Because of their modest size, lovely variations, and very simple maintenance, succulents are excellent terrarium plants. This article will teach you how to construct a succulent terrarium and will provide you with a step-by-step list of the materials you’ll need.
Generally speaking, the processes required to create a succulent terrarium are as follows:
- Select a terrarium vessel.
- sanitise the container
- Select and apply the bottom drainage layer.
- Add a filter to help with separation
- Apply a coat of charcoal
- Succulent soil mixture should be added before plants.
- Decorations
How are succulents planted in glass?
Fill the jar’s base with potting soil.
- Fill the glass jars’ bases with potting soil once they have been cleaned and dried.
- Succulents should be taken out of their plastic containers and placed in the glass jar.
- To prevent the succulent from moving around, fill the remaining space in the jar with potting soil.
Succulents in glass terrariums—are they beneficial?
The terrarium setting is the absolute worst for succulent growth and development. Avoid using a succulent terrarium if you want to keep your plants happy and healthy and keep them in the proper container.
This article will cause controversy since it deviates from the fundamentals of modern interior design. And when I refer to “modern interior design concepts,” I mean a minimalist aesthetic à la Pinterest.
Without a doubt, they look fantastic. Nothing could be more awesome than a little environment in your living room.
Succulent terrariums (the plural of terrarium) are a nice way to capture some of the stark beauty of the desert, but they aren’t a long-term solution. Without the most precise care, succulents in terrariums will eventually perish; even then, they’ll be barely hanging on.
Both types of terraria—those that are completely sealed and those that are partially open—have these issues. Most of these problems are exacerbated by being in a sealed terrarium. Only a few of these issues apply to “dish gardens.”
What do you put in a succulent terrarium?
For succulents, the planting media is essential. Succulents are ideal for terrariums because of their sluggish growth, but if the proper medium isn’t used, the condensation that could form could harm the tiny plants. Fill the container’s bottom with small rocks or gravel. An inch or so of charcoal is placed on top of this layer. This removes any pollutants and odours that may be present in the water. Sphagnum moss should next be added, followed by lightly wet cactus soil.
In the cactus mix, put the little plants, and then compact the dirt around them. To dig the holes and fill them in around the plants, a dowel or stick is useful. Plants should be placed at least an inch (2.5 cm) apart to allow for proper airflow. For the first several weeks, plants may require a Popsicle stick or small stake to hold them erect.
The really enjoyable part now is designing the terrarium. Add some seashells if you want a beach theme, or place some pebbles to go with the succulents if you want a desert theme. There are countless products that can be used to improve the terrarium’s natural appearance. Some growers even include porcelain figurines to heighten the whimsical atmosphere. Just make sure everything you put in the terrarium has been well cleaned to prevent introducing disease.
In a glass bowl, how do you water succulents?
In the normal course of things, I would advise against growing anything in a container without drainage. In most cases, drilling a hole in a container is simpler than dealing with the effects of improper drainage. However, because succulents need so little water, you can use a bowl as long as you use high-quality potting soil and don’t overwater the plants. Water stains on your table are also avoided by the lack of a drainage hole!
Some bowls without drainage holes do enable a modest degree of drainage since the bowl material is slightly porous, as the concrete bowl seen above. A small amount of water will pass through the walls of concrete, terra cotta, and unglazed pottery bowls. These are suitable options for succulent indoor gardening.
Because they are non-porous, glass and plastic bowls will prevent air or water from passing through the walls. Avoid overwatering your succulent glass bowl when learning how to plant succulents in glass containers! Health problems with succulent bowls are typically caused by overwatering rather than underwatering. Succulents have evolved to require very little water to survive!
Although there are many suggestions for growing succulents in glass in this article, Miniature Terrariums: Tiny Glass Container Gardens Using Easy-to-Grow Plants and Inexpensive Glassware is a great source for even more details. It is definitely worth reading.
Watering Succulent Glass Bowl Gardens
The simplest way to ruin your succulent terrarium is to overwater it. When watering the plant, keep in mind that you don’t have to completely wet the dirt in the bowl. Succulents are adept at locating and utilising the meagre amounts of water that are present in the soil near their roots. If your succulent appears unhappy and you’ve recently watered it, it’s probably drowning.
What steps can you take to prevent overwatering your succulent glass bowl? Once you’ve planted it, weigh the bowl to determine how heavy it is. A few days later, pick up the planted glass bowl of succulents to see if it has lost any weight. In contrast to times of high humidity, dry weather may cause it to dry out more quickly.
Wait until the potted glass bowl of succulents weighs considerably less than it did at first. After that, lightly water it. You don’t have to completely saturate the ground! Simply soak the dirt at the succulent’s base. The succulent will come across the liquid. Succulent plants require water and air for their roots to function properly.
