Feed your need for green with terrarium

This is the time of year we start to yearn for something green. One way to feed your need is to grow a terrarium.

A well-maintained terrarium will last for years. Start with a clean glass container, with or without a top. Find one you can fit your hand into or invest in some long-handled, tiny planting tools. I use a chopstick and a long-handled fork and spoon. Since the container is solid and has no drain holes, you'll need to provide a 1-inch layer of stones in the bottom. Top with a half-inch layer of activated charcoal to absorb any chemicals released by plants and soil in closed terrariums. Add a fine layer of sphagnum moss to keep soil from infiltrating the drainage area. Then use the appropriate prepackaged potting mixture for the plants you choose.

Now it is time to add the fun. Visit your local greenhouse and you will no doubt find a selection of tiny houseplants used for fairy gardens or terrariums. Choose healthy plants with fairly slow growth habits. When choosing keep in mind texture, color and shape. A low-growing ivy can act as a ground cover, a slender fern can add height as well as textural leaves from the soil line and up. Determine your terrarium theme; desert-style succulents require a different type of soil and an open dish container; while a tropical plant collection may need higher home temperatures, more humidity and more light than found in a typical Iowa home. If that's the case, plant in a closed container and add some external artificial light in winter. A succulent amid ferns will not be happy. A collection of miniature houseplants, including a variety of ferns, small ivies and baby tears are common easy-care inhabitants.

Plant your new friends with care, using long handled tools or your fingers. Arrange them so they have plenty of room but fill the space nicely. Tamp the soil with a cork fitted onto fork tines. Once the plants have been arranged, mist the inside of the terrarium, add any little whimsical touches like tiny toy figurines or interesting rocks for character. Place the lid atop and place in indirect light.

Closed terrariums need little to no watering. Open dish terrariums need more frequent watering, and succulent gardens need very little. Overwatering is a concern as drainage is limited. A little too dry is better than overwatered.

Pinch-prune as necessary and replace plants if they die off. No real need for fertilization unless after well established, the leaves yellow or the plants start to look weak. Be sure to rotate your terrarium occasionally so it receives even sunlight.

Now sit back and daydream about entering the tiny world you created for a forest primeval trek. Beware the plastic dinosaurs.

' Tina Patterson is a Linn County Master Gardener. For gardening questions, call the Linn County Extension Master Gardener Hortline at (319) 447-0647.