An idea for growing plants

[adam_42]

Whist I was walking up my garden today, I noticed an old demijohn which has been open to the elements for some good years. As I walked past it I noticed that it had grass inside, which set me thinking, could I grow other plants in there, as it has an old specimen jar look about it. I have little experience with plants, in fact most plants I have attempted to take care of have died whilst under my care. So I am asking for advice from anyone who knows how to keep plants inside glass containers. What type of plant can I grow which won't need me to look after it too much. I also include pictures of the demijohn which inspired this. (I apologise in advance, it might be difficult to see the grass inside as my camera can't pick them out against all the grime on the inside)

<a href="http://s479.photobucket.com/albums/rr154/adam_ellis/?action=view&current=PICT1597.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr154/adam_ellis/PICT1597.jpg" border="0" alt="Demijohn1"></a>

<a href="http://s479.photobucket.com/albums/rr154/adam_ellis/?action=view&current=PICT1598.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr154/adam_ellis/PICT1598.jpg" border="0" alt="Demijohn2"></a>

[Prof. Albrecht Von Taggërt]

Pics are not showing up =)

Photobucket can be finicky at times.

[clockdug]

I think what you are looking for is advice on plants for a terrarium.  I believe there have been several threads on such here on BG and Google has loads of info.

Hopefully some of the folk here in the forums who are active with terrariums will speak up.  All of my playing with them was a shocking 30 years ago.

[JingleJoe]

I'd like to see what your grass was growing in so get those pictures working

Here is an example of something I did I had this big bottle but no use for it, so I put in alot of soil, a little bit of moss and some rocks with a bit of green on them and after a while this happened:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: A view from above (click to show/hide)

I only watered that once (to a state of swampyness ) when I first put it all together maybe about a year ago now, it's a bit more established than in those photos now but I've still only watered it once plants aren't hard to look after at all, I keep lots in pots and all I do is water them once a week and once every week and a half in the winter, or whenever thier soil is getting dry.

[Gomez Falcone]

That looks very neat JingleJoe (and easy ). I may have to try that for in the shop to add a little bit of greenery to the place.

Gomez

[JingleJoe]

Thanks

easy

You really won't believe just how easy it is

[Rowan of Rin]

Like Joe I have made my very own mossinarium, using a bell jar:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It continues to surprise me by having the oddest plants grown in it, then disappear, and something as equally as strange takes it's place..

Next up, I will make a mushroomery

[Prof Eumides Blakehurst]

Terraria are easy so long as you keep to a few guidelines:

1. Use plant that like low light levels. Mosses and liverworts as Rowan and JingleJoe are doing, small ferns, african violets (you can get miniature growing ones of these) and some of the smaller carniverous plants - smaller sundews, butterworts and the terrestrial bladderworts are good.

2. Use plants that like very wet or swampy conditions. This includes most of the ones I mentioned above, but the african violets and the ferns like to be a little bit drier than the other ones.

3. Keep it cool. The enclosed glass can really heat up and roast your plants. Unless you go for cacti, in which case ignore the keep wet advice!

4. If you use a demijohn then ongoing maintenance is a problem because of the small opening, so I'd recommend going for plants that are really small (mosses, liverworts, bladderworts) rather than larger ones (violets).

Or keep going with the grasses - you're obviously in the right conditions!

I'll take some pics of mine tonight when I get home - I've got lichens in one small jar, sundews in a large container, plus the two ward tanks and the miniature orchid tank.

[JingleJoe]

I just noticed you can click on those images and it takes you to adam's album, but wow! What a crazy coincidence! We used the same bottle

[Reverend Redmond Farrier]

Interesting ideas presented here.  I may have to try the "mossinarium" thing for myself.  It would look great in some sort of wood and brass embellished terrarium.

Rev. R. Farrier

[adam_42]

Thanks for the help. I would like to add that I found the bottle like that in the garden after not seeing for some time, so this bottle wasn't intentionally grown like that, it just occurred naturally. It always amazes me where plants will grow. I remember when I grew peas when I was younger, found one pea plant growing from our drain. I do intend however to grow plants like this intentionally. I bought myself a new demijohn and will get round to planting something in it when I get a spare moment. I will try to post some pictures if and when it starts growing.

