Our Monthly Tip: Share Plant Cuttings that Speak of the Person Who Died

Succulent cuttings wrapped in decorative paper can make for a beautiful display
and gift at a memorial service

Our Tip of the Month

What better way is there to honor the life of a departed loved one than by sharing a cutting of a plant they once nurtured or admired? Offering this personalized keepsake at a wake or memorial service emphasizes life rather than death. As the cuttings prosper manifold in the homes or gardens of relatives and friends, your loved one will be associated with its natural beauty and growth.

How-to Suggestions

Start with a large healthy plant. Many indoor plants can be purchased at a Home Depot or a garden center and then made into smaller cuttings.

1. Use a sharp pair of scissors to snip a leaf-covered section of one of the plant stems that’s at least 3 inches long. This is your cutting.
2.  Clip off the leaves on the lower half of the shoot so you have a bare stem.
3. Insert the stem into a small floral water tube.
4. Wrap the cutting in decorative paper and secure with string or thin ribbon. Crafts stores offer many paper designs. Choose one that captures the special quality of the person memorialized.
5. Display the plants on a table at the memorial service or reception. You can present all the wrapped cuttings in a large bowl or scatter them in groups of individual glasses or jars. Add props around the display that, once again, capture the essence of the person who died.
6. When guests return home with the cutting, they can continue the rooting process in a small container of water or seed-starting soil.

If you are pressed for time, live, rooted succulents fully planted in 2-inch pots can be ordered in bulk. This simple living memorial will keep on giving as it grows. It is sure to become a source of remembrance and comfort for family and friends of a loved one.