Bamboo terrarium is a perfect solution to grow lucky bamboo indoors. The bamboos are the most loved houseplants that are elegant and bring positive energies to living spaces.
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You can easily grow this versatile plant in a glass terrarium and make beautiful displays. The following guide will help you understand how to grow bamboo in a terrarium successfully and assist you in taking care of your lucky plants.
Contents
Bamboo Terrarium Basics
Lucky bamboo or Dracaena sanderiana is a popular houseplant that can grow in water or soil. Although the stems look like typical bamboo, the lucky bamboo is real from the Asparagaceae family.
Since the Lucky bamboo has profound significance in the ancient Chinese philosophy of feng shui, it is believed to promote good fortune and bring love, health, and wealth.
It is lovely to have lucky bamboo growing in an open terrarium on a desk in a living room. The layers of sand, gravel, stones, moss, activated charcoal, and soil are used to grow these beautiful upright plants with fine foliage.
The bamboo can reach up to eight feet high in the right growing conditions and if planted in the ground or pot. The soft-stemmed lucky bamboo grows fast and can reach up to 19 inches tall in six months.
– Open Terrarium
Although there are closed terrariums that promote microclimates for some plants, bamboo grows best in open terrariums. Open terrariums have benefits like better aeration, better resistance to fungal disease, and disease for plants. These also look decorative and elegant.
It takes basic knowledge, skill, and an artistic sight to create a terrarium, and it is not as simple as just putting everything together. You must keep the specific needs of the plants in your mind before you begin.
Care Guidelines
Lucky bamboo is a moisture-loving plant that thrives in evenly moist, well-draining soil when grown in pots. It can grow in glass jars or vases with water solely, but it tends to get root rot and usually dies. It requires good drainage, perfect soil, adequate light, and lots of love to thrive.
– Water
You must make sure that the water in the container is clean. Note that you may have to change that every week to keep algae away from the roots of the plant that cause serious damage.
Filtered or distilled water can be used for this project if the plant is growing in water directly. In addition, tap water is sometimes hard or has a disease that can affect the Lucky bamboo
– Light
Place the plant in an area where it will easily receive plenty of light. The bamboo in the terrarium like to be under indirect light and can thrive in some shade too.
Keep in mind that it will grow best when there are loads of light for the delicate plant to soak in. A bright room can be perfect to place a lucky bamboo terrarium in.
– Soil
The bamboo will need a combination of activated charcoal, stones, sand, potting soil, and forest moss to thrive in a container without proper drainage. Layers of organic matter are added to assist in keeping water clean and soil disease free; however, make sure that it doesn’t stay too much in the moist grounding.
The following guide will offer more information about how to create perfect layers. Don’t forget to fertilize the soil, the more you fertilize the soil, the faster growth. Keep in mind that the lucky bamboo lasts for up to two years in a terrarium, but can even live for a longer time if you transfer it to a pot with fresh soil.
– Temperature
The best growing temperature for a bamboo growing in the terrarium is between 65 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Lucky bamboo die below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Never put them close to air conditioners. Note that extreme cold or heat must be avoided.
– Humidity
Terrariums will generally promote humidity. In case it gets very dry, you can softly mist the leaves of your lucky bamboo to revive humidity levels on very hot days.
How To Make a Bamboo Terrarium
Creating your bamboo terrarium is an exciting project. Here are simple steps to DIY terrarium:
– Choose The Right Container
The first step is the most important too. Choosing the right container for the terrarium is the key to success. One can use a fishbowl made of glass, or a large glass jar for this project.
You need to look at the plant size if the container size complements it. In addition, remember to choose the right bamboo regarding the terrarium plants
– Create Layers of Organic Matter
After picking the right terrarium, fill the container with layers of organic matter. Add fresh forest moss first so that it is the first layer touching the bottom of the container. This layer will absorb most of the water, which is essential to the survival of the plant in a terrarium without a drainage hole.
If there is access to water the bamboo will turn yellow and soon get root rot that will lead to plant death. The forest moss acts like a sponge to soak access to water and save your plants.
Next, spread a layer of activated charcoal over the moss. This layer protects against fungus and keeps the water fresh and clean. Top this up with gravel, little stones, or sand followed by another layer of forest moss. Add a layer of potting soil above this layer.
