How To Set Up A Terrarium With Live Plants
It is a wonderful feeling to have a garden where you can care and grow different plants. It makes your home look beautiful while making the family relaxed as gardening help improve our health. Having no space for a garden should not stop you from taking care of plants. Setting up a terrarium is one way of caring for plants and creating a mini garden as well. In this article, I will teach you how to set up a terrarium with live plants.
Things to Consider in Creating a Terrarium
Learning how to set up a terrarium with live plants means you must first know what you should consider in creating a terrarium. Setting up a terrarium is easy, inexpensive and allows plenty of opportunities for creativity and expressing one’s self. Following are the things to be considered when creating a terrarium:
Terrarium Supplies
Any glass container can be used, e.g., a goldfish bowl or one-gallon jar. You can also use a small amount of potting soil, a good quality peat-based commercial potting mix, and a handful of sand as it improved drainage and some gravel/pebbles. You can also a small amount of activated charcoal to keep the terrarium fresh.
Terrarium Guide
Start by putting one to two inches of gravel/pebbles in the container's bottom to provide excess water to drain (terrarium don’t have drainage holes, and soggy soil might kill your plant/s). Put a thin layer of activated charcoal on top of the gravel/pebble to keep the terrarium air fresh and sweet-smelling. Top a few inches of potting soil sufficient enough to accommodate the root balls of the small plants. Find a slow-growing plant in different sizes, kinds, and texture. Arrange the terrarium, plant the tall plants at the back, and the small plants in front. Make sure that there will be enough space for air circulation between plants.
Terrarium Ideas
You may explore and create ways to make your terrarium. You may add some rocks, seashells, and decorative elements, among others, to create a miniature world.
How Terrarium Works
It is essential to know how a terrarium works in learning how to set up a terrarium with live plants. A terrarium is an indoor garden. It is a collection of small growing plants, placed in a sealed, transparent container. Plus, a terrarium can illustrate how the ecosystem works. Various natural processes may be observed inside terrariums, such as photosynthesis, respiration, and the water cycle.
How to Take Care of a Terrarium
A terrarium is easy to maintain. Here are some tips to consider keeping your terrarium last long and healthy.
- Trim leaves to prevent from overgrowing
- Remove the yellow and brown leaves from the plants
- For open terrarium, regularly monitor for pests. If the plant has pests, apply an insecticidal soap to the infected plant. If upon using insecticide and the plant is still infested, it is best to remove the plant to ensure that other plants will not be affected by pests.
- For close terrarium, remove the lid once in a while to let some fresh air in
- Water the plants but not as often as normal indoor plants. Terrarium has a greenhouse-like structure that recycles water instead of evaporating water.
- There are three types of light for providing for terrariums: direct sunlight, indirect sunlight, and artificial light (fluorescent or LED bulbs). Remove the lid for close terrarium since it might get too hot for the plants with the lid on.
Are Terrariums Ideal for Apartments
If you want to learn how to set up a terrarium with live plants, considered your space, many are fond of plants because it has this unexplainable effect on moods to most of us. Having a small lot or area should not limit us from creating our garden. A terrarium is an indoor plant that anyone can make. Also, a terrarium is ideal for most homes, big or small. Here are some reasons why terrariums can be nurtured in any home.
- Terrariums are easy to make
- They are low maintenance
- You can grow a variety of plants
- They add greenery to your home
Conclusion
Great! You already know how to set up a terrarium with live plants! Gardens provide great benefit by providing homegrown produce flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Like any other gardens, terrarium also has benefits that we can enjoy. We need to learn the simple steps to be able to set up our terrarium.