Did you know you can grow plants in fish bowls?

If a goldfish bowl has always enthralled you, but keeping fish is not welcomed at your home, worry not. You can grow a variety of plants and see them sprout buds and flowers.

In Garden City, nature lovers are busy recreating the magic of indoor plants by utilising fish bowls, and to some extent trays, to grow a variety of flora. With lack of space and time for maintaining huge gardens, gardening enthusiasts are resorting to bottle gardening in attractive fish bowls.

People nowadays are interested in experimenting with new methods of growing plants, which can also be used for gifting purposes, says Nirupama Karthikeyan, who runs a gardening firm, Cozy Courtyard, in JP Nagar.

While floral designer Sandhya Yadav says fish bowl gardens appeal most to people living in apartments, and those working in corporate jobs. “Placing green plants next to your desktop, and looking at them at regular intervals eases stress and eye strain,” says Yadav, who runs a flower firm in Whitefield called Tulips Fiori.

Growing plants in fish bowls, say garden experts, is easy and requires low maintenance in terms of water and sunlight. Fish bowl gardens work as a result of their closed surfaces creating a self-sufficient ecosystem, in which plants can survive by using photosynthesis to recycle nutrients.

“Keeping the fish bowls in direct sunlight can lead to the formation of algae. Placed indoors near a window can cause an indirect trickle of sunlight, which is enough for photosynthesis,” says Yadav, who sells bottled plants in fish bowls.

Moreover, they do not require regular watering. Water sprayed initially tends to vaporise within the closed bowl, and create sufficient moisture for the plants.

“Watering might be needed only if the humidity within the bowl goes down,” says Yadav, adding that this factor of no regular watering makes it apt for people fighting for time.

Furthermore, bottled gardening gives a free hand to select any bowl size, and grow even a mix of two plants within the same bowl. The plants can survive for years together.

“It all depends on a person’s interest and creativity,” says Yadav, who teaches gardening, including bottle gardening, at Lalbag.

Plants can also be grown using plastic trays, but this technique requires watering every once in two days. Yadav says unlike bottled plants, trays can be kept outdoors for sunlight.

“Tray plants can also be unique gifts or items for the office table,” says Karthikeyan.

Plants to grow in fish bowls
Syngonium

Anthurium

Begonia

Aspas

Ribbon grass

Jewel orchid

Dendrobium

Believe it or not
UK resident David Latimer put a plant in his bottle in 1960 and last watered it in 1972, before sealing it up. The hardy spiderworts plant inside has grown to fill the 10-gallon glass container by surviving on recycled air, nutrients and water.

Tips to grow plants in a fish bowl.

First add pebbles in the fish bowl and then charcoal.

Next, add a layer of mud. It can be acquired by drying usual mud in the sun for up to one week to destroy weed, and then heating it in an oven to 50°C. Alternatively, mud can be obtained by powdering bricks, and mixing with a bit of compost manure.

Start planting small plants.
Spray some water and close the lid. Once the lid is closed, water vapourises and creates sufficient moisture for the plants.

Keep the bowl indoors. Plants will need indirect sunlight.