Succulent Quilt

How to make a planted wall using cuttings of succulents contributed by you, your friends and neighbors. This is primarily meant as a group activity. Skills learned include propagating plants from cuttings, basics of drip irrigation, and soil-less gardening methods. The cuttings will root faster when it is warm out so best to do it during the summer months.

This instructable is based on an activities I did for Clone Home, a workshop on plant propagation at Critter Salon in San Francisco, and the Succulent Quilt build at Machine Project in Los Angeles.

Decide where to put your succulent quilt. It will need lots of sun and a way to be watered. I use a drip system and let the excess water drip down onto plants below. You can also use a recirculating system and catch the drips with a gutter.

A south facing wall is best. Partial sun will work but some plants may not be able to grow as well. You will have to experiment with cuttings from different plants.

Now that you have chosen a location, you need to choose your size. I recommend 2' by 2' panels. You can add the panels together to cover a larger surface. The 2' square is a great size for a group of people sitting around a table. You can set up multiple tables and have several panels being made simultaneously.

Tools needed are many sharp pairs of scissors and one pair of end nip pliers to cut off the ends of the zip ties. Sharp knives to puncture holes.

All the materials you will need are listed below:

from Lowe's...
plastic trellis, white plastic with smaller spacing (approx 1.5" open squares) 1 piece that is your desired size of panel They will even cut it for you to size at the store!

black landscape cloth (used for weed control) 1 piece that overhangs the final size by 3" all around
dried sphagnum moss 1 bag per two 2' square panels
seed starter soil mix 1 bag
"black zip ties" approx 25 per panel
drip system supplies (installation of drip irrigation is not covered in this instrucable)

from a fabric store...
polyester felt (not wool or cotton as these will rot and fall apart) 2 pieces that overhang the final size by 3" all around

from a hydroponics store or online...
COCOTEK� GROW MAT" Organic Growing Media 1 piece same size as the plastic trellis

http://www.generalhydroponics.com/genhydro_US/cokotek.html

Lay down a layer of cardboard or coconut mat to protect the surface of your table.

First, lay down the black landscape cloth. It should be 3" larger than your final size on all sides. You will need to wrap this around your plastic trellis. Don't worry about making it to big, or exact since you can always trim off any excess.

Next lay down a piece of felt directly on top of the landscape fabric.

Place the coco mat on top of the felt layer. Position it so the felt overhangs evenly on all sides.

Some info on coco mats:
COCOTEK� GROW MAT" manufactured by General Hydroponics http://www.generalhydroponics.com/genhydro_US/cokotek.html

Not only will roots grow under the Mats where moisture remains between flood cycles, but the Mats will also protect these roots from drying out.

Next, place a pile of dried sphagnum moss on top of the coco mat.

Break up any large chunks.

Pour out seed starter on top of the sphagnum moss. I estimate that I put about 8 cups of seed starter on my 2' square panel.

Mix the moss and soil together.

Place the second piece of felt on top of the moss + soil.

Pat it down a bit.

Place the plastic trellis on top of the felt. Line it up with the edges of the coco mat.

Wrap the edges of the landscape fabric and felt around the edges of the trellis. Poke holes through the fabric - but between holes of the plastic trellis - with a knife or scissors. Insert a black zip tie and pull tight. Continue around all edges until it is all wrapped up. Trim off excess fabric with scissors.

Drip systems can be a whole other instructable, so I will keep it brief. The panels need to be kept moist while the cuttings are rooting. Once the panel is established the watering schedule can be reduced, but this will take six months or so. The best way to do this is by watering via a timer and drip system.

I use 1/2 Gallon Per Hour (GPH) pressure compensating emitters. I install a string of them along the top of each panel, with about 3 inches between emitters. Therefore each 2' square panel will require 10 emitters, 10 'T' barbs (or 9 'T' barbs and one elbow if the panel is an end piece). Use 1/4" drip tubing to connect all the emitters into a chain.

