Lift the succulents out of their containers and remove the dirt and roots, rinse. Make sure they are at room temperature and void of all moisture. Each large succulent will be left with a short stem, probably 1⁄2″ to 1″ long, and the smaller ones might have barely any stem at all.
For each of the smaller succulents, poke a piece of straight stem wire horizontally through what little stem they have, right below the base of the succulent. Thread it through until the succulent is centered on the wire.
Bend both sides of the wire down so that it forms an upside-down U, or hairpin, with the succulent at the top of the upside-down U. This makes a stem for the succulent.
For each of the larger succulents, you’ll need to create a more substantial stem by wiring a wooden pick or stake and wrap the wire around the pick then tape . To do so, insert a wire and make one upside-down U, or hairpin, as directed in step 2.
Then rotate the flower one quarter-turn and insert a second wire perpendicular to the first wire, so that the two wires form a cross at the base of the succulent. You may have to use a little force to get the wires through the stem.
Bend down the sides of the second wire, so that this also forms an upside-down U or hairpin.
Attach to pick or stake, starting at the base of each of the succulents, wrap the floral stem tape around the stems you’ve created.
Twirl the stems with one hand and wrap with the other hand, overlapping the tape at a slant down the length of the stems.
Pull the tape and squeeze the tape onto the stems as you wrap, since the tape is self-adhesive and will stick better that way.
When you wrap to the bottom of the wire stems, tear off the tape. And……
Design!!!Design away!!!
