How To Set Up A Desert Terrarium

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If you've been browsing the internet for a crash course in how to design your ain cute desert terrarium, you've probably noticed there's two pretty distinct schools of thought.

Many articles requite the impression that a succulent or cacti build couldn't be simpler, and that with only a few materials and whatever plants you cull; you'll accept a healthy planter in no time.

Other articles, however, volition tell y'all that it's basically impossible to create a sustainable desert terrarium.

Well, they would first signal out (correctly) that what we're talking nearly are more accurately described every bit planters, rather than terrariums, but we'll employ the terms interchangeably only to keep yous on your toes.

But, terminology aside, the largest of business are with poor choices of vessels, plants and substrate. Nigh notably the difficulty of creating a peachy desert planter comes down to maintaining proper drainage.

Though the onetime group may have a bit as well casual of an outlook, the latter could probably stand to accept a little faith. I'll take you lot through all the details to give yous the best shot at creating something cute, low maintenance and, most importantly, long lasting.

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Why Make a Desert Terrarium?
Choosing the Right Container
It's All About Drainage
What Substrate for Which Plants?
Choosing your Hardscape Materials
Step by Footstep
Care and Maintenance
Over to You

Why Make a Desert Terrarium?

When done right, cacti and succulent terrariums can be absolutely stunning.

The open containers required give yous a not bad opportunity to create some beautiful layering and an eye-communicable 3D design.

Although absolutely handling cacti can be a lilliputian troublesome (I cannot count how many needles my body has accidentally absorbed), one's ability to maintain an open planter is greatly enhanced by the open space.

Not to mention there are a range of beautiful plants that tin can give your design an exciting edge!

Right, let's get into the good stuff!

Choosing the Right Container

Typically, cacti and succulents are famed for tolerating a fiddling fail.

It's like shooting fish in a barrel for one to brand the jump, and so, to assume they're just equally placid inside a terrarium setup.

These plants typically enjoy a good amount of water to pass through them followed by a menstruum in which they tin can dry completely.

Already, the upshot becomes clear. As there is no drainage pigsty at the bottom of a terrarium, it's easier for water to build upwardly, soaking the soil and ultimately rotting the roots.

To navigate this challenge we'll need to get a bit clever. Let's starting time with your glassware.

The ideal glassware for a desert terrarium will be ane of a decent depth, for the best drainage nosotros can achieve, and one which is not 'enclosed'.

This latter betoken is of import.

Cacti and succulents are non big fans of humidity. Even if your terrarium isn't sealed, a semi-enclosed setup is however going to facilitate a damp environment.

While information technology's important to note a semi-enclosed vessel isn't a guaranteed death penalty for your desert terrarium, we're not leaving anything up to gamble.

See glass bowl planters on Etsy.

Information technology's All Almost Drainage

Nailing your desert planter is well-nigh regulating water properly.

As is well known, overwatering cacti and succulents is a far greater gamble than underwatering. This rule goes double within a terrarium fix.

Even a decent drainage layer tin can exist overcome with too much h2o. And fifty-fifty more this, over time equally your roots abound they will be inching closer to the bottom of your glassware, which means an increased gamble of root rot.

We'll accost maintenance later, but for now allow's talk about the staple terrarium feature – the drainage layer, sometimes referred to as a false lesser.

Y'all'll want to choose a gravel that promotes airflow. I personally adopt to use Leca (clay aggregate that absorbs water) just any circular gravel that would promote an aerobic environment is a good pick. See Leca on Etsy.

Aim to fill up at least 1 and a one-half inches upward of the bottom of your container.

You can forego the drainage layer in favour of combining this chemical element with your substrate and having 1 thick layer of everything, rather than each element separated.

It doesn't really matter, simply from an aesthetics point of view you might become a little more from separating your layers.

What Substrate for Which Plants?

Plants

Upward until now we've sort of been grouping succulents and cacti together. In so far equally glassware and drainage are concerned; they have pretty much the same requirements.

The real key to a successful desert terrarium is going to be combining the correct plants.

For instance, it'due south important commencement to brand a distinction between the two groups of cacti; jungle and desert.

We are explicitly talking near the sometime, so we'll exclude oftentimes popular options such every bit Rhipsalis from our blueprint. Combining plants found in a desert with those found in a rainforest… well, information technology's obvious. Don't do it!

The same goes for succulents.

At present, while technically all cacti are succulents (a leafless one that stores moisture in its stem) not all succulents are cacti.

Once more, many succulents hail from colder climates, mountains, forests and jungles. It's important to research a little bit about all of the plants y'all're hoping to include before you become started.

A desert cactus is hands identifiable; thick, and prickly – you know the ones. Rather than give you lot a definitive list of whatsoever and all combinations of plants to use, start off with a choice of classic desert cacti. Cantankerous reference their specific care requirements online to see if there's anything anomalous almost any of your choices.

See the range of succulents and cacti on Etsy.

Substrate

The substrate requirements for cacti and other succulents will differ. Over again, the all-time advice we tin requite is to research the requirements of the plants you've chosen to utilise. That beingness said there'south a few things to accept into consideration every bit a whole.

Your substrate mix volition ultimately need to exist:

Nutritious
Porous
Aerated

While accounting for nutrition, we want our substrate to permit for skillful drainage and to dry out equally rapidly as possible. Choosing a pebbly mix that is not dense in nature will encourage dryness.

Considering how susceptible cacti and succulent roots are to rotting, it'due south of import you get this bit right.

As mentioned before you may consider using Leca equally a component within your soil mix to promote aeration and to let h2o to exist absorbed to prevent pooling. You may too consider including activated charcoal tubes; these are highly porous and are famously excellent filters, and again their shape will promote drainage and aeration.