I stuck my emitters on the inside of the panel, along the top. I did this by poking a hole in the fabric, sticking my drip tubing through it, and then pushing the emitter into the end of the tubing. (Hint: the red plastic barbed end of the emitter is the part that goes into the tubing.) The idea is to have the drip end touching the felt . The felt acts a wick carrying water through out the panel to the roots.

Once the panels are installed, the 1/4" tubing can be hooked into a 1/2" black polyethylene supply line that is either plumbed into the household supply, or attached to a submersible pump. For basic help in installing a drip system, visit your local garden center. Or go the the Urban Farmer Store: http://www.urbanfarmerstore.com/ This is where I learned all I know about drip irrigation.

After each panel is installed, thoroughly soak the panel with the hose. This is very important because if the panel is dry, the felt will not wick the water and the drip irrigation will not be effective. The drips will simply run out the bottom of the panel.

I built 4 panels for Machine Project in Los Angeles. I brought along a bunch of succulents to be sure we had enough for our large construction. I visited a local cactus and succulent nursery in Reseda called Cactus Ranch. http://www.california-cactus-succulents.com/ That place really blew me away, as you can tell from my expression in the picture!

I also put out a call for participants to bring their own cuttings. But unless you are doing this with a cactus and succulent society, you will probably need to supplement like I did.

Plants that are especially easy to root from cuttings are: sedums, kalanchoes, aeoniums, crassulas, basically succulents that have stems.

Plants that are easier to start by planting with root still attached or by a side offset (baby): hens and chicks, asclepids, agaves, aloes, gasterias, haworthias, sanseverias, basically the ones that don't have stems.

If in doubt, try it. If it doesn't work then you've learned something.

I have all but one of the panels assembled ahead of time. I demonstrate how the quilt is put together by assembling the final panel together with the quilters.

Next, show them how to take cuttings and insert them into the quilt.

Each cutting will be stuck into a slot that is cut through the black fabric and top felt layer. Use scissors or a knife (assist children) to cut through these layers until you can see the brown coco mat layer. Insert each cutting by slipping it through the slot with the stem or roots pointing down. Use the location of the drip emitters to help people know which end is up.

To take a cutting, simply use sharp scissors and cut off a stem from a plant. If the plant is more of the ball shaped variety (i.e. hens and chicks), separate out a baby. If the plant is in a pot, empty the plant onto the table and pull apart all the separate balls. Shake off some of the soil from the roots and stick the roots into the slit.

It is even better if the cuttings can sit for a day so their ends can dry out. This is especially important if you want to put in any cactus cuttings. I don't do this with quilters because the spines can be a pain. (Hint: To root a piece of cactus, cut it off with a sharp blade, spray it with isopopyl alcohol, and let it sit indoors in the shade for a week. Then shove it into a slit in the fabric and wedge it in well. Use gloves! If it rots, remove it, cut off the bad end and repeat the process. Maybe let it sit a little longer.)

I take each panel and with a helper, hold it upright over the table. Cuttings will fall out and that's ok. Just cut the holes a little larger and stuff them back in. For some of the larger, round cuttings, you may need to cut a very large slot and wedge the hole ball into it.

Now it's time to put your panel outside!

I used wood screws and large fender washers. Don't screw into the plastic trellis because it can crack after a while. It is best to screw between the holes in the trellis. The washer will clamp everything down.

Next, hook your drip system up by extending 1/4" tubing to it from the 1/2" supply line. The supply line is either connected to the household plumbing, or in this case, to a submersible pump in a reservoir. Get a digital timer and set it to come on for 5-10 minutes at a time, several times a day. I like to water twice in the early morning and once in the late afternoon.

If you want to try a recirculating system, get a fountain pump from Lowe's or the Urban Farmer Store. Use a check valve (I love the Hudson Valve www.hudsonvalve.com which can be purchased from McMaster-Carr) to top off the reservoir automatically so the pump does not run dry. Take care when using a pump that you do not try to pump the water up too high. The higher it has to pump, the lower the flow. Each pump has a head height which is the highest the pump can push water up before it stops flowing.