How To Make Your Own Book Planters for Succulents

1.The night before, rub a very thin layer of white glue against the loose paper binding, just enough to make some of the pages stick. It doesn’t need to be precise. It just helps when starting to cut into the book that the pages stay in one place.

2.Cutting the square in the book is the most time-consuming part. Decide how big a square you want to have for planting. I find that the smaller patches tend to look better. I like to leave some of the text of the book visible. Using your metal ruler you will measure out your square and cut through a few pages at a time, pull them out (you will need to break the glued seal you made to get them out), and then do a few more pages, pull them out, and work your way down the book. You will need a hole that is at least 1 1/2 inches deep.

3.Line the hole with parchment paper or plastic. This just prevents any watering from damaging the rest of the book.

4.If your book is very, very deep, you can put a layer of gravel at the bottom of the hole. This will provide some drainage that your succulents would appreciate. Succulents don’t need much water but they do prefer to not have their roots sitting in water so the gravel provides a place for the water to drain that the roots wont touch. In a regular sized booked you wont have room for gravel. Don’t worry: the succulents will still live even without the drainage.

5. Start with the main succulent and separate it from the soil its packed in. Place it in the hole where you like. Then repack the soil around it so it can stand on its own. For the larger plants, you will need to wedge them into the corners so they stand up until they start to grow on their own. You will need to pack the soil tightly around the roots to make them stand. A little water in the soil will also help.

6. once you have the succulents where you want, cover the soil in dry moss. you can leave the soil exposed if you like, but i think it looks nicer with the moss because that will cover the hole in the book, and the moss will also help support the plants.

7. Cut the parchment paper just below the surface of the moss so that its adequately hidden. Seeing the parchment totally ruins the illusion. Blow off any dirt that you’re gotten in the book. There will be dirt everywhere.

8. About once a week I spray a little bit of water into the roots with a squirt bottle. Like I said, succulents need very little water but they do need a lot of sunlight so if you are keeping them inside, make sure they are by a window or put them outside as much as possible. When you water them, try to avoid getting water on the Title Page.