieties are available)
- Crassula ovata ‘Gollum” (Also known as ‘Baby Toes Cactus’)
- Zebra haworthia (White horizontal stripes on dark green spikes)
Care For Succulents
Ideally, you would place succulents outdoors for maximum light. If you can find a bright south facing window that receives a minimum of 5-6 hours of direct or filtered light, this will promote the best color when keeping variegated succulents indoors.
The soil should be well drained (no clay). Use a pre-mixed commercial potting mix made for cactus and/or succulents available at home and garden centers. You can make your own succulent soil by mixing equal parts potting soil and sand together. Lightly moisten the soil before planting.
Water often enough to keep moist but allow to dry out slightly before watering again. If your soil feels dry to the touch you can water again. Do not allow succulents to sit in standing water as this can kill them. A good watering schedule would be approximately every other day but this can vary depending on temperature and the amount of sunlight the plant receives.
More Inspiration
There are lots of other kinds of plants out there you can try if succulents don’t meet your fancy.
Hanging planters make a great space-saving method to grow herbs in a sunny kitchen window or outdoors.
Great herbaceous choices for hanging containers include rosemary, thyme, oregano, and mint just to name a few. Rosemary and thyme will bloom given enough sunlight. Like most plants, herbs come in more than one type with differing growth habits, so be sure when ordering online to find the trailing or spreading varieties of these plants. They look much better in hanging planters.
Carnivorous plants also come in many beautiful forms and colors. Try pitcher plants (the tropical ones where the pitchers hang from the planter), variegated sundew plants and venus fly traps. We have a more extensive article on carnivorous terrariums you can read by clicking here.
Where To Find Succulents
Home and garden centers as well as local nurseries often offer a wide variety of succulents, herbs, and sometimes even carnivorous plants (most carnivorous plants are found with the house plants).
Otherwise, all the varieties I mentioned can be sourced online. If you buy succulents as cuttings they are very inexpensive. I like ordering specific plant varieties on either Amazon, Ebay, or Etsy. All of the sellers there have been rated and reviewed by customers so you generally know what to expect and exactly what you will be getting.
The plants are delivered by mail, usually as cuttings but you can also find rooted plants that will arrive in soil. Most succulent varieties will easily root without much care at all, so you don’t need to have a green thumb to grow them.
You simply root the cuttings by inserting the stems in a wet, well drained soil (or rooting mix, do not use clay soils) and watering frequently enough that the soil never dries out completely. Do this until the plant has time to root which should be in 2-3 weeks.
Succulents can be rooted directly in the hanging planter… so no transplanting is necessary.
When buying plants online be sure the seller has a good rating and reviews. Also note where the plants will be shipped from because it could take longer to receive them from overseas.
Suspended Succulent Ball
What If I Don’t Have Time?
Kits of all kinds, colors and design types (including the plants) can also be purchased at major online retailers. If you can’t quite find exactly what you are looking for, I would suggest buying the plants and the hanging planter separately, this way you can create virtually any look you might desire.
With easy-to-care for plants, just about anyone can have a hanging succulent garden. They are not limited by garden space, indoor space, the climate where you live, or weather you have a green thumb or not! I hope I’ve inspired you to make your own. Good luck everyone and let me know how your own hanging succulent garden turns out.
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