– Transfer the Bamboo into the Terrarium
Select a young shoot of Lucky bamboo to grow in your new terrarium. You can get this by propagating it yourself or from the market. Plant stems in the layer of organic matter that sits at the base of your terrarium. Start by digging the space where soil and stones are placed and gently plant your shoots there.
Make sure that the plant is not touching the edge of the container. This can cause damage to the plant in case the glass is overheated due to direct sunlight.
Common Mistakes
The little gardens growing inside terrariums need some care and in the absence of basic maintenance, the delicate ecosystem begins to collapse. With proper care, these gardens can survive for years and keep bringing joy to your homes.
– Excess Light
Harsh or excess light can cause a problem because the bamboo does not need much direct light; they thrive best in indirect light. If the plant gets direct light, it begins to scorch and lose moisture quickly. The direct light also increases the temperature of a glass-walled container and makes things steamy inside.
It is highly recommended to place your plants in indirect light or a well-lit room for the best-growing conditions.
– Lack of Light
On the other hand, if you supply very low light or shade can also cause equal issues for lucky bamboos in terrariums. In situations when the plant is kept in complete shade or very low light conditions, the plant will lose its vigor and soon become weak. Overall, if there is a lack of light, grow lights can be installed to compensate for it.
– Being Close to Heaters
The radiators or heaters can affect your plants brutally. If the terrarium is placed close to the vent of heating devices, the plants can quickly die with excess heat. This is because the delicate ecosystems on glass containers fail when there is too much heat and will not be able to revive.
– Overgrown Plants
Sometimes, the lucky bamboo may look overgrown for the terrarium. If it takes over all the space or begins to look overpowering as compared to other elements of the terrarium, you should reduce some stems and make sure that the container is not overcrowded.
You can also prune the roots of the plants, remove some stems, and tidy up the terrarium a little. In absence of light, the plants also become leggy and look unpleasant. You can prune the stems of a leggy bamboo to keep them in shape and bring them in a better light.
You can revive a dying lucky bamboo plant by adjusting fertilization, using filtered water, maintaining the right light, and avoiding overwatering.
– The Plant Debris
In case you have paired your lucky bamboo with other plants or the bamboo is overgrown, there is a chance of having disease and of decaying plants.
Keep an eye open for plant debris, fallen leaves, and dead branches. This is important, you must clean up your terrarium using tools like chopsticks, long spoons, a small shovel, or scissors, and make sure they are sanitized.
– Dirty Bamboo Terrarium
Once in a while, clean the sides of the terrarium from inside and outside. The dirty glass will block light from entering. Use damp newspaper, or clean cloth to gently clean it. Do not use any chemicals on your terrariums because they wouldn’t give a positive result.
In case, the Lucky bamboo turns yellow in a terrarium when there is excess water or poor drainage, and the problem can be avoided by using a sprayer instead of a watering can.
– Overwatering
A lot of people would overwater their terrarium and this would lead to yellowing of the leaves that are starting to shoot, overwatering can cause enormous issues for the bamboo growing in terrariums.
The best way to prevent overwatering-related disease and root rot is to use a spray bottle to gently mist your plants instead of watering cans. If there is overwatering accidentally, you can use paper or newspaper to soak up some water.
Making layers or the right organic matter can also save the blunder once in a while. Persistent overwatering can kill your plants in no time. Knowing that these plants grow best in open terrariums, you can count on aeration to come to the rescue, too in this situation, by having an open top one.
– Excess Fertilizer
Bamboos in terrariums do not need to be fertilized. If you feed your plants, they may grow out of the container very fast, and you will have to redo the plantation again with smaller plants.
The nutrient in the soil is generally enough for the plants to thrive. To be more on the look out, you can occasionally light fertilizer will not harm, but excessive fertilizing will not be helpful.
Conclusion
Bamboo terrariums are super fun to build from scratch.
Here is what we have learned about it in the guide above:
- Lucky bamboo can thrive in open terrariums better than in closed ones, for aeration purposes.
- To build your own, you need layers of organic matter like activated charcoal, soil, sand, forest moss, and stones at the bottom of the container.
- You may grow young shoots in terrariums and avoid overcrowding of plants.
- Assert moisture by misting or spraying water when required, and avoid overwatering that can damage the plants.
- Place plants in a bright room with indirect light and away from heating or cooling devices for best results.
Bamboo can survive for up to two years in a terrarium if you take care of the plants, and longer if you keep removing excess plants and older stems.
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