Just like at an AA meeting, Laura Eubanks started the Feb. 6 General Membership Meeting saying, “Hi, my name is Laura and I’m addicted to succulents.” Then she proceeded to tell the audience why.
You can cut succulents up and move them around. You can cut off their roots and they will grow. “If they need new roots, they’ll grow them,” Laura said. Succulents also don’t need soil. They grow just as well in moss.
Laura pioneered the moss and glue method of attaching succulents to just about anything, including teacups, shoes, gravy boats, shells and jewelry. She was the first to glue succulents on top of pumpkins to use as a Thanksgiving centerpiece. She even created a succulent toupee for her hair-challenged brother.
Too much water can kill these plants. They need benign neglect. “Just leave them alone,” Laura recommends. She just sprays the tops with water, since these plants take in water through their leaves.
After a slide show of some of her arrangements, Laura did a quick demonstration. Take a container, any container, fill with moss, any kind of dry moss, trim a succulent to the size you want, attach glue to the succulent and then attach it to the moss. Voila. Are the succulents in your design growing too quickly? Remove them and trim to the size you want. Then glue and replace. Or move them somewhere else.
Laura led a workshop the following day for NGC members who made their own succulent wreaths. To order succulents: gosucculent.com, mountain crest gardens and Daniel’s specialty garden have many varieties for sale.
