Congratulations on your new terrarium!
Now take good care of it
While they’re low maintenance, you need to follow some basic steps to get the best out of your terrarium and ensure its long and healthy lifespan. If you bought your terrarium from us, we’d have talked you through how to care for it. But our simple instructions are always here in case you forget. Follow these tips and your terrarium may just outlive you! 😉
Regularly clean your terrarium’s glass container
This will keep your terrarium looking great and allow the light to get through. You can use window cleaner to clean the outside but avoid using this on the inside as it could be toxic and damage or even kill the plant life inside. You can clean the inside by using a paper towel with some water and vinegar. If the opening of your terrarium is small, wrap the paper towel around some chopsticks.
Never keep your terrarium in direct sunlight
Terrariums in direct sunlight can overheat quickly and literally roast your plants. Always put your terrarium in indirect sunlight. A rule of thumb is the conditions of the interior should be similar to those of the local temperature. If light is only coming from one direction, or it becomes too bright, move the terrarium to another position.
Open your terrarium for a few hours every 2-3 weeks
This will let the terrarium air out and is a good time for any maintenance work. When you close the terrarium again, make sure the condensation on the inside glass forms again. If not, add some water to rebalance it. You’ll know your terrarium is balanced when you see droplets form near the top of the container.
Go easy on the watering
A rule of thumb for most closed terrariums is to water them every 3-6 months. However, watering your terrarium depends on the season as well the size and type of vessel it’s in. The best gauge is to routinely check how dry the soil inside is. Remember that terrariums don’t have a drainage system so excess water can’t be removed and could destroy the plants. If you do accidentally overwater the soil, deal with it immediately. You can use paper towels to absorb the excess water from the soil. Never water your terrarium while there’s still condensation inside.
Remove mould as soon as you see it
If you notice a fluffy white substance on one of your leaves, it’s mould. Don’t stress—it’s normal for mould to develop in enclosed areas where there’s condensation. You can get rid of it by using a clean blunt object such as a butter knife or chopstick and very gently disrupting the area where the fluff is. If you can scoop it out, do that, then clean your instrument before touching the terrarium again. You can repeat this process over a few days and leave the lid off for a few days to air out the terrarium and move it to a brighter position. Replace the lid and keep an eye on it. If the white fluff comes back, just repeat the process.
Watch out for little brats called gnats
Occasionally, your terrarium might attract some tiny visitors of the crittery kind. Don’t panic but do try and address them as soon as possible. Grab a piece of paper towel and give it a spritz of fly spray. Then, just pop the paper towel inside the terrarium and put the lid back on. Take the paper towel out the next day and repeat the process again in about five days’ time.
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