Terrarium Instructions
Knowledge bank
Terrarium maintenance
Tips to give the best possible chances of a luscious, thriving environment.
Plants need light to survive and will thrive in locations that are brightly lit, without being too harsh.
If your plants start to look leggy (long stems with leaves spread apart) or start to lose their colour, it is usually a sign that you need morelight. If plants appear to have scorched edges or begin to look pale you shouldtry moving to an area with less intense light.
are mostly sealed containers where plants are kept. They are their own little worlds, with their own conditions and interactions. The best plants for this are usually tropical plants which are happy with warmer and more humid conditions.
Terrarium environments are great for plants, but high humidity and still air are also great for mould! Mould is generally a sign of too much moisture. Airing out your terrarium to let fresh air in is a good way of reducing excess moisture; freshly circulated air will also benefit your plants and help suppress mould. As a preventative measure, remove any dead plants or dropped leaves as quickly as possible. If mould does appear, it is recommended to manually remove anything it is growing on. Earbuds with isopropyl or hand sanitiser can be used to wipe it off any permanent features.
Springtails can also be used to fight mould and are excellent partners for any terrarium. They are highly recommended when using chunks of wood, seeds and other natural pieces for decoration.
Companions can be added to bring extra life and colour to your environment and to increase overall terrarium health. Those best suited are generally detritivores (such as springtails, isopods and millipedes) who feed on dead plant matter and help the process of decomposition along, breaking down dead material into nutrients that the plants can use again. If using companions you should not remove any dead plant matter so that they have something to eat.
Please note: while springtails will be at home in almost any size terrarium, bigger companions should only be considered for larger terrariums (3L+) to make sure there is enough for them to survive in the long run. A sign that there is not enough food is when they start eating live plants. At this stage, it is best to begin adding some feed for them or removing some of them.
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Any water added should be done in small amounts and only when required. Most closed-terrariums will not require watering very often and should only be done if your substrate looks visibly dry and is dry to the touch. This will be different for each container, so you should check your terrarium at least once a week until you have a good idea how far apart waterings need to be. If you regularly air out your glass, this will be more regular than a completely closed system. For open terrariums, more regular watering will be required but again, they will need a lot less than regular houseplants.
Over time your plants will fill out your container. For terrarium health and appearance, pruning is a great way to reshape an environment and can breathe new life into your terrarium. Pruned plants will push out new growth and is the best way to get a flourishing, bushy appearance. Pruning should be done with a clean, sharp pair of scissors, preferably with long handles for ease. You can also use cuttings with root nodes to start planting new terrariums!
Design Principles
General design principles that can enhance the appearance of terrariums.
Terrariums are usually designed to be viewed from one angle (the front) and it is a good idea to pick a front as you add substrate. Choosing a front will give you an angle to focus on and makes it much easier to get a clean and coherent design. Choose a side to be your front that looks the clearest and avoids glass mould-lines. This also gives you more room to experiment with other artistic effects such as structure and depth.
It is definitely possible to design amazing terrariums which look great from all sizes, but this typically requires very large glass jars and very delicate and intricate work.
When adding decorative elements to a terrarium, start with your larger pieces and then work down to your smallest elements. This will help give you some focal points and will give you something to build the rest of your design around. Also it’s a lot harder to add/move large pieces around when you have lots of smaller elements in already!
Placing larger plants towards the rear and smaller ones to the front will give a terrarium a bigger sense of depth.
Substrate can be layered so that it is lower at the front and sloped upwards towards the back. Different levels help to make a terrarium feel as though it has depth and also lets you utilise more of the space for planting.
Plants will expand outwards, so it is advised to leave some space between the edge of your glass and your plants. This is especially important if your container curves inwards at the top.
A large part of terrarium building is in creating natural looking environments, that look great! By varying the placement of your plants and decoration, using different sized gaps and non-standard arrangements, you can really help give it a terrarium a more natural appearance. Arrangements in odd numbers and sprinkling some small pebbles or seeds is also a great way of achieving this.
Terrarium work is best when starting out with a less is more attitude, as it’s a lot easier to add elements than it is to take them away. Deliberately leaving space for plants to grow into will give you a more coherent environment in the mid-long term.
Terrarium Kits
Complete substrate, decor and tools included in terrarium kits.
Clay balls (also known as LECA) – Used as a drainage layer. Allows excess moisture to run off and be absorbed.
Handmade and organic, top quality substrate for planting, specially formulated to replicate jungle soil conditions. Includes activated charcoal.
Mixed river pebbles for structure and decorative effects. Great when sprinkled as a topper.
Decorative sand for layering with substrate or for surface decoration.
Decorative stone mix of different colours for ground decoration and larger areas of contrast. Imitates larger rocks on a small scale.
Barrier to give substrate structure and separate it from the drainage layer.
Long tamper to gently pack your substrate, especially when planting.
Used to measure and add water.