Plant Mason Jar Succulents

My son is moving into his first place and I wanted him to have a live plant.  Knowing how irresponsible he can be about watering plants, I thought succulents would be the ideal option so I combined my love of mason jars with planting a variety of small succulent plants purchased from my local garden shop. With this easy to follow tutorial, you too can plant mason jar succulents.  

What you will Need:

• 1 Large Mouthed Mason Jar
• Potting soil
• Variety of small succulents
• Chalkboard paint
• Acrylic paints to match your decor
• Antiquing Medium
• Masking tape
• Paint brush

Step 1: Plant Mason Jar Succulents

Remove the lid from the mason jar and paint it and the jar with chalkboard paint.  Let dry and repaint with a second coat.  Using the chalkboard paint will give you a nice chalky finish.  You could use chalk paint for this application but I find that it is more expensive and there are fewer colors to choose from but it is entirely up to you.

Step 2: Plant Mason Jar Succulents

Take masking or painter’s tape and mask off areas where you want your stripes to be.  Paint the stripes and let dry.  Re mask over the painted stripes to paint the additional stripes or hand paint the center stripe as I did.  I chose Grey, blue, and brown for my son’s planter to match the color scheme of his new place but you could use any colors you like. Once completely dried, add antiquing medium to age the surface and give it a desert feeling.

Step 3: Plant Mason Jar Succulents

Once the paint has completely dry, I let mine dry overnight, add your potting soil to the jar.  I chose moisture control potting soil so that the succulents do not get over watered (not that this will happen with my son but who knows).  Fill the soil close to the top of the jar.  It is important when planting succulents that the plants be above the rim of the jar.  Unlike other plants, succulents hold their water in their leaves and not their roots.  If water is allowed to pool at the top of the jar the leaves will rot so do not plant the succulents down into the jar.

Step 4: Plant Mason Jar Succulents

Once the jar has been filled with soil, place the plants into the jar.  Because succulents are slow-growing, you can pack a variety of small plants into a small space.  I used 5 mini plants that I placed into my small wide-mouthed jar.  I shook off the extra soil and planted the roots making sure that the leaves are above the level of the soil.

Step 5: Plant Mason Jar Succulents

Once the plants have been set into the soil, water them well the first time.  After that, place some small stones on top for a nice professional finish and you have completed planting your mason jar succulents.