I have a big problem with space,the plants are taking up more & more of the living space in my home.Thought about consolidating and putting them in pot or two together.Which type of is better just a shallow plastic pot or the coco lined baskets?

I have a few plants i bought last month,they are cold hardy but thought best to wait until spring to put in bed.Since i am not that far along with the bed,still figuring out what i'm doing or rather the correct way to do it.These plants do need to be put into something because they keep falling over the plants are bigger than the pots.



The coco lined says for water retention and proper drainage. I have used shallow plastic pots but never used the coco lined baskets.Any opinions on these baskets for succulents is greatly appreciated!!

I use coco-lined baskets for some of my succulents. It all depends how fast the plants grow and their growth pattern if its is mounding type or one that grows a long stem or if it is the cascading type.. Just make sure you group succulents with similar watering/lighting needs. I prefer not to mix different types of succulents in a basket..just my personal preference, some types can easily crowd the other.

In our area where it really gets so dry during warmer months, I love being able to douse the plants with water and it drains very fast, that is very important with succulents. You may want to put some Styrofoam peanuts at the bottom so you can make the soil an even shallow depth, since roots of succulents are such shallow growers. Plus too much soil makes the basket too heavy. I am still experimenting too on which succulents look better. One thing for sure, growing them in baskets will require a good trimming every year. Do wait for spring to help the plants adjust better.




Just be prepared though..birds love to steal the coco fiber for their nesting needs

Tarav makes some good points about using succulents with similar needs. Takes some guesswork out of the equation. I have used the styro peanuts and the big chunks of styro (waste management companies won't recycle them) for years in my big pots because still enables you to move the pot around. I just place the peanuts in those net bags that you get with those Cutie tangerines-in-bag so that when I want to reuse the peanuts, yet again, they are already contained.
Too many of my succlent frames have been emptied of semp and sphagnum moss by nesting birds...

I found the coir liner dried out way too quickly and required far more watering than I wanted to do.

I had planted a Sansevieria parva in it. It was kind of neat as the plant would develop new plantlets growing through the coir. I ended up having to soak the whole container to water.

I read later that the coir could be lined with a plastic for better moisture retention.

Jelinda the other thing that I've done is leave the plants in their pots but place them in a larger pot and use something like coco fibre or dried moss on top (until you're ready to transplant the plants) it gets rid of all the individual little pots without having to decide where their permanent home is

Great Idea, Greg. No fuss. No muss.

and no decisions until later

pod said:I found the coir liner dried out way too quickly and required far more watering than I wanted to do.

I had planted a Sansevieria parva in it. It was kind of neat as the plant would develop new plantlets growing through the coir. I ended up having to soak the whole container to water.

I read later that the coir could be lined with a plastic for better moisture retention.

I agree. I am not a big fan of coir at all for that reason but the idea of lining with plastic would be very helpful. Good use for "recycled" grocery bags.

Greg,thanks for the great idea.Gives me time to decide which plants will grow best together & look best together. I do have 1 plant that i have more problems with than any other it's a graptoveria (i haven't found much on it 'titubans').The plant is to big & heavy for it's container,it was constantly being knocked over or just falling over and the plant comes out of the little pot including soil,which is compact, there's no loose soil. I don't water them often but this plant doesn't seem to soak up any water when i do or at least it's dry in less than 24 hrs. I have thought since it's under lights, in a some what climate controlled environment it could handle being placed in a slightly larger,heavier pot by simply removing it from the pot it's in without disturbing it & putting it in another pot close to the same height & fill in around the plant,not watering for a good 2-3 weeks afterward.Seems like it can't be any worse than the tumbles & falls it's taken.I rigged up a bigger pot for it to sit in without falling over.

Sorry i got so wordy I tend to do that

Tarev, what are the plants in pictures 2 & 3 ? In pic. 2 in the corner you can see a glimpse of another plant Echeveria runyonii 'topsy turvy'? I recently noticed that this plant is zoned for 8a 10-15* F.I didn't realize they were that cold hardy.They are one of the succulents that appreciate a little shade correct?

I may ask questions about potting plants now but don't misunderstand,i'm not doing it now.We have about 2 months left until it starts warming up.Just getting my ducks in a row,this being the first time i've grown this type of succulents,they have made it this far don't want to mess up potting them

This one is Anacampseros:



This one is Sedum sieboldii

Like the photos Tarev...Jelinda, I would do what you said plant it in a bit larger pot but keeping the roots as untouched as possible. And only water lightly I found that with succulents especially babies, I could water once per week but very lightly (I'd been used to other house plants watering once per week until the water runs through, or soaking in the sink) succulents as you know wouldn't want that in the winter
Cheers

Greg,thanks i would hate to loose it.I bought it late ,it must have been a left over,one of the last succulents left.

Tarev,i didn't make myself clear sorry,what's the plant in the second picture on the top row? The other is interesting but i always think your plants are.

Hi Jojoe, ah, that succulent is a Graptoveria..not sure which cultivar though, but it seems to be a Fred Ives.

I use the coir fibre baskets, but I line them with some plastic, just enough to keep them a little bit damp in the long summers - I don't water them much I also use terracotta pots to put those top heavy characters in, without actually potting them into it. It's more like a cache pot, but they generally don't have holes in the bottom. It doesn't really matter if the pot is too deep, this just helps the stems to stop flopping over, and the weight of the pot keeps them upright. I mostly shy right away from plastic pots - unless they're really small.

Blue Fox - I use the terra cotta pots too

jojoe,
what are the succulents in the pictures in your original post?? I have some that look very similar that came without an ID tag...

Hello Serse,I should always remember to put names with pictures if i can but i forget.Here's the plants & their names.



Graptoveria 'titubans'



This plant in these last 2 pictures are Graptopetalum paraguayense 'Ghosty'.The first picture is when i first purchased it,the last one is recent,it has gotten really leggy over the winter & hasn't grown anyway but up.It is cold hardy and i plan on putting it out in the spring to let it fill out.Another name for this plant is 'mother of pearl'.

The other plant doesn't seem to have been bothered by being inside it's still very full & growing more rosette's.

Thanks jojoe! That is EXACTLY what mine have done this winter as well. mine are very healthy looking, but have grown nowhere but up over the past couple of months! I was wondering if i was doing something wrong...

Its a light issue! (or lack of!) Often when they're placed back outside they fill out, or if you want a rosette you can cut the top off the leggy plant leaving a few leaves, and it will usually grow another (or couple) rosettes!

So just chop off the top rosette? Then should i let it dry out for a few days before planting or just go ahead and stick it back in soil? Thanks, greg, for all the help!