How to make
your own green terrarium to keep or give away for the holidays
by Bridgette
Meinhold
If you have a green thumb but
minimal garden space, why not create your own mini-world full of lush and
beautiful plants by making your own terrarium? If you’re in the southern
hemisphere instead, remember that having green plants around is a surefire way
to keep away the winter blues, plus plants are certain to help improve your
indoor air quality. Terrariums are easy-to-make, low-maintenance gardens, and
can last almost indefinitely with minimal water. Don’t believe us? We assembled
seven terrariums of various shapes and sizes in a single weekend, and they’re
all adorable. Read on for our easy terrarium DIY to learn how to make your own
to keep or give away for the holidays.
Materials
A clear glass jar, vase, bowl,
glass, or whatever interesting glass container you have on hand
Rocks, pebbles or recycled
glass chunks
Activated charcoal (sometimes
called activated carbon)
Potting soil appropriate for
your plants
Moss (optional)
Figurines, sticks or decorative
items (optional)
Various small plants
A scoop, spoon or shovel
Scissors
Gloves
Source your containers from a
thrift store or an antique store, or just scrounge around your house for an old
jar. Even simple jelly jars or canning jars can make beautiful terrariums. They
can be left open or closed—it’s totally up to you. All other supplies can be
bought at your local gardening center.
As for the plants, the sky is
the limit, but generally speaking look for small plants that you can fit inside
your jar and won’t grow too tall. Some plants will have multiple stems so you
can break them up even further. To ensure that your terrarium will be
successful, keep succulents and cacti together, and keep fern and tropical
plants together, because they require different amounts of water and soil.
You’ll want cactus soil for the succulents and regular old potting soil for
everything else. The rocks are used as a false drainage layer while the
activated charcoal helps keep the terrarium healthy, and the moss can be used
for decoration and to help soak up and retain water.
Step 1. Prepare the Container
Remove any price tags or
stickers from your vessel and wash both the interior and exterior thoroughly to
ensure that there are no unwanted residues that could affect the health of your
plants. Envision how you want to arrange your plants inside the jar.
Step 2. Add Your Drainage Layers
Once the container is ready,
fill the bottom with rocks or pebbles. This is to create a false drainage layer
so water can settle and not flood the plant. The depth of the rocks totally
depends on the size of your container, but aim for 1/2″ to 2″.
Step 3. Add the Activated Charcoal
The charcoal looks exactly like
what you would expect it to and it’s messy. Sometimes it comes as small
granules and other times it comes as shards—either works. You don’t need much,
just enough to cover the rocks. The charcoal will improve the quality of your
little world including reducing bacteria, fungi and odors.
Step 4. Add Soil
Again, cactus and succulents
need a special soil compared to most other plants, so be sure to get the
appropriate bag depending on which plants you’re using. Add enough soil so the
plant roots will have plenty of room to fit and then grow. Aim for a depth
slightly greater than the height of the plant’s pot.
Step 5. Plant
Take your plant out of the pot
and break up the hard soil ball until you get down to the roots. If you’re
breaking the plant into multiple parts, be gentle. You may also want to trim
the roots if they are especially long; don’t worry, they’ll grow back. Using a
spoon, your fingers, the end of a brush, or even a pencil, dig a well to place
your plants roots in. Add more soil around the top and compact the soil down
around the base of the plant. Continue placing your little plants in the
container and try to keep them away from the edges. The leaves are likely to
touch the sides but aim to keep them away as much as possible.
Step 6. Add Accessories
After you’re done planting you
can add little accessories like a blanket of moss (dried or living), little
figurines, old toys, glass beads, shiny metal object, sticks, stones, or even a
layer or rocks. This is your little world and you can put whatever you’d like
in there.
Related: 7 Eco-Friendly Summer
Crafts for Creative Adults (and Kids!)
Step 7. Clean and Water
You’ll likely have dirt all
over the sides of the container, so wipe them down so you can enjoy the
beautiful living world inside. Give the terrarium a little bit of water. Unlike
most of your house plants, a terrarium doesn’t need to soaked: just a couple of
shots of water should get it started.
Tips & Tricks
– Over time, monitor your
terrarium’s water needs based on how dry the soil is. For terrariums with
closed lids, if water is dripping down from the top, open the lid to let some
evaporate. Likewise, you may need to add more if it looks parched. You
shouldn’t need to water them very often.
– If leaves die or wilt, remove
them from the terrarium immediately to maintain the health of the little eco
system. If an entire plant dies, take it out.
– Don’t place in direct
sunlight. Remember that these are essentially little greenhouses and direct
sunlight through the glass will trap heat and scorch the plants. Place in
indirect light for best results.
– Afterwards, enjoy your little
world or give it away and make another!
Lead image via Pixabay. All other images
©Bridgette Meinhold