Just 3 Step! Easy Beautifull DIY Terrarium

Just 3 Step! Easy Beautifull DIY Terrarium

How to make a terrarium as a beautiful gift or home decor. Low maintenance, simple DIY terrarium plants, best care tips and mini garden ideas!

The beautiful DIY terrarium evokes memories of an oasis of paradise. A tranquil island surrounded by turquoise waters, lush jungles, moist tropical air, rainforests.

Just 3 Step! Easy Beautifull DIY Terrarium

After understanding how easy it is to build and maintain some terrariums and build and maintain your own terrariums, I am very happy to share this tutorial with you.
  • How to choose the right type of terrarium plant.
  • How to create a beautiful and easy-to-maintain terrarium ecosystem. 
  • Useful tips on terrarium care and maintenance. 
There are terrarium kits designed to create professional and durable miniature gardens, but no special supplies are needed to create a beautiful little living paradise that is self-sufficient in a glass jar. A flea market trip and a walk in the woods will give you all the treasures you need to make your own magical terrarium. How to choose the right type of terrarium plant. Choosing plants with similar watering and moisture requirements is very important to create a terrarium that looks natural and stays healthy with minimal maintenance. for example:
  • Cacti and succulents require little water, good air circulation, and dry heat. 
  • Moss and ferns require shade and high humidity. 
  • Saintpaulia and Pirea like moderate moisture and do not have too much water on the leaves. 
As you can see, it would be very difficult to plant green moss and ferns in the same terrarium.

Materials and Tools for Building Terrariums:

  • Clear glass jars or vases: Garden stores or clothing stores often have large glass jars or transparent cookie jars with such lids. You can also store pickle jars and mason jars. 
  • Planting medium: Clean soil such as gravel or small pebbles, sand or potting compost, a layer of activated carbon or horticultural charcoal at the bottom of the terrarium helps absorb debris. Not required for open terrariums such as juicy terrariums, but highly recommended for closed terrariums. 
  • Treasures found during nature walks such as moss, ferns, shells, twigs and stones. You can also buy leaf moss stored in this way. For narrow-mouthed glass containers, use tools such as spoons, tongs, long tweezers, and chopsticks to add soil and plants. 
  • There are two types of terrariums, open and closed. Closed terrariums are a self-sufficient ecosystem and should be kept mostly in the shade.
Best terrarium plants for a closed terrarium need to be compact, and humidityloving. Moss, ferns, and most small plants in the house plant section of a nursery are from the shaded forest floor habitat, will work great in a closed terrarium. Because of little moisture loss, the closed terrarium can stay alive and healthy for months with almost no watering or maintenance. 

I made my closed terrarium ( the one in the photo above), and never had to open the jar in 5 months!

It is important to make sure your closed terrarium does not have too much condensation. If it has too much excess water or condensation, take off the top to increase airflow and let the moisture evaporate for a few hours. Plants such as succulents and cacti are not suitable for closed terrariums due to their low humidity. The open terrarium can be kept in semi-sunlight or shade. 

However, please note that the glass container may become too hot if left in direct sunlight for a long time. An open terrarium is more like a glass planter than a traditional "terrarium". In addition to all the plants used in closed terrariums, you can plant orchids, small indoor plants and more. You can also build a succulent terrarium with small succulents, cacti, and air plants that prefer a dry environment. 

Step 1: Create drainage channels and soil layers

Important: Even if you have a thick layer of gravel on the bottom, always keep the water modest and do not leave excess water on the bottom for long periods of time as it can cause root rot. At the bottom of the DIY terrarium, place a 1-inch layer of 50% fine gravel or fine rock mixed with 50% garden charcoal (easier to find than activated carbon). 

This prevents the growth of bacteria and mold in the closed terrarium. Then add moist soil. The soil layer does not need to be very thick. 2 to 3 inches is sufficient for most plants. Create a mound of earth using some large rocks. It would be even better if you found a rock with moss!
 
Think of a glass terrarium design as a miniature garden with small mountains and hills, or a fairy tale garden with small forests.

Step 2: Add terrarium plants

Small plants from shaded floors such as small ferns, violets and moss and most small houseplants are ideal for medium to high humidity terrariums. Cacti and succulents are great for dry terrariums. 

Step 3: Add artistic elements

Vertical elements such as branches and bark can create the look of a miniforest. Some of them have moss, so they are pretty!
 
Move things in the terrarium until everything looks balanced. It's like making a painting or a miniature garden. Get up, see everything, and move things until you're happy with the look of the DIY terrarium!

Give everything a gentle mist, close the jar and enjoy your little part of the tropical jungle paradise!
 
How do I create an open terrarium without a lid? Follow step 13 of the closed terrarium DIY.
 
The main difference is that there are many plant choices. Try to keep plants that need similar moisture  in the same terrarium. For example, succulents love to stay dry, and ferns love to water frequently. Added some sedum plants and  seashells to change the color and texture. 

Other Tips for Keeping Terrariums Healthy: 

The closed terrarium is almost maintenance-free if properly installed in a bright place out of direct sunlight. 

Plants such as ferns and moss should be sprayed with open terrarium every few days. 

The succulent terrarium needs to be watered approximately every 12 weeks.  

Even with gravel and drainage on the bottom, most terrariums do not have drainage holes, so they always keep water modest and can cause root rot, so don't leave excess water on the bottom for long periods of time. 

Please. I like to use a spray bottle to water and  a paper towel to absorb excess water after a few hours.