The kit
A terrarium is really just a few simple layers in the right order. Grab a ready-made kit, or tick off the build list below — each item explains what it's for, with a well-reviewed option to buy.
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The fastest way to start — the layers (and sometimes the plants) in one box.
The closest to everything-in-one-box — glass, substrate and living plants included. The quickest way to a finished terrarium.
View on Amazon →Budget pickA low-cost, self-sustaining starter set. A good first taste of building a closed terrarium without buying every layer separately.
View on Amazon →Best giftA hugely popular grow-your-own gift kit (20,000+ reviews). Great for children or as a present.
View on Amazon →Work down the layers, bottom to top. Tick things off as you gather them — your progress is saved on this device.
The container itself — a sealed jar or bottle for a humid closed build, or an open bowl for succulents and airy plants.
Lightweight clay balls (LECA) at the very bottom, so excess water drains away from roots instead of pooling and rotting them.
A thin scatter over the drainage. In a sealed terrarium it keeps the recycled water fresh and stops things turning stagnant.
The growing medium your plants root into. A coco-fibre mix holds the humidity tropical, closed-terrarium plants love.
Sphagnum for topping the substrate, tucking around roots and lifting humidity — and it looks like a forest floor.
Long tweezers make it far easier to place and tidy plants inside a deep or narrow-necked vessel.
Optional — but if your terrarium won't get bright, indirect daylight, a small full-spectrum light keeps plants healthy.
For bioactive builds: springtails eat mould and decay, turning your terrarium into a tiny self-cleaning ecosystem.
Only if growing carnivorous plants (flytraps, pitchers, sundews) — tap water minerals build up and kill them over time.
At minimum you need five things: a glass vessel, a drainage layer of clay balls (LECA), a thin layer of activated charcoal, a substrate for the plants to root into, and the plants themselves. Long tweezers make planting far easier. Moss, a grow light, a bioactive clean-up crew and distilled water are useful additions depending on your setup.
Yes — a terrarium has no drainage holes, so water collects at the bottom. A layer of clay balls (LECA) creates a reservoir that keeps excess water away from the roots, which otherwise sit wet and rot. A thin layer of activated charcoal above it helps keep that trapped water fresh.
A budget DIY terrarium kit bundles the main layers for under £10, or you can repurpose a clean glass jar and buy a small bag of LECA, charcoal and coco-fibre substrate separately. The single biggest cost saving is choosing beginner-friendly plants and a vessel you already own.
Yes. Complete terrarium kits range from budget "garden in a bottle" starter sets to premium kits that include the glass vessel, substrate layers and live plants ready to assemble. A kit is the fastest way to start; buying each layer separately gives you more control and usually works out cheaper per build.
Every plant on FloraVessa is tagged for open vs closed setups and the vessel size it suits.
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