Bioactive Terrarium Care
Enclosed terrariums like these are self sufficient and environmentally friendly as they recycle water.
It is important to establish the right levels of humidity inside your terrarium so check it regularly.
If you haven’t seen any condensation on the walls of your terrarium for over 3 weeks it is time to give it a gentle mist. Mist inside with one or two sprays from a mister and close the terrarium again. Never pour water in directly as this can flood your terrarium and once water is in you cannot remove it!
If there is too much condensation on the glass and you can’t see the plants inside you can remove the lid of your terrarium. Let the terrarium air for at least an hour up to twice a week until the humidity levels have settled down.
Keep your terrarium in a well lit position but not in direct sunlight as the glass will act as a lens and burn the plants.
Regularly turn the terrarium so the plants inside grow evenly.
If you find that the plants are growing too tall you can pinch out the tips, cutting just above a pair of leaves to remove the top part of the stem. This encourages a more bushy growth.
For ferns you can trim a particularly long frond by cutting it at the very base of the plant.
In our bioactive terrariums we add springtails which you may spot moving about. They are very small white bugs that eat decaying plant material helping your terrarium stay healthy, so do not panic if you see them!
However it is good to try and keep decaying plant matter to a minimum so if you spot any browning leaves remove them as soon as possible. If you have any questions please do contact us on info@smallandgreen.com.
The type of plants in this terrarium like ‘dry’ conditions so are easy to care for! Their natural habitat would be a desert or semi-desert and they grow in dry, sandy soils.
The word “succulent” refers to plants that have thick, fleshy leaves, stems or roots for storing water.
Keep your terrarium in a well lit position but not in direct sunlight, since the container can act as a lens and burn your plants. Do rotate the terrarium so that the plants grow evenly.
If in doubt DON’T WATER!
If any of the lower leaves start to dry and fall off don’t worry! This is just a part of the plants natural biological cycle. The lower leaves die off and new ones grow out from the centre of the plants. Simply remove any old leaves with tweezers.
Open ‘wet’ Terrarium Care
These types of terrariums are open at the top and contain humid loving plants. They need a little bit more care than a closed terrarium.
You will need to water the plants every 5-10 days and spray them daily or every other day to keep up the level of humidity. When you water them use a small watering can or pipette to direct the water to the bases of each plant. Use only a small amount of water otherwise you will flood the soil and the roots of the plants may rot if they sit in water for too long.
Turn the container regularly so that the plants grow evenly and do not bend towards the light causing them to become misshapen.
Occasionally mould may start to grow on the moss or soil. This is nothing to worry about but if this happens try to gently remove the mould and the top layer of the soil it is growing on with a spoon and add some activated charcoal powder or granules to the soil in tiny amounts and this should help to prevent the mould coming back. This can be bought in aquarium supply shops or online.
The plants should love their environment and if they do will grow well and at some point might need removing because they have grown too big! You can then pot them on into multi purpose compost into a pot of a suitable size and you will then have a new houseplant for your home! Garden centres should supply suitably sized replacements so you don’t have a gap in your terrarium, just remember to ask for a small houseplant that likes high humidity.
Any questions or for more information email me at janet.fox@smallandgreen.com
Enjoy your terrarium!