How to Add a Plant to a Bottle

 I want to preface this tutorial with a cautionary tale: I seriously bit off more than I could chew with this particular fern division and I'm doubtful it will survive in the bottle terrarium.

When dividing your fern - pick a small chunk!  If the plant takes to your terrarium it can expand to the right size for the terrarium vessel.

1. Don't water your fern for a few days so the soil and root ball will be dry during the transplant.  More damp soil leads to more mess.

2. Sever a portion of the fern from the entire plant.  You can tease the roots apart and use a serrated knife when needed.

3. Use a piece of paper to wrap the rootball and gently compress it into a tube shape, this will allow an easier transition down the neck of the bottle.

4. Once the plant is in the bottle, use tools to adjust the placement in the soil.

Moss Monday: Accidental Terrarium

Have you ever encountered an accidental terrarium while on a hike?  I saw one once but somehow didn't grab a photo.

53-Year Old "Bottle Garden" Terrarium!

The Daily Mail reports that David Latimer fashioned this terrarium out of a "ten gallon carboy, or globular bottle, which once contained sulphuric acid" and spiderworts in 1960, last watered it in 1973 and then sealed it up.   The entire system has been self-sustained for over 40 years!

This story seems to corroborate my hunch that, while we are all entranced with teeny-tiny terraria, the best vessels for creating an established ecosystem seem to be the big ones.   A Carlo Rossi 5 liter wine jug housed my longest-lasting terrarium.   Said wine jug terrarium also developed the algae bloom looking stuff in the soil layer like Mr. Latimer's behemoth. 

5 Tips from a Terrarium Pro

Jennifer Schultz Nelson is a horticulture education in University of Illinois Extension and apparently a savvy terrarium keeper who has shared a detailed, two-part article at herald-review.com on making top-shape terrariums.  I'll recap the five best tips but read both articles if you want a great overview of making and maintaining terrariums.

1. Plan on using 25% of a terrarium vessel for drainage material and soil mix.  Read more about the supplies you'll need to build the soil layers in a terrarium.      
2. Don't overwater your terrarium.  "If the walls are completely fogged up with condensation, open the terrarium and allow some of the water to evaporate for a day."
3. "A closed terrarium will likely not need watering more than once or twice per year."  That one is news to me!  I've never had a completely sealed up terrarium so I cannot attest to that fact based on my personal experience. 
4. Like many plants, you will need to occasionally prune or remove dead leaves.  "Prune plants by pinching out growing tips or using a small blade attached to a stick inserted through the container opening."  I've had minimal luck with the small-blade idea and prefer using very, very long scissors (specially purchased online).  This probably depends on the sturdiness of the plant in question.
5. And I've saved the best for last, as it an unfortunate truth of the terrarium hobby that I've mentioned before.

"Occasionally, plants may overtake a terrarium or die, making replacement necessary. It may be necessary to start over if plants are extremely overgrown and cannot be removed without disrupting the entire terrarium."

Whether a terrarium is overgrown, or fails - just like any other gardening experience - sometimes plants don't work out.  Read my five tips for starting a terrarium over again (the right way).

NPR Wine Bottle Terrarium Gift Set

Introduce the art of terrarium-keeping to your friends and family with this cute "Sedum" terrarium kit available at the NPR gift shop.  Or - if you'd prefer to make your own upcycled wine bottle terrarium kits for gifts - see my collection of bottle cutting tips.

Nesting Terraria in a Cave á Liqueur

Josh Leo at Eight Oaks Terrariums shared a link to his truly one-of-a-kind cave á liqueur terrarium.  We've seen terrariums in wine bottles, vodka bottles, tequila bottles - but a cave á liqueur?  What is a cave á liqueur?

From buzzonantiques.blogspot.com:

"A cave à liqueur is a liqueur caddy that has diminutive crystal liqueur decanters (typically 4) along with a set of small glasses (typically 8)."

Aha!  A tempting transparent liquor locker - which has been repurposed into a fantastic terrarium and a convenient obscure history lesson in one!  Kudos to Josh for continuing to push the boundaries of the terrarium art form.