Succulent terrariums: Should they be open or closed?
The following also applies in this case: You can plant succulents in nearly any container you want. The mason jar works just as well for growing succulents as a planting bowl or a hanging glass ball. There is only one prerequisite: the glass must be able to be opened. Because of the excessive humidity inside, succulents in closed glass perish fast.
Succulents are consequently more suited to open containers with a top opening instead of a bottle garden, like semicircular glass bowls. The square terrarium’s succulents are also a stunning eye-catcher. However, it also applies in this case because for the succulents to flourish, it must be open upwards or at the very least have a hole for evaporation.
In a sealed terrarium, will succulents survive?
In general, high light and low moisture settings are ideal for succulent growth. Succulents cannot flourish in a closed terrarium because the environment is too damp. Succulents can be created and placed in an unfenced, open-dish garden to address this problem. A huge jar will be overly humid, so keep that in mind. Air must be allowed to move about succulents since airflow is crucial.
Need charcoal for terrariums with succulents?
A terrarium can and will run successfully without a coating of charcoal. The important query is whether a covering of charcoal has a long-term beneficial impact on terrarium health.
Sadly, there isn’t any hard research demonstrating how well charcoal filters out harmful contaminants from a terrarium.
It makes sense in theory, and there is anecdotal evidence from seasoned terrarium builders that suggests it’s a useful addition, but like many terrarium-building decisions, it comes down to personal preference and trial and error.
Personally, I find that I utilise it less and less. I opted not to use charcoal in the project for my Essential Guide to Tropical Terrariums and instead used springtails to keep my terrarium clean. It’s still my healthiest, to be honest.
However, if you do decide to utilise it, adding a charcoal layer to your terrarium is a simple modification that I’ve found to have no significant drawbacks.
Charcoal can still be used as a drainage component when creating terrariums with a false bottom. So it won’t be much of a hindrance to your plants if it’s placed between your drainage rocks and your substrate.
Try adding extra terrarium moss instead of charcoal if you’re not keen on that. In any case, moss naturally filters water and is capable of removing contaminants like arsenic.
What species of plants thrive in a glass terrarium?
They provide specific plants with a constrained, compact environment. Imagine it as a miniature greenhouse. Terrarium gardens often come in clear pots made of glass or plastic.
Terrariums come in sealed and open varieties. While open terrariums lack a removable lid, sealed terrariums do.
How do terrariums work?
They are containerized indoor gardens. The terrarium’s plants and soil emit water vapour, effectively recycling water. The vapour is then gathered on the vessel’s walls before trickling to the ground. Because terrariums are self-nourishing, they require little upkeep if they are sealed.
What supplies do you need to make a terrarium?
The following are required:
- a bottle made of glass or plastic
- a few rocks, if you like
- If you so chose, Moss
- Soil (growing medium)
- plants that won’t grow too large (generally miniature or dwarf plants)
- Spoon for dumping dirt
- long tweezers for loading vessels with materials
How do you make terrariums?
- To store your garden, you can either purchase a specialised terrarium case or construct your own out of a soda bottle, fish tank, fish bowl, or vase.
- Then, add half of the soil layer you intend to utilise to the bottom of the container. Rocks could be the initial layer you add to the terrarium, but this is entirely up to you.
- If you want to include large boulders or driftwood in your garden, add them.
- Make a hole in the earth that will accommodate the plants’ roots.
- Take the plant out of the container.
- To help the roots separate from the dirt, you might need to give them a little massage.
- After placing the plants in the first layer of soil, put another layer of earth all around them. The new soil level should be roughly equal to the soil of the plant’s original root ball, so press a little forcefully.
- Mix up the plants’ sizes, hues, and colours.
What plants work best in terrariums?
Avoid fast-growing plants and opt for foliage plants and plants that grow slowly instead. For instance:
- Birds nest, maidenhair, and button ferns
- plants that eat carrion
- Pitcher plants, sundew plants, and Venus fly traps
- tiny palms
- AirplantsTillandsia
- Cacti, Hawthornia, Echeveria, Crassula, and other succulents
- Peperomia
Without terrariums, it can be rather difficult to raise ferns, carnivorous plants, and air plants. Therefore, we advise buying or building a terrarium if you want these plants in your home.
What are the benefits of terrariums?
- There are a lot of advantages to terrariums, including:
- Plants that would struggle to grow in dry air benefit from their assistance.
- They offer a small area for a garden, or “mini garden.”
- Artificial lighting, like LED or fluorescent, can be used quite well.
- Terrariums don’t require frequent watering.
How do you care for terrariums?
