Expensive Looking Indoor Plant in a Glass Case

Walking past an expensive furniture store the other night, I saw a cool looking fern sitting inside a glass box. I thought this would make for an easy first instructable. Though it's not the hardest thing to assemble, it's a cool design idea that can be easily replicated for next to nothing.

Step 1: Gather Materials

For this project, you'll need 3 things.
1. Soil. Use the organic kind. $1.00's worth should be plenty.
2. Plant, I chose a small fern. $2.99 at my local nursery.
3. A glass container with an open top. I found this round number at my local thrift store for $3.99. It went to a good cause.

Comments

[artworker]

Loved your comment "Yup, this is an expensive furniture store. Perfect place to find instructables!"

[ljrigway]

Throwing a Bonsai tree into one of these glass containers would look wicked cool. Great idea and awesome instructable!

[tbuilder170]

How would you get the bonsai out to trim? I'd look like a bush again in a matter of months without pruning. Other than that, it would look awesome

[theaznguy808]

When I have the time, I will do that!

[axiesdad]

1st Instructible? It looks great; clear instructions, nice pictures, even good grammar and spelling. I hope we see more from you soon. You even make me want to get off my lazy butt and try to contribute too.

[QueenQuill]

You could add a layer of gravel (pea gravel works great), glass pebbles or marbles, or even Styrofoam packing peanuts beneath the soil, and that will allow for drainage. I do that with all my plants that I plant in planters that don't have drainage holes. Plus, it would look cool being visible through the clear glass, in my opinion (well, the Styrofoam peanuts might not look so good...but glass or gravel would).

Anyway, thanks for the cool Instructable!

[fizban7]

Those cuttings wont mature into a plant if its a true fern. Each one of those fronds are single leaves of the fern. If you want to have starts, look near the base and you might be able to split a new plant off. It needs some size before you attempt that though.

[nightorchid79]

one thing I add to any terrarium-type project is charcoal-not regular BBQ grill type charcoal, but specially treated- you can find it at your local nursery or garden center. It acts as a oxegenator for the plant. As there is a lack of proper drainage and air-flow in these types of containers. The only problem then, is your "little" ferns outgrowing their environment....but that's another project

[darkdark]

I love the polymer crystal idea, you could add food coloring first so the crystals would absorb say, blue water and turn blue themselves. way cool I think i'll do this tomorrow

[capheind]

You could try growing them in Polymer Crystals instead of traditional soil as it does not sour the way undrained soil can. As for growing the fern cuttings I would suggest placing a pot of soil inside a large ziplock bag, cut the leaves into sections and lay them on top of the soil. Close the ziplock bag and leave it somewhere with bright indirect light. I'm not sure if that species can be grown from such cuttings but I've grown ferns this way before.

[boogaloo]

I agree with mirror mirror. For 1$-2$ you can buy black or natural colored rocks from the local petstore. This will provide plenty of drainage and if done properly can add another touch of style to it.

I'm definitely gonna try this when I get home. Thanks!

[mirror-mirror]

Putting a layer of marbles or colored pebbles in the bottom would add all the drainage necessary.

[Alexdc]

So far, they are doing fine. I water them about once a week. They seem to stay very moist.

[steven07]

They don't go moldy or anything do they seeing the water doesn't properly drain from the soil?

[Alexdc]

Evaporation seems to be doing the trick.

[Seppuko]

Pretty neat :) I'm certainly doing this.

[billien]

these were once the "in thing" in 1983 in my part of the world. Cheap skates uses to cut the top of the plastic fizzy bottles turn it upside down and putit over a plant in a pot. The plastic fizzy bottles had this extra plastic bit on the bottom of them in those days, you could put the plant and dirt into.

Fizzy = carbonated beverage eg coke

[PetervG]

Be cooler if you did it in a square glass container.

[Alexdc]

Absolutely, or at least a container with more room for the plant.

[armindilo]

Or how about one of those crazy shaped, zig-zag type bottles that you can find at a lot of grocery stores that I think are used for flavouring drinks (granadine, lime, etc..)

[upriverpaddler]

And depends on how much you water it in the first place. Just enuff to moisten the soil not so much that you get an actual water level in the bottom.

[pachanka]

Doesn't a plant need drainage?

[krazy]

no not all planes need to drain. it really all depends on the type of plant.. and where in the world it is usually found. nice instructable.... i might have to do this