The Girl and I decided to make a terrarium the other day after having spotted 2 large shelves filled with mini cactus and succulents at the Home Depot. I don’t know about you, but I just can’t seem to stay away from that place no matter how hard I try.
We couldn’t resist the fat little succulent plants, and it’s nothing sort of a miracle we didn’t bring every single one of them home with us.
If you have never built a succulent terrarium before they are super easy to make, and really are a lot of fun if you enjoy indoor gardening. Oh, and did I mention terrariums are extremely low maintenance too?
How to Make a Succulent Terrarium
Select a container that has a wide opening. Your container can be virtually anything that has glass sides to view your plants. We wanted a specific look, so we decided to spend a little more on a container rather than use a glass vase. The Girl found this mini greenhouse at Target in the Smith and Hawkin Section.
To get started, place about a 2-inch layer of gravel on the bottom of your container to allow for drainage. Keep in mind you’ll probably want to use decorative rocks for a more finished look. We found these at Ikea for $0.89 a bag.
Next place a thin layer of activated charcoal where your plants will be. This will act as an air purifier since we are using a closed top container. Next add a bit of cactus soil {found at Home Depot} around the base of where you will be setting your plants. You’ll probably want to spread the soil over all of the rocks, but we chose not to, because our plants are tiny and had rather shallow roots. Remove the plants from their pots and place them in the soil.
Next, add a small layer of sand, and then some small pebbles to cover the sand {but only if you have OCD like me and don’t want the sand to be visible}.
Finally, add an accent item like a figurine, a small vintage toy or a tiny glass chicken ornament your mother gave you for Christmas that you named Glenda.
The #1 reason terrariums fail is because people over water them, so only water your plants every two weeks or so. Also, make sure you place your succulent terrarium someplace that will receive at least 5 or 6 hours a day.
Keep Calm and Carry On.
~Mavis
For more ideas on building your own terrariums, check out out the highly rated book Tiny World Terrariums: A Step-by-Step Guide to Easily Contained Life
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Denise says
I love succulents. Sometimes they survive me 🙂
Thanks for the great book suggestion! I just requested it from the library.
Lisa says
Beautiful – I love it!
Emily E. says
I love succulents! Their variety is amazing and they are so hardy. There’s a small hill at the side of our house that runs the length of our house and down to our driveway. It gets the most of the hot afternoon sun. In the past year I’ve completely reworked the bed and planted it all with various types of succulents. I’ve ordered Blue Pearl to add to the beds this year. They are all growing together and forming a nice dense “organic quilt”. The pollinators like them too. I have not seen succulents used in a terrarium before though. I might need to try this. Thanks for a great idea!