Thanksgiving Hotline: 7 Last-Minute Ideas for Tabletop Succulents

Pies in the oven, potatoes peeled, turkey basted. Check, check, check. Congratulate yourself if you’ve forgotten no Thanksgiving detail except…the tabletop. The tabletop! No centerpiece? No artfully foraged fronds? Panic? No.

This Thanksgiving, you can tell guests that the theme of the dinner is “Still Life with Cactus.” Surely you’ve got a potted succulent or three lurking around the house. If so, we’ve rounded up some easy ideas for how to transform a few houseplants into the star of the show. Here are seven last-minute ideas for arranging Thanksgiving tabletop succulents. We are grateful for all of them:

Pincushion Cactus

Above: A collection of pint-size cacti (still in their pots) can move directly from the windowsill to the tabletop just before the guests arrive. Tiny is the key here: you you want guests to be able to look across the table without feeling as if they’ve parachuted directly into a desert. Photograph by @localmilk.

See more of this arrangement—and tips for recreating it—at Steal This Look: Dry Garden Tablescape.

Statement Succulents

Above: A shallow bowl or a platter with a lip is all you need to create a statement centerpiece with succulents. Arrange the plants to allow foliage to trail over the side. Shown here is the Canoe Pot from Bauer Pottery.

See more in World’s Best Tabletop Garden.

Jade Plant

Above: The pillowy leaves of jade plants bring a feeling of bounty to a tabletop arrangement of potted succulents. Photograph by @localmilk.

Echeveria

Above: An echeveria with burgundy-tinged foliage contrasts beautifully against pewter or silver. Put it into a goblet or vase, roots and all, and  be grateful for how beautifully looks in candlelight. Photograph by Meredith Swinehart.

See more of this tabletop—and tips to make your own version with what you have on hand—in DIY Succulents: Tabletop Arrangement for Under $20.

Above: For a last-minute arrangement, our editor Meredith Swinehart “grabbed seven little succulents at my local Whole Foods. I was drawn to the red-inflected plants, so I bought all five on offer, plus two light-green versions.” Photograph by Meredith Swinehart.

Wondering which succulents you are about to mix and match? It’s not hard to ID them. See Succulents Explained: How to Identify and Grow 12 Favorites.

Kalanchoe

Above: Just a stem or two of kalanchoe in bloom is enough to create a sculptural centerpiece. Photograph and styling by Chelsea Fuss.

Common kalanchoe can be elevated from garden center staple to a special centerpiece if you pass over the gaudier plants with red, yellow, or orange in favors of flowers that are “pale pink and subdued rust,” writes our contributor Chelsea Fuss. Read more of her tips in Kalanchoe: Rethinking a Kitschy Houseplant.

Sedum

Above: Our contributor Justine Hand used a moss ring as a base for a wreath of succulents she displayed as a centerpiece. See more at DIY: A Succulent Wreath to Display All Year. Photograph by Justine Hand.

Mix and match succulents based on the color of their leaves to emphasize deep purple and pink-tinged foliage.

Above: You might just have some spiky Sedum reflexum growing in your garden (it’s a common ground cover). Photograph by Justine Hand.

Succulents in Silver

Above: Don’t polish your silver service: the more tarnish, the moodier the result when you perch succulents in a teapot, creamer, or tray. Photograph by Michelle Slatalla.

See more of this tabletop arrangement in Succulents for Two: A Tarnished Tea Party.

Need more ideas, quick? See:

• DIY: Foraged Thanksgiving Tabletop with Berries and Branches
• Thanksgiving on a Budget: 7 Tips for Tabletop Decor from Stylist Beth Kirby
• Kalanchoe: A Field Guide to Planting, Care & Design