Building a Terrarium for Air Plants

Thinking about building a terrarium for your air plants? You, my dear, are in the perfect spot.

In this post, we’re going to cover what a terrarium is, what air plants are, and exactly how you should build your air plant terrarium.

*This post contains affiliate links. I do receive a small commission if you purchase a product using my link, with no addition cost to you! I promise that Barbie with Plants will never promote anything that has not been used, fully looked into, or that we do not fully support!*

What is a Terrarium?

Before you begin building a terrarium, you need to understand what that actually is.

Although there are two different styles (open and closed), we are only going to focus on open terrariums today.

An open terrarium is basically it’s own, small plant world. Consisting of sand, moss, rocks, and decorations, your terrarium can be anything you desire.

Terrariums can be a simple or complex as you want them. They are great for a variety of plants, but we’ll be playing with air plants today.

If you’re trying to find the perfect terrarium container, I suggest getting a glass vase.

You could also look grab some items around your house or local thrift store- anything ‘jar-like’. (Think mason jars, glass vases, plastic containers, etc.)

If you only want to see the top of the terrarium, you can choose any pot like this.

What are air plants?

Ah, the wicked-cool air plant. The easiest plant in the land of lands.

Air plants come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. The ones we have today are pretty small. But, I have definitely seen some huge ones.

It doesn’t get simpler than caring for an air plant. All you have to do is mist over them once a week and they’ll be happy.

Looking for some small air plants to get started with? Check these out.

*Quick question. Do you have any furbabies (cats, dogs, or any pets)? If so, this is a friendly reminder that air plants are NOT toxic. Therefore, just go ahead and get them all!

How to Build a Terrarium for Air Plants

Now that we know what terrariums AND air plants are, we can dive in on building one. First, let’s go over the supplies.

Step 1: To build a terrarium for air plants, you’ll need:

Open container (If you want to see the entire terrarium, you’ll need a clear one. If you only want to see the top view, you can use any pot like this.)
Sand
Rocks
Moss
Decorations
Air plants (make sure you choose a size like this that will fit your terrarium)

Steps 2 and 3: Add the sand and rocks to your container

I meant to snap a picture separately, but I completely forgot until my terrarium was all finished.

But, for steps 2 and 3, you just add in your sand and rocks however you desire. Since this is an open terrarium, and air plants don’t need much care, the order really does not matter.

I chose to add my layer of sand as the base. Then, I added in my rocks.

Step 4: Place the moss where you want

The moss does not have to go anywhere specific.

You could lay it down as its own layer, or do like I did. I chose to build it up more-so along the side on my container.

I was going for more of a ‘fall’ theme and chose orange moss for my terrarium. Regardless of color, place your moss into your terrarium whichever way you think looks best.

Step 5: Decorate your terrarium

This is my favorite part. You get to decorate your terrarium HOWEVER you want. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason as to how it should look.

For this terrarium, I chose to stick more to a fall theme. (But, I plan on doing a beetlejuice one this week for halloween.)

Many different craft stores have small, fairy-sized decorations that you could add to your terrarium.

I didn’t get to fancy this time. The terrarium decorations pictured mainly consist of fake, dried flower pieces.

Step 6: Add your air plants

All that’s left to do is to drop your air plants down into the decorated terrarium.

Okay, okay. Well, don’t just drop them.

But, now you can *neatly* place your air plants into your terrarium.

This is, once again, purely for aesthetic. (As far as viewing pleasure goes.)

And there you have it! Your very own terrarium for air plants.

Since air plants are such easy babes, you can add (almost) anything you want to, or around, your terrarium.

I would say this entire process is only about a 2 on a 1-10 ranking skill. (10 being hardest, of course.) What do you think?

If you’d like to see the holiday themed terrariums I’m making, make sure you subscribe to barbie with plants!

I’d love to see the outcomes of your terrarium. Make sure to end me a picture on Instagram or email me at barbie@barbiewithplants.com.

Extra reminders and tips about your terrarium for air plants:

Mist your air plants once a week.
Do not leave in standing water.
Since it doesn’t need much light, you can place your terrarium absolutely anywhere.

Signing off,

xoxo.