Looking for a simple way to spark your child’s curiosity about nature or to reconnect with it yourself? An acorn vase allows you to bring nature into the home as you witness a simple acorn you've picked grow into a magnificent oak tree.
These elegant, glass vases are designed to cradle an acorn as it grows, letting you watch the taproot twist and reach through water, right from your windowsill. It’s part science experiment, part aesthetic statement, and all the more rewarding as the weeks pass.
How to grow an oak tree in a vase
Using Ilex's acorn vase kits, here's the step-by-step process to grow your acorn into an oak tree. It only takes six simple steps.
Wondering how it works? See the full tutorial here.
Acorn vases
Designed to support root growth, Ilex Studio's vases come in an array of earthy tones and arrive gift-ready, making them as stylish as they are practical.
Why grow an oak tree at home?
With 2025 shaping up to be a mast year (when oak trees across the UK produce millions of acorns), there’s no better time to collect a few and grow your own. Here’s why it matters:
Get closer to nature
Watch the magic of germination up-close and personal, in the comfort of your home. Using a transparent vase such as Ilex Studio’s Acorn Vase, you can actually watch the root system develop, giving a deeper understanding of how trees grow.
Support mindfulness
Watching an acorn slowly transform can be a meditative and grounding process.
Inspires curiosity in children
Growing an oak tree at home is a hands-on way to introduce children to science and ecology.
Gift for the future
As Ilex Studio founder Ed Spurr puts it: “The planting of a tree shows faith in the future.” What starts as a single acorn can live on for centuries, helping to stabilise soils and provide habitat for generations to come.
Prefer avocados?
Yes, Ilex Studio have a vase to showcase the avocado's roots as it grows.
Avocado Vases
Growing an oak from an acorn is a simple yet powerful way to connect with nature and Ilex Studio’s acorn vases make the process beautiful, accessible and rewarding.