My wedding succulents

by Abby
(Horton, MI, USA)

Hello,
My name is Abby. My wedding is December 1st in Michigan, and I was planning on making succulent arrangements.

You mentioned in your post about making wire basket hanging globes that succulents don’t over winter indoors. I put all the ones I have collected for my wedding downstairs in the cool basement to protect them from the frost.

Will they last long enough indoors for me to use them for my wedding by December? (We’ve got a month and a half) What should I provide them to keep them happy till then?

I work at an industrial greenhouse, and can purchase a grow light from work that will cover a large area. I could also get a small space heater if you think they would prefer the heat. Though I liked how the cold weather affected their color. Any suggestions you have I would be happy to hear them. Thank You.

If you still want pictures I can provide you with some, but I didn’t have any ready and available when I made this post.

Hi Abby, I’m a little unclear on which succulents you have – if it’s Sempervivum, the hardy hens and chicks, no, they don’t like to be kept indoors. However, for a month or so if they are kept very cool (unheated is fine) they will be okay, and yes, by all means get your light fixture going. They will survive and look fine until after the wedding. One small tip: don’t water them overly much in the interim – they are much easier to manage if they’re not soaking wet, and not so heavy to carry either.

Then the trick will be to allow them to go dormant outside without shocking them too much if it suddenly gets very cold.

I suggest in this instance that you collect some bags of dry leaves so you can cover them after the big day. This will provide some insulation, yet still allow them to go dormant.

The leaves can get wet after they are on the plants, it’s just so you can handle them (especially if it gets to below freezing which would make them unmanageable).

Hope this helps.
Jacki

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