[lilibat]

Any threads with advice for growing plants when one has a black thumb? I have a lovely little terraced area on our lot but I kill kudzu. 

[popuptoaster]

I get moss growing on the window rubbers of most of my cars as they are all over 30 years old and not really ever cleaned, gives passengers something to look at.

[Paul 8v]

I have something which would be perfect for this  Where would i get Liverwarts from? Sorry I'm very new to gardening and plant type things, trying to research bamboo at the moment for my mini bamboo grove 

[Prof Eumides Blakehurst]

Any threads with advice for growing plants when one has a black thumb? I have a lovely little terraced area on our lot but I kill kudzu. 

Dear lady, I shall BUY you a ticket to Canberra if you will sit in my garden and give the ivy a look of death! 

I have something which would be perfect for this  Where would i get Liverwarts from?

Anywhere cool, damp and shady. The Wikipedia entry has pictures of what you are looking for.

Here are my moss and lichen jars:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The large jar with peat moss and a host of sundews (that need thinning out):

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Both of my ward cases with tropical nepenthes and the larger bealara orchid and tillandsias:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

And finally the old 3' tank with the small growing, high tropical orchids:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The moss jar is also the mini-safari jar where herds of tardigrades roam! 

[JingleJoe]

Nice jars prof I'd like to see the sundew one from the side!

[plum phlogiston]

It always amazes me where plants will grow. I remember when I grew peas when I was younger, found one pea plant growing from our drain.

 Hehe, that reminds me; I found a cannabis plant growing up through a crack in the concrete at the front of my flat a few years ago, I can only presume the chap upstairs had thrown the end of a joint out of the window (I don't smoke, honest) and it had a seed in which just happened to find the crack. It grew to about two feet high until one of my friends discovered it.

 I rather fancy making a moss jar and adding little figures. For some reason I have the image of a chap with a raygun zapping a dinosaur rattling around my brain. Maybe its cos the plants would look gigantic and thus prehistoric. An old Old Rosie scrumpy jar would be perfect.

[Prof Eumides Blakehurst]

Nice jars prof I'd like to see the sundew one from the side!

Here 'tis!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Needs a good clean when I thin out all the baby sundews - it's been going for seven years without a change of peat.

[JingleJoe]

That is fantastic

[Anders]

Hm, this looks like a good application for the mystery jar/bowl I received at the gag gift party this Christmas.  Good show, everybody, and thanks for the inspiration!

[Ms. Ella Gunn]

Well here is my small contribution to the thread. It's a little something that I whipped up today. My apologies for the poor picture quality.

I like weeds. :B

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

There's also some moss in there.

-Ella

[Prof Eumides Blakehurst]

Very nicely done! Some sort of purslaine ?

A clump of grass would look good as well in a bell jar that tall.

[clockwork creation]

i notice that some of these are almost air tight. is air tight a problem or do you need the bottle gardens to be left open ?

[Prof Eumides Blakehurst]

i notice that some of these are almost air tight. is air tight a problem or do you need the bottle gardens to be left open ?

All of mine are open except the moss jar and the lichen jar. The lids on those two are loose fitting, but I find that they fog up fairly quickly. On these two I compromise by leaving the lids off when the air is not dry and lid on when the relative humidity drops. Very minor maintenance, and they still only need to be watered once a month or so.

[Ms. Ella Gunn]

Prof. Blakehurst,

I'm not sure what it is, it isn't a part of the purslane family as far as I can tell, they tend more toward the succulents, This one tends more toward a ground weed, it tends to spread out a little. I found it in my lawn and this specimen looked like the perfect candidate.  I am hoping the lack of soil will keep this one fairly small and give the moss a chance to grow. It has the reddish stem as you can see and small leaves about 5mm in length, though I think they get a little bigger as the plant grows.

I most likely wouldn't go about putting too much in it, that picture is quite deceptive. The actual size is roughly ten centimeters high, my friend has informed me that it was a button vial of some sorts when I bought it from Vinnies for 20c.

I've also just started a small old pickle jar that I found, it has some mushrooms in it.

-Ella.