Gardener Uses Woks To Make A DIY Succulent Planter

Have you seen those succulent planter ideas that turn a tiered fountain into a show-stopping center piece? The effect is stunning, but there's just one issue. If you have to buy the fountain, this can put a dent in your wallet to the tune of $200-$400, easy. A unique solution to this, presented by YouTuber Kaying Vang, is to build a DIY tiered planter tower using woks, which provide plenty of vertical and lateral space for succulents to grow. 

Vang's plan utilizes a Christmas tree or large flower pot as a base to which a series of woks are connected. From there, the YouTuber creates a tiered effect by having each successive wok shrink in size. The largest serves as the bottom planter, and the smallest serves as the top. While woks are relatively easy to find, you can also replicate the tiered look with a set of nesting metal mixing bowls. 

The other materials you're going to need for this project include a metal rod measured to the height you'd like for your tower, some wider metal or plastic tubes to fit between the woks and help hold them in place, some potting soil, bagged concrete, and strong adhesive. Oh, and a bunch of your favorite succulents, of course. 

The first step in making this perfect home for succulents is to mix up some concrete according to the instructions on the bag. Next, stand one of your shorter pipes in the Christmas tree stand and fasten it into place using the screws. Fill the stand with the concrete mix. Stick the tall pipe, which will form the central core of the tower, into the wider tube, and fill the tube with enough of the concrete mix to hold the core pipe in place. Alternatively, you can try cementing the pipe into a large plant pot. Allow the concrete to set overnight before completing construction. 

While the concrete cures, prepare your wok planters. Whether you choose to keep or remove the handles is up to you, but you will need to drill some small drainage holes, and a larger hole in the center of the woks that will fit the core pipe. Once the concrete is ready, it's time to stack the woks.

Slide the largest wok down the core pipe until it meets the wider exterior tube. While it's not clear how Vang secures them in the video, we'd recommend using some adhesive to keep them in place. Thread another tube over the core pipe, and repeat the process until you have a tower to the height of your choosing. The final step is to fill the woks with succulent-specific potting soil mix, and get planting.

This is sure to be an eye-catching DIY planter, and you can choose succulents to amplify that. If you want to really give the tiered tower the effect of looking like a waterfall, string of pearls (Curio rowleyanus) is a trailing succulent whose leaves looks like green peas tied together on a central string. They can easily cascade over the edge of the wok tower to create a running fountain-like effect. Another cascading option is burro's tail (Sedum morganianum), which creates thicker trailing stems — or string of hearts (Ceropegia woodii) for a finer, more dainty look. Other succulents that can a add nice textured layer to the top of basins include Echeveria (Echeveria spp.) rosettes, spider aloe (Aloe humilis), and cobweb houseleek (Sempervivum arachnoideum).

To give the succulents room to grow, aim for roughly 1 to 3 inches of spacing between plants. Mulching with small stones can help finish off the look, and keep the soil in place when watering. You also don't need to limit yourself to succulents. You can choose from a bevy of other shallow-rooted plants that require similar treatment. Think Mediterranean herbs like thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and creeping rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis 'Prostratus'), each of which love well-draining soil and don't mind drying out briefly between waterings.