How to Use a Seashell As a Planter

I love living by the ocean and the availability of beach décor all over the place. While roaming around Pinterest awhile ago I saw a picture of a beautiful seashell filled with succulents and had to make one! Today I want to tell you how you can make your very own seashell succulents planter.

• succulents
• seashell
• soil
• water

I bought my seashell at one of the souvenir shops on the nearby pier. If you don’t live near an ocean don’t worry, there are other places you can purchase a seashell from. You can find seashells online at a variety of stores and at local hobby stores.

Keep in mind how many succulents you want to put in your seashell. If you want to start small, then get a shell that will fit at least one succulent. If you really enjoy this project, you can always get a larger seashell and more succulents next time.

Armstrong Garden Centers has the best local variety of succulents available, in my opinion. I have found many unique looking succulents here. When I got one of Armstrong’s emails announcing a sale, I went to check out their supply of succulents and came home with three.

These succulents were the smallest available ones. Each is a different type of desert plant. The pointy one is a beautiful hybrid aloe vera. The one that looks like a rose is a type of echeveria. The leafy one is a type of cotyledon.

Echeveria types are some of my favorite succulents because they remind me of roses. I have several varieties in my garden.

Another important supply you will need is soil. For succulents, I recommend using Miracle-Gro Cactus Palm and Citrus Potting Mix. The soil is great for succulents since it drains quickly.

I ended up using Miracle-Gro Potting Mix, since I had some leftover from other gardening projects. This soil works great with a variety of plants, and I’ve used it with succulents in the past with no problems. Miracle-Gro anything works great. Another product I suggest using in the future is Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food.

You will, of course, need water, but not too much. We don’t have the resources to have a hose, so I have a watering can. Succulents are water-wise, which means they don’t need much water to survive, which makes them the perfect plant for this arid California climate.

You may want to drill a hole at the bottom of your shell so that excess water can drain through. Water left sitting at the bottom of a container can rot the roots, ultimately killing your plants.

So, now you have your seashell, succulents, water, soil, and drill. You are now ready to create your seashell succulents planter!

If you haven’t already, drill a small hole in your shell. Make sure the seashell is nice and clean. Mine had some sand in it that had to be cleaned out.

If you are planting more than one succulent, you will want to experiment with the placement and design of your plants. You can look up pictures or place your succulents any way you like. I recommend placing your succulents in the shell within their original containers so that the area does not become a dirty mess.

Once you are happy with the design of your succulents, place some dirt in the shell. You may need to pack the soil in, based on what type of seashell you are using.

You now have your very own seashell succulents planter!

How did you succulents planter come out? Did you enjoy the project? What step would you add or take away?

Write me any suggestions or comments below that you discovered with this project. I hope you enjoy your brand new seashell succulents planter!