Here is some helpful information for those who are wondering about how to "plant their lamp!" These directions are included with every lamp. We added a section on African Violets at the bottom.



Directions For Making A Live Terrarium Lamp

You will find your lamp easy to make and care for. Before you get started, look the inside of your lamp over to see if it needs to be rinsed out or cleaned. If you decide to clean it with any cleaning products make sure you rinse thoroughly.

1.

Place about 3/4 to an inch of small pebbles in the bottom of your lamp, after rinsing with hot water to remove any bacteria or contaminants. The pebbles are for drainage.



2. Spread a generous layer of sphagnum moss over the pebbles.



3. Gently place garden soil to the desired height on top of the sphagnum moss.



4. You’re ready to plant! If you’ve ever planted a houseplant, you can do this! Water your plants while still in the containers they came in, and let drain for a couple of minutes. In this lamp, we are using a Pepperomia plant and Irish Moss (also known as Baby Tears).



Think about your plants and how they would make the best arrangement in your lamp, placing the plants that are likely to grow smaller toward the front. Dig a small hole where you want the plant to go in the soil, using your hands or a spoon.



Take the plant and gently remove from its container and place the roots in the hole. Spread the soil you removed from the hole back around the base of the plant.



5. Gently sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of water over the soil. Don’t over water! You may be surprised by how little water you need. Check to see if you need to clean the insides of your lamp, using, if necessary, a paper towel to wipe the surface down.



This is our Medium Sized lamp with the Irish Moss and Pepperomia plants.

6. Put the top of your lamp on, arranging the holes in the top so they are closed. Check on your lamp for the next few days. It will likely fog up a bit, and this is OK. If the inside of your lamp forms large water drops, adjust the top of your lamp so the holes are open and can provide some air circulation. If you continue to have large water drops, you may wish to remove your lamp top completely for a few hours till it clears. You may have to repeat that process several times if you put a bit too much water in your lamp while planting. The only time you should need to add water is if you have no fogging in your lamp and your plants look limp and dry.

**A florescent lightbulb is recommended, as they generate less heat than a standard lightbulb and is less likely to affect your plants.**

DO NOT PLACE YOUR LAMP IN A WINDOW WITH DIRECT SUNLIGHT, AS IT MAY BECOME TOO HOT (MUCH LIKE THE INSIDE OF A CAR) AND HARM YOUR PLANTS! If your lamp gets a few minutes of sunlight as the sun crosses a room, that's OK - just don't allow extended time in the direct sun.



What Plants Should I Use?

We have tried all of the following and found they work well. There are many more that are likely to work. Keep one thing in mind – if a particular plant doesn’t survive, you haven’t lost much! Don’t worry about being “perfect.” Try a different plant, or try the same plant again, adjusting your method.

Creeping Fig (one of the most “forgiving” plants of all!) There is also a veriegated variety. Sometimes called Ficus Pumila.

African Violet.

Button Fern.

Asparagus Fern.

Pepperomia.

Partridge Berry.

Irish Moss.

Silver Nerved Fittonia.

Miniature Palm.

Artillery Plant.

Rabbits Foot Fern.

Creeping Charlie.

Syngonium.

Some special considerations for African Violets

We just planted a medium lamp with two small (they called them "teacup" size plants) African Violets. We had planted some African Violets before and had a problem in that the plant was healthy but eventually stopped blooming. We have learned that they theoretically should always be blooming, and if they aren't it is likely that they are too cold or don't have enough light. Since we knew they weren't too cold we figured they needed more light, and therefore an energy saving light was used and kept on all night. It didn't do the trick! Next, we watered the plant with water mixed with African Violet food using a baster. Watered too much, apparently, as mildew formed inside the lamp and eventually the plant died.



Incidentally, we are not referring to the African Violets shown in the lamp at the top of this page - those plants are going strong, but have stopped blooming, which is really giving us the impetus to find out why they stopped blooming. Recently we found an energy saving florescent bulb that was considered a "Daylight" type of bulb, akin to a Grow Light, that we are keeping on all night. When we planted this lamp, we put very little water mixed with plant food into the holes we dug for the plants, and didn't add any more water to the lamp.

UPDATE!! Both of the plants are blooming again! It took a couple of months of keeping the grow light on all night, but it finally bloomed! Pictured below is the what the plants look like now!



“Balancing” Your Lamp

It is likely to take a bit of time to “balance” your lamp so that it will stay mostly clear with perhaps just a little bit of fog on occasion. You can adjust the holes in the top of your lamp till you get your lamp balanced just right, so your lamp has enough dampness to sustain your plants without needing to add water, but so that it isn’t so wet you can’t see into it or that it forms large drops of water.

You should be able to go indefinitely without adding water, or at least for several months, once your lamp is adjusted to your conditions. We have found that when a lamp is balanced the holes may have to be opened slightly when the inside of the lamp gets a little too foggy, and then closed as the lamp clears. Of course, the conditions in your home will dictate how much you will want to have the air holes open. If your lamp is placed near a door where there are large temperature differences between inside and outside you may need to adjust the air holes more often.



Additional Decorating Tips for Your Lamp

You can really personalize your lamp and use your creativity to make something uniquely yours by adding elements in addition to plants. A small figurine can be beautiful, as well as rocks, shells or driftwood. You should rinse whatever objects you add to your lamp with very hot water before placing into your arrangement in order to avoid introducing contaminants. We have found that you should not have a problem with mold or mildew as long as you have your lamp balanced so that it is not overly wet. If you should find one of your added items becoming mildewed remove it and rinse it with hot water and dry until the mildew is gone. You can then place it back into your lamp, taking care that you have solved your dampness problem.

Above all, enjoy making something you will LOVE! You can’t get it wrong!