In regards to nutrition, y'all will desire to consider using an organic-based soil mix including either peat moss or coconut fibres. If you lot want to go technical, the ideal PH level for your soil will more often than not be in the region of 5-6.

See succulent + cacti soil mixes on Etsy.

Choosing your Hardscape Materials

Open planters are the perfect opportunity to testify off a sleek or striking piece of hardscape.

It may be a spiralling chunk of driftwood you've constitute or a variegated and complexly cute maple leaf stone (or dragon stone). One thing to retrieve when making your choice is to ensure they're not going to harm the plants.

Forest, for example, could end up soaking up and then much water that it keeps your cacti / succulents moist above the soil which is, equally nosotros now know, no adept.

To remedy this trouble, I would recommend sealing your wood with some sort of varnish or sealant (which can exist found in pretty much any hardware or garden store!)

Stride by Pace

Ok. We've given y'all an in-depth await at the considerations that need to exist taken when selecting your materials and prepping for your design. Now all there is to do is to create!

I would recommend wearing some gloves if y'all're going to be treatment cacti.

1) Clean your glassware with hot, soapy water and permit to dry out. Information technology's always best practice to ensure you're clean from the first.

ii) Pour in your drainage layer. Push the fabric effectually with a brush to ensure an fifty-fifty backbone or maximise depth in the areas you know your roots will develop. (if you take combined drainage within your substrate, skip this stride)

3) Go in with your substrate layer. Again, push the material around with a castor to ensure an even courage or maximise depth in the areas you know your roots will develop.

4) Organise your hardscape. If you lot have a big centrepiece, it's best to insert this outset and piece of work your plants effectually it. If you're only using smaller hardscape elements, you lot may want to add these in after your plants.

5) Using the end of a brush, stick or other utensil create a hole where you volition place in your cacti or succulents. Carefully place in your plants and surroundings the base with your substrate.

6) Add any finishing hardscape materials. These may be smaller stones, figurines, or models of some sort. You may likewise desire to 'top' your substrate with a sand layer to strengthen your desert aesthetic. Doing this will besides assistance prevent fungus gnats from breeding below the surface (pro tip right there, you lot're welcome).

When because your design my advice would be to think almost height. The all-time desert terrariums have a diverseness of sized plants descending from ane or two areas.

For example having a alpine cacti at the rear or eye, with increasingly smaller cacti surrounding it. Don't exist afraid of using the artistic work of others every bit a source of inspiration.

Care and Maintenance

Watering

All of the above ways diddly-squat if you don't give your new terrarium the proper intendance and maintenance it needs. As mentioned, the existent danger is overwatering your ecosystem. Cacti can be comfortably ignored for a while, but for besides long and they will eventually die.

In a planted pot you would typically gush your cacti or delicious with h2o periodically, ensuring it's thoroughly soaked. Information technology would so, given correct drainage, dry out and remain dry for several weeks.

However, as nosotros are operating inside a finite amount of infinite we demand to play information technology smart.

Rather than soaking the roots, and rather than ignoring them birthday, you should periodically requite each plant a bit of water every few weeks. It's difficult to be specific on quantity but just recall you are trying to ensure the plants get to drink without always sitting in water.

A tablespoon at the base of each plant should suffice. Adjust accordingly to the seasons.

Oh, and don't use a spray bottle. You'll only risk intensifying the humidity levels.

What Type of Water?

As we're being thorough, I'll also make a annotation that the best blazon of water to hydrate your planters with is rainwater. Tap water can comprise excessive amounts of potentially harmful chemicals, like sodium.

Rainwater is well balanced and will encourage a healthy PH level.

Alternatively, if rainwater is an impractical route for you – don't worry too much, a footling flake of activated charcoal in your layering mix will help to bind away those toxins.

Trimming Roots

Over time, if you've washed things right, your establish'south roots will grow stronger and grow downwards.

This means, however, that they're creeping ever so slowly downward towards a potential trunk of h2o and are unknowingly endangering themselves.

Although it may seem laborious, if y'all really want to ensure a healthy ready-upwardly I recommend trimming off any rotting or excessively long roots a couple of times a yr.

To practice this, gently remove the establish from the soil (tweezers can make this easier) and use a pair of scissors to snip the excess or damaged roots. Replant as per the footstep-by-stride instructions.

Lite requirements

As a responsible craftsperson you lot will accept already researched your plant'south light requirements. Well washed!

Typically, desert plants will relish a loftier amount of light. If you're struggling to notice a spot to suit, yous can always apply grow lights fix on a 12hr cycle.

The benefit of a abound light fix is your power to adjust the lighting exactly to the requirements of your plants. The disadvantage is of course the extra digits on your electricity bill. Otherwise, consider a s facing window.

Over to You

And there you have it. See, naysayers? We've figured out a sustainable method. Go united states of america.

Of form, yous can forego these guidelines and you could still have your plants survive for upward to a twelvemonth in substandard conditions, but that's no way to treat your plants. Like any lifeform (mosquitoes aside) you desire to maximise health and longevity to ensure your plants can live happily for as long as possible.

Thank you Dan for having us hither, it's an honor to be a part of the terrarium tribe!

If you've enjoyed this commodity, consider checking out my business, ome, either at our website or follow us on Instagram. We specialise in crafting intricate, beautiful, and sustainable ecosystems. We've a wide range of products on offering; from premade terrariums to handmade jewellery, moss walls and more. We're working hard to stock our shelves with everything you lot might demand to make a terrarium yourself.

Kind Regards,

Joe Rees