Houseplants in Glass Vases

At holiday time and for occasions, the sight of a florist’s delivery van is cause for excitement. I enjoy the arrangement, and then I treat the vase as a secondary gift. 

I have visions of using my old glass vases for my own summer blooms from the garden. But what typically ends up in these vases is… well, a good layer of dust. But I have begun to use these vases as planters for moisture-loving houseplants. Now, I see that my tendency to save has paid off.

I have just added Asparagus Plumosa Nanus, or Plumosa Fern, to a long-forgotten glass vase. Asparagus Plumosa Nanus is a dream of a plant. It grows with ease and needs little. Purchase this plant when it is quite small, and it quickly will expand with fluffy branching. Its healthy bright green color adds cheer to a room in an instant. The clean, shiny glass of the vase seems to play up the brightness of the plant’s delicate foliage. All around, it practically sparkles.

Now one thing to keep in mind is that glass vases, by design, are devoid of drainage holes. Asparagus Plumosa Nanus likes moisture, so a glass vase which will retain extra moisture will work just fine as this particular plant’s homebase. But like so many plants, this fern-like beauty wants excess water drained away from its roots. That is where a layer of pebbles saves the day. I lined my vase with small pieces of rock for drainage, added potting soil, and settled Asparagus Plumosa Nanus into its new home. A Begonia I had transplanted into a vase much earlier has no drainage layer whatsoever at its base, and it is fine. I know my Asparagus Plumosa Nanus will be fine, as well. Plants that grow best in arid environments would not do well with vase-dwelling, but plenty of other plants will thrive. 

Some houseplant lovers use glass vases to grow plants directly in water with absolutely no soil surrounding the roots. The resulting ‘look’ is a lot like that of a plant cutting being rooted in water, but on a larger scale—a nice visual (at first). But the downside to this is that the water needs to be changed quite a bit to avoid discoloration and murkiness. At least for now, I would prefer to use my vases as more traditional planters, soil and all.

Florists’ vases once were all so similar. But now there are modern-looking cubes, crystal-clear orbs, cobalt blue urns… secondary gifts, yes indeed. The vase I chose for Asparagus Plumosa Nanus is large enough to allow me to water my plant at its base. I want to avoid getting its foliage overly wet. But misting this plant is fine, and I will do that to ensure it grows in the humidity it likes. I will water my plant when the top layer—about an inch—of the soil dries. The condition of the soil, dry or wet, will be visible through the glass. And I will keep this container out of direct sunlight.

Asparagus Plumosa Nanus, also called Asparagus Setaceus, is a climbing plant rather than a true fern. But its name indicates that its foliage is fern-like and feathery, with “plumosus” being Greek for “plumed” and “saeta” being derived from the Latin, meaning “hair-” or “bristle-like”. The delicate, hair-like foliage of Asparagus Plumosa Nanus, or Asparagus Setaceus… the plumes… are graceful, feathery, light and airy. They are just what I need to see when the sky gets gray outside. They are just what I love in a houseplant.

Waste not; want not. I do not need to shop for houseplant containers right now. The vases I have saved have come in handy, not for the cut flowers I originally thought I would put in them, but for houseplants such as Asparagus Plumosa Nanus.