Just posting a photo update of my succulent ball planter which I have started last Oct 2012:
So for comparison..here is how it was in 2012:
Oct 2012
Dec 2012
Jan 2013
May 2013
April 2014
So the effect I wanted did not go as planned..instead of spreading, the succulents grew taller..I think part of it is due to the ball being placed on the north side of our garden, so the succulents are reaching for the sun. And slow growing is really the speed of growth for some of them, like the sempervivums at the back of the ball. Good thing is the tall succulents are all on the top side, so I can continue adding maybe more semps and echeverias on the lower half of the ball. Interesting to see how some of the succulents have grown like mini trees on the top side.
So will continue on with this ball planter and start getting some semps form the arach colony