Most of the time, terrariums require little maintenance, however we do have some tips to keep your terrarium strong and healthy.
- Trim the leaves of any ferns you decide to cultivate to keep them from expanding too much.
- Make sure to trim any plants in your terrarium of their yellow and brown foliage. This frequently indicates a sickness or bug.
- Inspect your open terrarium regularly for pests like gnats or mealy bugs.
- If your terrarium is closed, you might want to sometimes take the lid off to let some fresh air in.
What happens if my terrarium gets bugs?
We advise getting insecticidal soap from your neighbourhood garden centre and using it on afflicted plants. You can also purchase rocks or stones to keep gnats away and prevent overwatering. But it’s preferable to eliminate the entire plant if all else fails and it’s still contaminated.
Terrarium plants are frequently inexpensive, and keeping a sick plant in one could easily hurt nearby plants. To save time and money when acquiring plants for your terrarium, look for bugs before making a purchase.
Drainage Layer
This layer is necessary to properly store extra water at the terrarium’s base without it covering the roots and posing a risk of root rot. For additional details, see my article on how to grow plants in pots without holes. Although some individuals prefer to add charcoal or a decorative layer at the very bottom, the drainage layer is often the very bottom layer.
One to two inches of drainage material should be placed in the bottom of your terrarium, depending on its size. This layer, which you shouldn’t skimp on, will let extra water drain away from your plants so they don’t sit in water and develop rotten roots.
Pea gravel is a typical sort of drainage layer, but you may also use intriguing little rocks you’ve collected, coloured aquarium gravel, or small river rocks. Sea glass, decorative stones, and marbles are also excellent choices.
Your terrarium will have lots of drainage thanks to these clay pebbles without adding a lot of weight like gravel might. Due to LECA’s pH neutrality, your plants will have plenty of room to establish roots. You could use your layer of LECA to store water in a miniature aquaphor, which would eliminate the need to water your terrarium.
Moss Layer
If you simply add dirt on top of the drainage layer, it may eventually start to seep through the drainage layer and disappear into the terrarium’s base. If this occurs, your terrarium might not survive and you might get mould and rot.
Put a layer of dried moss or sphagnum moss on top of your drainage layer to stop this. By doing so, part of the extra moisture will be absorbed while also preventing the soil from washing through.
The moss layer will give the intermediate layers of your terrarium a lovely colour and texture. In order to prevent soil from washing through into the drainage layer, make sure it is thick enough.
Charcoal Layer
Although it is an optional layer, I believe it to be crucial to the health and longevity of your terrarium. The charcoal layer serves as a filter in your terrarium, removing pollutants and preventing the growth of odours.
Although some people merely add it to the very bottom of the terrarium, I believe this layer works best when it is placed above the moss layer.
For this, you can use activated charcoal or horticulture charcoal. Even BBQ charcoal has been utilised in the bottom of some terrariums. Without this layer, your terrarium can still function, but you’ll have to take extra care to keep the conditions ideal.
Soil Layer
Your plants will grow in the top layer of soil. The soil layer offers the nutrients your plants require to flourish as well as acting as a support for the roots.
It is important to bear in mind the type of terrarium you are creating and base your soil selection on the plants you intend to grow inside. The soil layer has a number of choices.
- Potting soil is the simplest and least expensive type of soil for terrariums. Due to its affordability and availability, this is a popular option that works well for tropical plants.
- a soil rich in violas
- African Violet soil is advised by Cornell University Extension for your terrarium. The soil used for African violets is quite light and will keep the plants hydrated without becoming soggy.
- DIY SoilIf you so desire, you can make your own soil mixture using sterilised dirt, peat moss, and either vermiculite or perlite. As a result, your terrarium will have better drainage and bacterial or mould growth will be prevented or slowed down.
- Plants and Soil With Cactus
- If you are creating a terrarium for succulents and cacti, you might need to utilise soil designed for those plants. Compared to other types, this soil will drain a lot more quickly.
Decorative Soil Layers
After deciding on the materials for the fundamental layers, you can express some creativity by including decorative soil layers. I prefer to divide the soil layer, which is typically the thickest layer in the base of a terrarium, with beautiful sand or stones. This significantly improves the terrarium’s exterior’s interest and appeal.
This layer could contain any inert, decorative elements, such as coloured stones, glass beads, tiny seashells, etc.
Plant Layer
Of course, one of the best parts of making the terrarium is picking your plants. Smaller plants are preferable for terrariums with limited space because they won’t compete for space as they grow.
You should only grow one kind of plant, such as cacti, succulents, or tropical plants since they all demand different levels of moisture.
While tropical terrariums can have closed tops and provide more humid, damp conditions, succulent terrariums can have open tops and require less moisture.