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Published on Friday, March 15, 2024
The terrarium has been around since the 1800s. These lush mini-garden solutions are especially trendy now for good reason. With the right plants and the right light, your little ecosystem can thrive for a very long time and bring beauty, nature and a sense of otherworldly decor to your home.
Here's how to make gorgeous terrariums with tropical shade-loving ferns and with the ever-popular desert scape of succulents.
Your terrarium's home starts with a glass vase, bowl or jar. It can be an apothecary jar, a goldfish bowl, a Mason jar or a hurricane vase. It's easier to work with a vessel with a wide mouth opening so you can fit your arm inside and maneuver plants, plus you'll have more space for a larger terrarium landscape. Since there's no drainage hole in the vase, the key to a terrarium is to create artificial drainage with layers of material unique to the type of terrarium you're making. Another key is the soil you use.
Before you go out and buy your plants and supplies, think for a minute about what you want your terrarium to look like and where it may go in your home.
A tropical terrarium usually prefers bright, but never direct light. The design options are endless, so it's important to have fun and create something that expresses your personality and enhances your home's design. A terrarium can also be a vacation in a jar or vase, reminding you of your favorite getaway or future escape. It can be whimsical with plastic dinosaurs, and other small figurines like a little Buddha or even an action figure. They also look great, keeping it simple and elegant with just plants and natural materials.
The supplies you need are:
First, fill your vase with an inch or two of decorative rocks, depending on the size of your vase. Note the total drainage layering area should be at least three inches high, and can be more depending on the size of your terrarium.
Add activated charcoal on top of the rocks. Beware, this is a very messy product so you may opt to wear gloves and go gently as the charcoal will release a black dust. The charcoal helps absorb any sitting water and prevents odors and bacteria build-up.
Next add moss, which you can purchase by the bag at garden centers and craft stores. Not only does this add an authentic forest look to your terrarium, but it will prevent and stop the soil from dripping to the bottom when watering.
Potting soil follows in your layering process. Add about an inch to start because the plants have some soil you'll want to use. Then top off with more dirt.
Time to stage your design.
Lay out your planting plan while they are still in their containers and see where they look best. A designer trick is to have one plant that's a focal point with a little more height along with a couple of others that have some width and cascade over your vase like a vine. There are a number of tropical indoor plant choices that will be happy in your terrarium and also flower.
Take the plants you've selected and one by one remove some of the soil that was in the container. You may even need to trim the roots a little using garden shears. Your terrarium may be more shallow in soil than the container the plant came in and that's okay, it will grow fine.
Once you've filled your terrarium with the plants, it's time to have fun with top dressing and any decorative accents you choose to add. We used some polished stones that have sayings like love, along with a miniature fairy and a frog.
The terrarium with no succulents never wants to be in full sun. The ideal location is inside a bright room with a dappling of indirect morning sunlight. As for watering, a terrarium should be watered once to twice a week so the soil is moist but not flooded. It also likes to be misted weekly with a spray bottle of water. Think rainforest.
If you choose for succulent terrarium, it can handle some direct morning sunlight followed by bright indirect afternoon light. Just remember the succulent terrarium will reward you if you let it sit outside once a week for a few hours in indirect light. Different from cacti, the succulent terrarium likes a drink, but not a downpour. In the warmer temperature like Costa Rica use a spray bottle and mist each succulent once every week to two weeks. Go with your instincts. You'll see when your terrarium is thirsty as the plants will respond and look dry.
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