Tower of Sedum
Earlier this season I created a ‘Flower Tower’ by stacking three clay pots in graduated widths, then securing them with a stake. The flowers were beautiful, but the narrow space for planting, meant they dried out quickly. Annuals are shallow rooters to begin. Couple that with the porous clay pots and you have a watering challenge on your hands.
I loved the tower, and had fun aging the pots with gold leaf. I wasn’t ready to give up. I shifted the annuals to larger pots, then replanted with drought-tolerant Sedum.
I’m really pleased with the results. The plants don’t mind drying out between watering (and in fact probably prefer it). The soft greens contrast nicely with the clay. As they grow, they’ll cascade down the sides of the pots, and once established will send out tiny flowers.
Power to the tower!
Sedum Guatemalense
Sedum layered in tower of pots
Gardening Nirvana 
Nice and cute, i might try that stacking of pots too.. 🙂
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Thank you! I hope you’ll try it. It’s a lot of fun.
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Love the pot tower. If I find extra pots for free, I’d like to try the tower.
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It’s a fun project, Marlene.
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I’m really impressed at how well the gold leafing is hanging in there. I had some giant flat stones leading down to a path in our old garden. They had very little dirt between them but the sedum’s really liked that and the heat from the stones. I can’t wait to see it all filled in. Have you ever planted Hens & Chicks? Another heat loving succulent that requires hardly no water or dirt. These things amaze me.
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Thanks, Boomdee! The leaf blistered a bit when the pots were first wet, but it didn’t remove any of the finish. I’m glad it’s held up. It looks so pretty in the sun.
We used to ahve Hens and Chicks in the back yard, but they didn’t survive one of the colder winters and I never replanted. I like the image of the
Sedum between your warm stones. Nice.
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Have you punched out the bottoms of the clay pots? This would allow moisture to flow freely from the ground up and from the top down and also provide a bit more room for soil.
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The pots each have a drainage hole and a clay saucer at the bottom to catch the drip. The narrow channel for planting makes it challenging. If I did this again with purchased pots, I would use more graduated pots (instead of 6, 8 and 10, I would use 6, 10 and 14. Thanks for your suggestion, though. You’re right, it does make a difference.
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Thats a great place for Sedum I think and should work out beautifully!! and you can control the spreading too.
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That is good to hear (about the spreading). I did think about that when I planted it, but you know, always an excuse to start more plants. 😉
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