New at Terrariums

After reading a lot on this forum I did my first ever terrarium three weeks ago. It's a small one in a fish bowl but I like it. I took some progress photo's and was really surprised at how fast everything has settled in and started to grow. I just used things I had around the house. I didn't root anything first. I just clipped and picked from what I had until I had filled it up. They will all out grow this bowl eventually but it was fun! So here's a little picture show starting with right after I finished putting it together.....
~Brenda

More of a top view from the first day...

Now three weeks later...

And from the top 3 weeks later...

Brenda,
That looks great...
So nice to see someone else in this forum...
it's so under used .

Note to self to take more pics for the foum..lol


MsC

Brenda, that is wonderful! Isn't it amazing how quickly things grow in a terrarium?

What is the little speckled plant, upper right center, between the two begonias?

MsC, I completely agree that we don't use this forum enough. I saw someone the other day mentioning that it was never used. We need to start posting and using it more, or we might lose it altogether, and that would be awful!

Morning MsC and Rain, I'm down in Boise at my daughters house and sick person that I am I have my laptop with me! LOL

I would love to see some pics of your terrariums MsC, do you have any before and afters? Or any ol' progression shots that would show how things grow?

It is amazing how fast things grow in these especially the begonias, you can't hardly see them in the first picture and poof three weeks later there they are. I had almost lost both of those begonias more than once and they were down to these little pieces but they are now loving this new environment. I just started a new terrarium in a big cookie jar trying to save a begonia rex that always looked puny with crinkly dry edges. Forgot to take the before pictures on it but it is only a week old so not to late to snap a few.

Rain that little speckled planted is a hoya curtsii (think I spelled that right?) They grow with all these aerial roots at just about every set of leaves and I'm told they will creep along so I thought it would work good in here. I need to tug at it and see if it's rooting, it still looks good though so it must be ok.

~Brenda

I looked it up, and I love that little hoya!! Where did you get it? I'd love to get one of those! I've got several hoyas outside that are doing quite well, and putting out new growth, so I'm getting a little bolder with hoyas. There are some rooted cuttings in the house, too. I should put them outside, but I am too afraid they'd dry out completely.

Look at this begonia I've got in a glass bowl covered with plastic wrap. First of all, I didn't know you could grow begonias from a leaf, but I accidentally broke a couple off, so I stuck them in a cup of potting mix. Here they are June 7th.

On June 14th, I moved them to the glass bowl and covered it with plastic wrap. I took this picture on June 15th.

Today, just 3 days later, see how much they've grown?! I'm absolutely amazed! And to think, I've been saying all along that I can't grow begonias! A terrarium is absolutely the way to grow them, I am completely convinced!

I saw a big basket of that hoya at Lowes the other day, but didn't get it.... and now I regret it :-(

It does really well in terrariums - I can't grow it outside to save my life..... It does have a slightly climbing habit, so mine started climbing up the plants in the terrarium...... I mean my ex-terrarium. The plants got attacked by mites so all the plants from that terrarium got thrown out. I found no way to control them and it was getting ugly. (They were after the terrestrial orchids I had in there.)

I need to start a begonia terrarium!!! (I wonder if I say it enough times, I actually will..?)

Aww, I bet you do regret it! I don't recall seeing that particular hoya before, but I like it a lot. I'll check to see if our Lowe's has it. They won't, and if they did, it would be covered with mealies like all the other hoyas, but I'll check anyway.

That's really the only bad thing I can think of about a terrarium - if a pest gets in, it pretty much has its choice of every plant in there. :o(

Are you not amazed by that begonia? I couldn't believe it! I'm definitely going to have to get some more to try and see if they all grow that well.

Brenda... Hold that thought about before/after pics......
I have some pics somewhere on this computer...I just have to take some updated photos...which means I have to unload everything in front of the terrariums first...Not a feat for the faint of heart....lol

See the top 2 shelves ??? that's some of my terrariums...


MsC

I went to Lowe's yesterday, but there was no Hoya curtisii, so the search continues. They did have a lovely Hoya lacunosa that was blooming and smelled absolutely heavenly. I didn't get it because I have a small pot of it already. It actually looked healthy and had been recently watered, so maybe someone is finally taking a little bit better care of the plants there. I didn't see the first mealy bug anywhere! :o)

MsC, I can't wait to see your pictures! Your stands look amazing! I've really got to get another plant stand... LOL I love all those terrariums, too.

Back from three days in boise and so much to do today but I'm going to drop in here at DG for awhile first. : ))
Rain I would be more than happy to send you some cuttings from Curtsii. D-mail me your address. This is one that I bought at Home Depot that was a big pot full. I've had it about 3 months and it has stayed healthy and has new growth and looks good. I had bought the tiniest little pot of curtsii (from Robs I think) this past winter and it had four little tendrils coming out of it. With the shipping I paid close to the same as I did for this much larger pot. That's the way it goes if you get lucky at HD I guess. I could not believe my eyes that it was even the same plant when I walked into HD and saw it.

I have tried to root some in a pot by just sticking a few nodes under the dirt and covering it with a bag and so far that still looks pretty sad but the one in the terrarium looks good. Let me go run and pull on it...... yep, roots have started in two places.

I had read where a guy says he takes several curtsii cuttings enough to crowd onto the top of a small pie plate. He puts these on his potting mix and then covers it with plastic wrap and waits until they all root. When they are rooted good he then slides the pie plate onto the top of a corresponding sized pot and then it eventually grows over the sides and makes a big full pot full.

I'm going to try that method next but with something much smaller than a pie plate. I'd love to do it in a bowl / terrarium type set up but how to get it back out, I'll have to start looking around for something suitable to do it in.

~Brenda

Just some of your terrariums??? Wow, MsC you have a lot of them, they look happy there under the lights. Do they all just have gessies in them? I've started to notice that a lot of gessies like the extra humidity.

While in the city I hit a thrift store looking for some bowls or snifters or what ever I cold find to use for terrariums. I found a few things I'll have fun playing with but they were on the small side. I'll keep my eyes peeled for more.

When you have time to take the pictures I'd love to see down inside them. I want to check out your plants, maybe I'll get even more ideas!

~Brenda

Brenda .... Great Terrarium! You will now be hooked! I have enjoyed planting in glass containers for years! Hubby gave me a 10 gal aquarium for my birthday last March because I wanted to plant another one! My friends son has an old 40 gal Octagonal Aquarium sitting in his parents garage and I am going to try to talk him into selling it to me! He moved to California over a year ago and his mom says she is sure he doesn't want the aquarium. Don't you just love MsC's set-up .... it is so neat and orderly .... Love it! I would really like to have something just like that!