Faceted Modular Succulent pot

Inspired by my sister, the crazy plant lady, and her home full of succulents

Just in case you didn't know:

Succulents can propagate (make babies) from every single one of their leaves! Once one leaf falls off, it can be re-potted to grow into a brand new succulent, duplicating the mother plant.  I wanted to make a pot that could keep the babies and the momma plant together without taking up too much space while also looking good!

Baby Succulents in pots the size of your thumbnail!

Initial Sketches

Ideas started from thinking about geometric planters and evolved into using the facets on gems to be the smaller pots for succulent leaves. I love tessellated and interlocking shapes, so I decided to expand on that idea. My initial sketches started looking like gem facets and I started researching from there.

Now I have a strange amount of knowledge pertaining to how gems are faceted! I deep dived into gem faceting and lapidary tools and definitely will one day try it out because it was so fascinating.

Rough Solid Shape

I followed this amazing tutorial to get some surface modeling down to make a proper brilliant round cut diamond! I chose a brilliant round cut, as it was the most recognizable and frequently used cut for gems.

After the initial shape, I was able to separate each facet into its own individual hollowed out mini-pot.

Finished 3D model

Each facet is its own mini modular plant pot attached to the larger main plant pot in the center.  The small facet pots slide down onto the pegs of the main pot at the angle so that they don't slip off. The smaller propagated plants don't require as much soil so the main mass of the pot is the central mother plant’s pot.

Thoughts going forward: This was a fun personal CAD project and I love exercising my creative skills to see what I can make! Eventual ideas for next iterations may be:
- tapered pegs so that it looks a bit more organic/floral and will be less likely to snap off if pushed
- a pot holder that can look like a ring setting for a gemstone
- different facet shapes, maybe one inspired by my engagement ring which is cut in a hanami cut