Robot Planters - Employee Creations Week 7

Week 6: Jeremy, Robo-planters

Being a family owned business, we like to run the nursery like a big family. We thought a fun blog project would be to invite all our employees to make their own Succulent creations. We are asking one employee a week, starting alphabetically, to do so. At the end of each week we will “showcase” that employees design at the nursery, on the blog and on our Instagram.

Why robots?

I have always loved robots - I've just applied to grad school in robotics. I haven't had any luck trying to find a cute robot planter of any sort, so it's only natural that I built some of my own.

How long did it take to make it and how many plants did you use?

Building the pots took about 7 hours, I would say (taking things apart, glueing them, painting them). It only took about 30 minutes to plant them up - less if I hadn't knocked one over and spilled everything out.

How exactly did you make it?

I took two buckets from the office supply section of our local big-box store. I then purchased two dollar robot toys and dismembered them. I used hotglue to affix everything (you can do anything with hot glue given enough determination). I painted with acrylics and a metallic permanent marker. I drilled holes in the bottoms of each pot, and attached "exhaust pipes" for drainage. I planted each up with a centerpiece plant and two plugs, and topped them with a vibrant pebble dressing.

What are some of the plants you used and why?

These plantings aren't really fit for outdoors, so I went with haworthias. This means that they'll be low maintenance, but still showy. I also have a gasteria mohawk in the black planter.

What are your favorite succulents?

I am drawn toward the stubbornness and low key lifestyle of haworthias, gasteria, aloe, and agave. I like agave the most, but in our area I can't grow it much - haworthia tend to be my go to.

What are the most difficult succulents to work with?

The most difficult thing isn't so much one type of succulent when it comes to photographs. I find the biggest challenge is color correctness. It isn't enough simply to set a good white balance - often a technically "correct" color is quite different from the impression a plant gives. That being said, I think echeveria are probably the worst at this, with their subtle pastel tones.

Why or what do you love about working at MCG?

I like that I get to express myself in a way that is both artistic and technical. I'm wonderfully boring in that way.