How To Make Your Faux Succulents Look Real

When I was getting ready for our Valentine’s Day Fiesta, I knew I wanted to have a centre piece of cactus and succulents in glass vases.  It’s simple, elegant, and on trend.  So I started searching for the plants at a good price.  I knew I wanted to have at least nine vases running down the centre of the table, but most of the cactus and succulents I found were around $5 each, which equals way too much.  But, I kept looking.  When a new dollar store opened in my area I found some faux succulents for one dollar each -perfect!

They came in little plastic pots, so here’s how I transformed them into a something that looked real.

I bought some real cactus soil at the nursery, and some pretty rocks at the dollar store.  I already had the vases, but if you needed them too, they’re also at the dollar store.

I removed the faux plant from the pots, and then pulled the plastic plant off of the styrofoam base it was glued into.  Then I filled up the bottom of the vase with soil, and emerged the styrofoam base, making sure it was completely hidden by the soil.

Next, I inserted the plant back into the styrofoam, and added a layer of the rocks over the soil.  So easy.

Using real soil and rocks really made the faux plant look much more realistic.  I also included some real cactus.  I found some small ones at a local nursery for around two dollars each so I bought several to add to the mix.

It is a bit difficult to maneuver the real, and very prickly cactus into the tall, narrow vases.  Here’s my tips.  Add some soil to the vase first, and dig a small hole, so that it’s coming up the sides a bit, and there is room in the middle for the plant.   Hold the plant with some kitchen tongs and lower it into place.  Carefully add soil to the sides, and use the end of a wooden spoon to compact the soil into place around the plant.  And, if you do get some soil on the plant and it’s stuck in the thorns, use a straw to blow it out.

Best part about this little project is that the finished project is very low maintenace, even the real ones.  I just need to make sure I tell my husband not to accidentally water the faux ones.  With real looking faux succulents, life really is a party!

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