Setting Up Bokkusu’s Urban Scape Kit – Ichi (Terrarium)

Putting the terrarium kit together was a breeze once you have hand-picked and selected all the required plants and hardscape items and components. Inspired by the Japanese artform of Bonkei and Saikei, below are the list of materials we have gone with with took us only 30 minutes,

• Japanese Seiryu Rock – Fun fact: “Seiryu means Azure Dragon. In Japan, the Azure Dragon is one of the four guardian spirits of cities and is said to protect the city of Kyoto on the east.” source – https://aquacarium.com/products/seiryu-stone
• Sizeable drift wood to complement the rock that fits within the 4 walls of Bokkusu’s Terrarium Kit.
• The usual drainage and gravel / pebble layers and soil .
• Plant : Dwarf Sweet Flag (Acorus gramineus ‘Pusillus Minimus’).
• Moss.

Steps:

1. Simply lay your drainage layers in the tray provided from the kit and top it up with a thin layer of soil.
2. Lay your rock at the angle you deem best.
3. Attach drift wood onto the rock by means of adhesive – gel based Cyanoacrylate seems to work best.
4. Plant your moss and plants along the creases, base, wherever.

Things to note:

In our previous post, we have mentioned that the Bokkusu Terrarium Kit comes with a separate 4th front-facing panel. Now here’s why –  Plants from most retailers come from various sources. As such, they have been conditioned to various conditions / climates before they hit the shelves – Makes sense?

In order for your plants to thrive, you need to understand 3 things.

1. Their characteristics, and
2. Where they are from to determine,
3. The temperature they have been acclimatised to.

In this scape, we have handpicked the Acorus as it grows well in either boggy conditions or in moist garden soils – we plan to keep the removable 4th panel on, which equates to higher humidity levels and lesser evaporation – which is also good for the mosses we are using in general.

So having said this, if your plant’s characteristic requires less water than usual, then remove the panel entirely for humidity levels to drop significantly and dissipate quicker through evaporation. From then on, monitor your plants closely, because there may be times you will want to temporarily fit the panel back on to retain some kind of moisture within the kit. But plants in general, do better in slightly lower temperatures. So rejoice! if you have these in your office desk or bedroom side table with AC.

Also, removing the front panel permanently also means there is no need for you to fumble with the lid and LED lighting each time you plan to water your plants with a spray bottle – since it is front facing and is easily accessible – pruning and maintenance is also a walk in the park.

Lastly, do not over water your plants to prevent any form of root rot / mould.  All else, you are pretty much good to go with your newly scaped Terrarium Kit. We hope this have been helpful.

CRUSTAPETS