DIY Succulent Christmas Tree

Week 2: Nora, General Manager of Mountain Crest Gardens

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 of our employees to make their own Succulent creations. We are asking one employee a week 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.

Week 2 features Nora, our General Manager. She has decided to build a lovely tree!

Why a Christmas Tree?

"Of course, it’s the season, how could I resist."

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

"About 2 hours. Wandering about in the greenhouse to find the right ‘ornaments’ took the longest. I used 200+ cuttings in total. Each branch of the tree is a single cutting."

How exactly did you make it?

"The base is an Oasis floral cone. I pushed the succulent cuttings into the foam starting at the bottom and working around and up to the top – super easy. Then I wrapped around the long garland pieces and finished by tucking in the colorful cuttings and blooms just like decorating any Christmas tree."

A christmas tree in the making.

What are some of the plants you used and why?

"The tree is all Crassula perforata – String of Buttons for great tree type texture.

The garland is Aptenia cordifolia variegata – Crystal. Nice long, trailing habit.

The ornaments are assorted colorful blooms and cuttings I chose to stand out from the green of the tree."

What are your favorite Succulents?

"Sempervivum - Tried and true, they are the first succulents I ever worked with and I will always come back to them."

What are the most difficult succulents to work with?

"Anything with fragile or loosely connected leaves like Cotyledon ladismithensis - Bear Paw and Sedum rubrotinctum - Jelly Bean. Sometimes it seems all I have to do is look at them and they fall apart."

Why or what do you love about working at MCG?

"Every day has new challenges. It’s never boring around here!"

Nora, our General Manager.