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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How-to: DIY Cork Push Pins
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Hi am from india i dont know which plant to grow i live in haryana and the weather now is 5 to 0 degrees in this climate what should i grow.
Hi Aryan! Since these are houseplants, you can grow the same things I showed in the post. They are all fine in an indoor climate.
Of course, you might have something locally available to you that I’ve never seen. So if you have access to any other plants that are tiny, take little water, and need little soil, feel free to substitute them!
How long would it take before you have to repott these or is there a way to prevent the need for repotting? Id really like to try this and im a novice.
Thanks for the awesome idea!
Barb, those sound really cute/pretty! The artificial plants are a great suggestion, too. I also like air plants for people who might be worrying about how to water the little planters. You just mist those with water occasionally to keep them happy, so you don’t have to worry about whether water is collecting in the cork, etc.
I love this idea and have made some for a fundraiser bazaar. I grouped mine on a 3in mirror, glued them to the mirror and then put a magnate on the back of the mirror. I also put different stickers on them and a jewel here and there on the mirror. I loved the first one I made…a 1.25 cork with a dragonfly on it and glued a smaller cork to either side of the large on. All 3 were then glued to the mirror. Looked so nice! I am going to try air fern too. For those that like the look of the planter but not the care of the plant like a relative of mine who always forgets to water her plants, some small artificial greenery works too.
Love it…
I am Portuguese,
and most of the world’s cork comes from here 🙂
is a wonderful natural product, it makes me proud to be from PORTUGAL 😉
perfect thanks so much!! i have small glass candle holders that im going to make an arrangement of the corks i think would look fun!! out of curiosity where did you get your plants, or did you grow them from seeds? i checked around some of my local areas for smaller ones, but im having a hard time finding them! Thanks again!!! I am sooo excited to start doing this!
Cass, I love that idea–I bet the glass, cork and succulents will look really cool together!
Some of my succulents were from a local garden center here in Cleveland (Gales in Westlake, if you happen to live in NE Ohio) and others were starts from gardening friends. I know that I just recently saw some small pots of succulents, around 1 inch in size, at a local Home Depot, too. They had a whole display of cacti and succulents near the houseplant area.
If you can only find larger plants, buy one and try to propagate it. You can usually break off leaves, let the ends air dry for a day or two, and then set the leaf where the now-dry end touches–but isn’t buried in–soil. It will root and give you a baby plant–you can see this happening with the upper rightmost leaf. The original leaf that I broke off curves back behind a cork, and the baby plant is growing upright at the other end. Once I see it getting started, I try to spritz the roots every week or two–or hit it with a drop or two of water that often.
Good luck–let me know how it goes, if you get a chance!
this is such a cute idea, i live right on the lake and have a nice little window area and i would love to do this!!! i was just wondering, when you go to hollow out the cork, do you go all the way through, or do you leave it full at the bottom, and then poke holes in the bottom? i have never done succulents before, so how often should i water them, and how much water?~ Thanks for the great idea and the help!
Hi Cass! I did not go all the way through the cork. There’s not really a need to poke holes in the bottom, unless you’re worried that you might flood them. (In that case, I suppose that you could poke pins or maybe a small awl through the cork.)
I want to say that I’ve watered my planters maybe 4 or 5 times since I made them in late February…and since they are all small plants, I didn’t give them much each time. Wait until the leaves look a little wrinkled and feel soft (as opposed to feeling full) and give them just enough water to maybe fill about 1/3 of the hollowed area of the cork. The plant will absorb that water up over the next day or so, and you’ll see the leaves get plump and smooth again. Hope that helps!
jemerson, that’s great to know! I pretty much appreciate ANY excuse to use power tools… 😀
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 ; )
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!
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
What time of plants would be best?
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.
What a great idea! This would be a great way to re-use cork wine stoppers too!
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!
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.
Loved and shared on facebook and twitter. SO stinkin’ cute! 🙂
love love love this idea!
Those are adorable!