Caring for your terrarium
Keep your terrarium looking healthy with these tips
Watering
The commonest cause of death in a terrarium is overwatering! Your terrarium has no drainage holes meaning that excess water can’t run out of the container.
L Closed terrariums Due to the naturally occurring recycling of moisture, closed terrariums are self-sufficient miniature ecosystems.
You may occasionally want to remove the lid for cleaning, as the glass of closed terrariums naturally becomes cloudy over time and may reduce the view of your plants.
If you remove the lid, replace lost moisture with a tablespoon of water and observe how your terrarium does. You’ll eventually get to know your plants and their preferred watering schedule.
⯀ Open terrariums Here, you will need to water the plants when the compost around the base of the plant feels dry. Dip your finger into the compost and if it comes up black and stuck to your finger then there’s no need to water. If the compost is dry, brown and flakey then it’s time to water. Typically, for a succulent terrarium, you would water once per week, certainly no more than twice.
Pruning
Pruning is necessary to maintain the health and good shape of your plants. Remove dead leaves with sharp tools, such as scissors, in order to avoid damaging the plant. If leaves drop into your terrarium during pruning, remove them carefully with your fingers or tweezers. Don’t leave decaying matter in a terrarium.
If plants are looking crowded, re-pot (I often do this after a year) and replace with new plants.
Positioning
Your open terrarium will like the light but do not place it near radiators or other heat sources. Don’t keep an open terrarium in a bathroom as there can be a lot of accidental water uptake here and your plants may suffer from inadvertent overwatering.
A closed terrarium creates its own high humidity environment supporting plants that prefer woodland environments so can be placed anywhere.
Styling
You can get creative by adding tiny figurines, signposts or even miniature buildings. We used a castle and miniature sheep, but you could keep it natural and use things from the garden or seaside such as pebbles, rocks and shells.