Himalayan Salt Planter

Himalayan Salt Planter

Himalayan Salt has been a trendy ingredient in the culinary world for a while now. The trend has crossed over into home decor with Himalayan salt lamps being sold all over the place. I bought a salt lamp a couple of years ago and I love it. I have been keeping it in my dining room where I spend a lot of time on my laptop working, and it gives off a nice warm, relaxing glow.

I was strolling through Bed Bath & Beyond the other day and saw that they have a whole section of Himalayan salt lamps and I spied these salt candle holders. I have had my eyes on these for a while and nearly bought them on Amazon a few times but never got around to clicking the “add to cart” button. I also recently noticed that Michaels craft stores have Himalayan salt lamps and other accessories for sale, so you can pick them up there too.

Himalayan Salt is known for it’s pink/orange color. It’s mined in Pakistan near the Himalayas. It’s commonly used in place of table salt and there are a whole bunch of health claims that Himalayan salt is better for you than table salt, can help clean the air and releases negative ions.

Unfortunately there is no proof to back up these claims but that doesn’t stop people from using Himalayan salt in everything possible and basically throwing it around like confetti. This group of salt enthusiasts includes myself. I may not be throwing it in the air like confetti but like I said I do have a salt lamp and the candle holders that I turned into planters. Am I skeptical of the health claims? Yes, but I do like the warm glow of the lamp and I think that pink salt is pretty, so why not indulge?

Today’s tutorial is pretty simple. I just took the votive holders and put a couple of succulents into them, dirt and all. This DIY requires no special tools or supplies, just the candle holder and a tiny succulent that will fit into it.

You can find succulents at most garden stores or at Home Depot or Lowes.

I’m a sucker for any project that involves creative reuse and since I haven’t been lighting candles in these votive holders for a while I figured I would plant my little succulents in them for a super stylish planter.

Be careful when watering because the salt planter doesn’t have any drainage holes. Succulents don’t need much water so just add a little at a time when the soil is dry.

Also, I should note that normally salt dissolves in water so be careful not to get these planters too wet. When I was planting my little succulents I got dirt all over the salt and had the bright idea to just rinse them off, then I remembered that salt is water soluble so I placed them on the heat vent on the floor so they would dry quicker. I don’t think that rinsing them once will dissolve the salt block or anything but you should be aware that if they are routinely washed or exposed to moisture they are more prone deteriorate quickly.

When you are ready to use it as a candle holder again just take out the succulent and replant it in a different pot, clean out the salt and plop in a tea light.