DIY Florarium

Terrarium photo - florarium in a round aquariumTerrarium or florarium is a tropical garden in a glass or plastic container with a narrowed or closed top. Most often, plants that love moisture are planted in it. Not all plant terrariums are tapered at the top, some look like an aquarium. They are often referred to as can or bottle gardens.

What is a florarium?

The florarium is not only stylish and beautiful, it is also not burdensome, because the plants living in it need minimal care and last much longer than in flower pots we are used to. The terrarium is an excellent gift for friends or acquaintances and an ideal addition to any interior of an apartment or office.

Flararium has many advantages:

• Decorative. Everyone will agree that a mini garden (mini florarium), green all year round, is wonderful. In addition, it can also be decorated with stones, shells, various kinds of figurines, etc.
• Simple care. If your florarium is properly made, then it practically does not need watering or airing. You only need to take care of external beauty - pruning, flower shaping, etc.
• Compactness. The terrarium is able to enliven even a modest room, whether it is a living room, dining room or children's room. It can be made from a jar, a light bulb, or a bottle. Despite the fact that a terrarium in glass containers is much prettier, for a nursery you need to choose an unbreakable container.
• Safety. You can also make a closed terrarium, this is preferable for those who have small children or animals, because then they will not be able to get hurt or eat a leaf, decoration or soil.

As for me, the florarium has only 1 minus - after a few years it will lose its decorative effect, the flowers will grow and they will have to be planted in pots.

How to make a florarium with your own hands?

It is not so difficult to make a florarium with your own hands. First, pebbles or stones should be poured onto the bottom, then a small layer of charcoal, then a large layer of soil. If you create a florarium in a bottle with a narrow neck, it is easier to fill the earth there with a paper funnel, and the plants must be introduced there with tweezers.

To create a mini florarium you need:

• Decorative jar.
• Pebble.
• Tweezers.
• Dry and live moss.
• Soil for florariums.

Having slightly moistened the soil, we leave it so that it thoroughly absorbs moisture (several hours are enough).

Fill the jar in layers. Then put the moss on top with tweezers, pressing it to the soil.

We hide our jar in the shade. We spray the moss once a month. Make sure that the moss is not wet, but damp.

When creating a florarium, you need to consider:

A bright place for moss is not suitable, it is better to put it in the shade.

Water the moss with purified water, tap water is not suitable, as it contains substances that can lead to the death of the moss.

Ventilate the florarium or pierce a few holes in the lid so that condensation does not appear in it.

For beginners, it will be easiest to create a florarium from cacti. Cacti grow slowly, they are not picky about the soil and do not need to be watered often. For convenience, it is better to take a container with a wide opening.

So, to create a terrarium, we need: a half-liter plastic container, earth, drainage, "kids" of cacti and decorative elements.

1. The container is scalded with boiling water. So that mold does not form inside our terrarium, you need to thoroughly rinse everything that will be located in the container (in addition to cacti) with a solution of potassium permanganate.
2. Our drainage is large stones mixed with sand. We pour it to the bottom with a layer equal to 3 cm. Then the same layer of earth.
3. We plant plants. In large terrariums, cacti are often placed in pots, sprinkled with decorative elements. In our mini florarium, everything is simpler - we plant cacti directly into the ground.
4. Lightly water the plants.
5. Decorate with pebbles or figurines, whatever you like.
6. We close the container. Next, we level the microclimate in our terrarium. If it fogs up, open it and ventilate it for several hours, then close it again. We do this until the condensate disappears.

What plants are suitable for a terrarium?

It depends on the lighting. If the container is in shading, they will feel great there: zygocactus, fern. If, on the contrary, the florarium will be close to the light source, plant any flowering plants there that prefer greenhouse conditions (orchid).