Black Swan Garden Design Bottle Terraria

From Black Swan Gardens Blog

I love this swiss cheese looking plant in this bottle terrarium! Does anyone recognize that plant?  And the little figurine is adorable.  See more at http://blackswangardens.blogspot.com.

SF Chronicle Terrariums

An SF Chronicle article offers inspiring ideas.

ROOT Bottle Terrariums at artintheage.com

artintheage.com and purveyor of ROOT posted these lovely terrariums created in emptied out ROOT bottles. A.) The terrariums look great and I love the shape of the bottles. B.) This ROOT stuff sounds delish.

In the 1700’s, it was called “Root Tea.” An herbal remedy made with sassafras, sarsaparilla, birch bark and other wild roots and herbs. Native Americans taught the recipe to colonial settlers. As it was passed it down from generation to generation, it grew in potency and complexity. Particularly in the Pennsylvania hinterlands, where the ingredients naturally grow in abundance.

At the close of the 19th century, as the Temperance movement conspired to take the fun out of everything, a Philadelphia pharmacist removed the alcohol from Root Tea and rechristened it (ironically) “Root Beer”. He did this so that hard drinking Pennsylvania coal miners and steelworkers could enjoy it in place of true alcoholic refreshment. He introduced his “Root Beer” in a big way at the still legendary 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. The rest, as you know, is flaccid history

Here at Art in the Age, we thought it would be interesting and fun to turn back the clock and recreate a true pre-temperance alcoholic Root Tea.

artintheage.com

Recycled Glass Terrariums by Chris Digman

Chris Digman digs recycling and repurposing objects - especially glass bottles. His uncanny skill at cutting and reassembling found glass objects into stellar wardian cases and terrariums is apparent in these great photos he shared and on this article at www.thedailygreen.com. I particularly love that windowsill box... what a great idea for fellow spatially-challenged apartment gardeners.

Digman stresses that glass is extremely easy to recycle, and that it comes in so many sizes, shapes and colors "that the things you can use it for are only limited by what you can dream up."

www.thedailygreen.com

Terrariums by Lucas Brancalion at kitkadesigntoronto.com

Peep these lovely mature bottle terrariums by LUCAS BRANCALION (Toronto, Canada) as featured at kitkadesigntoronto.com. I spy some rabbit's foot fern, selaginella and some venus fly traps but there are a few plants I can't name. Great selection of containers and really great examples of how neat bottle terrariums can be when given the proper care.

Apparently Lucas' own website is under construction right now but I hope that gets live ASAP. We'd like to see more!

kitkadesigntoronto.com

Wine Bottle Terrarium

While in LA I had the chance to check up on the wine bottle terrarium with sword fern and moss that I gave my sister a while back.

The fern is sprouting lots of new fronds through runners and the soil looks good and healthy. A few of the older fronds are dying but decomposing well into the system- next time I will try to bring some tools to clean it up while I am down there.

Wine Bottle Terrarium for Alyssa

Wine Bottle Terrarium

3 Week Old Terrariums

Planted terrariums or bottle gardens at the three-week old stage.  At this point I am monitoring any plant growth and keeping a watch out for pests or disease development.

Another key issue at this juncture is moisture levels.  Condensation should be forming on one side of the bottle.  If condensation is forming evenly on all sides it is probably too wet.

This is a great photo of the selaginella spreading it's suckers and getting ready to grow.  

Wine Bottle Terrarium

This is one of my older terrariums in a wine bottle. It's lasted for about a year and has really filled in. In this photo you can really see the layers of gravel, charcoal, dried moss and soil in the bottle.

My sister has been asking for a terrarium for ever now. I was hesitant to give her a terrarium that hadn't properly settled for fear it would dry out or die or get diseased. However as this one has lasted so long I am proud to give it to her.

The sword fern [nephrolepis cordifolia] is doing so well that runner plants are growing off the parent plant and on the side of the bottle. Some of the older fronds are turning brown and dying but I think the decomposition will not harm the eco balance in the bottle.