Are you wondering how to plant a terrarium with succulents? Most people who have never tried planting a terrarium before are quite clueless about what they should do. Even if you’re a relative expert in gardening, you may not be aware of how easy it is. It’s actually not all that difficult once you get used to it.
To begin with, you need to buy or make a closed terrarium in which you can keep your plant life completely protected. Typical plants for terrariums are air, carnivorous and succulent plants. In choosing the appropriate plant, you’ll also select the correct plant based on a terrarium design you’d like to create. For instance, if you’re going to create a closed terrarium design where there’s no direct sunlight, you may want to select a plant that will withstand intense sunlight and temperature change. And finally, you’ll need to cover how to create various other terrarium designs as well.
One of the easiest plants to care for is succulents. Most succulents will do well in most conditions and are easy to maintain. Some of the more popular ones include Pennyroyal, Stonemouth and Shubunkin. These plants all require little to no sunlight and thrive well in water. They also are very hardy and don’t require much water. They’re considered low maintenance.
Another type of easy care plants are ferns. Ferns do well in most conditions and most people find them quite soothing. Many of the fern species can tolerate some shade and high humidity. Many of them thrive in well drained conditions, so you don’t have to worry much about water. They will also usually thrive in areas of high temperatures and therefore aren’t good candidates for air plants, although they will do fine with sinking plants and gravel.
Flowering plants, especially those that come in ground hues such as red, pink, yellow and white, should be given more attention than their counterparts because they are more sensitive to extreme temperatures. Plants that are in the terrarium should be watered on an as needed basis. Plants that are flowering or that have finished blooming do not need to be watered daily. This is unless you are using a glass wall water cycle, in which case you would want to water them daily.
Plants that prefer full sunlight should be given more water than plants that spend much of their time under a shaded area. You don’t have to worry about whether they like the sun or not because most will love it, but it does require more watering. Plants like rock walls, hanging baskets and trellises will also require more watering. If you have an open terrarium, you may find that some of your plants do better in a partial shade. Watering is often very important for most plants and they also like to have a moist soil that won’t dry out too quickly.
The second step is putting down a substrate to plant your terrarium in. This is probably the most labor-intensive step of the process, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. You can use two kinds of materials for your substrate. Some people like to use small rocks, others like to use sand, but either way it’s important to have some sort of texture so that the plants feel comfortable. Substrates can be bought in different colors, sizes and shapes and it’s a good idea to mix up the ones you purchase to see which one will work best in your terrarium.
The third and final step is to layer your terrarium. When you layer your plants in this way, you give each plant a level of support that’s similar to that of its neighbors. This will also help keep the soil moist enough to be healthy for your plants. In general, you want a layer that is at least 2 inches deep and has a width that’s one inch wider than your terrarium. Using a soil-based gravel will be best, but don’t forget to add a drainage layer beneath the gravel if at all possible.