Herself's Houseplants

Growing orchids in glass containers is a nice way to modernize your display.

If you have orchids that are young or do not get large you can plant them in large glass containers. I have some planted in sphagnum moss, some in regular potting soil, others in bark.

The trick is to keep the roots moist with out letting water collect at the bottom of the container. And that is more difficult than it sounds.

I have a spray bottle with 10% the regular dose of fertilizer and water. When the roots stop looking green or the planting medium feels dry, I spray the plants until the roots and media are damp. I find that’s about twice a week in the winter when the house is dry. I spray them about once a week in the summer when it’s much more humid in here.

It doesn’t have to be an aquarium, any clear glass container that has a lid or a small opening will suffice.

1 ) Remove all the extra aquarium parts if you are using an aquarium, keep the light and cover but ditch the pump and anything else you can get out of your way.

2 ) Put the soil you’ll be using in the sink and wet it good. I use sphagnum peat moss or sphagnum moss for carnivorous plants and regular potting soil for most everything else.

3 ) Wring the soil out like you are squeezing a sponge. You want the soil to be wet enough to stick together like a meatball but you don’t want any extra water in there. This also makes it easier to get the soil in the terrarium with out getting it all over the sides of the terrarium.

4) I wipe down the sides of the terrarium now, it is much easier than it will be once the plants are inside. I also clean up and trim the plants now. It is much easier to clean them in the sink.

5) Using a spoon I dig little holes and plant my plants. Be very sure to firmly push the soil down around the plants. You don’t want air pockets around the roots.

6 ) Put the light and cover back on or find a sunny window for your terrarium.

You should see condensation form on the sides or top when the sun hits this terrarium. If not add a little water each day until you do. It’s awful hard to get the water back out so take your time.

If you use loose gravel or glass beads as a planting medium you might get algae. I find a little ‘Algae Fix’ added to the water takes care of that.

What a cool terrarium idea. I ran across it in the home and garden section of the LA Times.

. . . IS it nature? Or is it art? Painters and poets have long known that the furl of a fern or an orchid’s architecture can qualify as both. Now a growing wave of indoor gardeners is capturing nature in miniature and under glass. Yes, terrariums are back. But they can be a far cry from the clumsy gardens grown in jelly jars, vodka bottles and fish tanks in the ’70s. Back then they were a fad, like lava lamps and macramé — and results could get pretty ugly. Today’s devotees of the trend see new possibilities in creative horticulture and home décor.

High priestess of the movement is artist Paula Hayes, a New York sculptor, painter and landscape designer who has plumbed the concept of plants as portable artworks that require human interaction to survive. Hayes designs delicate, handblown glass terrariums in organic shapes that call to mind bubbles, teardrops, body parts, peanuts, pears — all with ineffably elegant tiny gardens inside. . . .[ read more An inside job on terrariums ]

I haven’t the time or place to put a full terrarium. The micro sized ones I saw at the flower show have me experimenting with little ones this month.

I have three containers here of carnivorous plants. One is just an open round container about 8″-10″ at its widest, one is a cylinder with a glass cover and one is a small terrarium.

No lights, fans or other equipment is needed.

I was looking for unusual plants that would stay compact for these gardens and decided it was time to grow some carnivorous plants again. It’s been a while since I have done so.

The first two batches died much to my dismay. I had one potted in soil with gravel on top, and one with gravel on the bottom with soil on top. It turns out most potting soil you purchase now has fertilizers in it. Carnivorous plants can’t handle fertilizer.

So I dug around on the net and found out some people were using the same sphagnum moss I use for orchids as a base for carnivorous plants. It’s been a month and all are showing new life so it looks like it will work.

I soaked the moss and wrung out the excess water. The moss then went into the bottom of each container followed by the plants. Pitcher plants can get tall so use an open container for the taller growing plants. And be sure to plant them under the opening.

Carnivorous plants can sometimes be found in the house plant sections of stores and always be found on line. I’ve had good luck with both.

See also:
Carnivorous Plants
Carnivorous plant eats mouse
Nepenthes
Use sphagnum moss to make your plants easier to care for