Caring for your terrarium with plants

What is the best place to put my plant terrarium?

Light is essential to the existence of your mini-ecosystem and the health of your plants. Therefore, it is more than important that you place your terrarium in a location in your home or office where it will receive adequate daylight. Be careful though; direct sunlight, bright light spots or placing your terrarium near other heat sources such as a heater is not good for your terrarium. 

Good to know:

• North-facing windows often provide too little light.
• Our ecosystems are only suitable for indoor placement and use
• The best temperature for your terrarium lies between 15 and 25°C. (59 - 77°F).

How do I take proper care of my terrarium?

A terrarium is a self-sustaining biotope and therefore requires little to no maintenance. A little attention and maintenance certainly can't hurt and that's why we recommend the following for better preservation of your terrarium;

• Rotate your terrarium every two weeks a quarter turn, so all plants in the bottle get even and sufficient daylight to make sure you can enjoy your terrarium with plants for years to come.

Watering your ecosystem

The closed terrarium with plants in a bottle has its own unique microclimate. Nevertheless, it may be necessary to give it extra water, on average once every six months. Use the soil as a guide to determine the moisture level inside the pot. If the soil feels dry, you can give 5 to 10 cl of water, depending on the size of your terrarium.

Help! I see white spots in my ecosystem and on the plants. 

Everyone needs to get used to a new environment sometimes. So also a terrarium with plants must first get used to its new home environment for a few weeks. Small, white fungal spots may become visible on the green moss, twigs, leaves and pebbles. Don't panic! Open your terrarium and carefully remove the mold spots on the leaves. Has the fungus already caused more damage? No worries either! Cut off the moldy stems and leaves with scissors. Over time, you will see that your terrarium will come into balance, the mold will disappear and the leaves will grow.

How much condensation is normal in my ecosystem? 

Minimal condensation on the leaves or on one side of your terrarium is normal and you definitely don't need to worry about it. Is your entire glass terrarium with plants fogged up and you see thick droplets on the inside of the glassware and leaves? Again, no worries! Most likely, your mini-ecosystem is too warm and, because the bottle is sealed with cork, it can't get rid of its heat and excess moisture. In this case, remove the cork from the bottle and leave it open and rest for half a day. After this time you can close it again and you will see that the condensation in your ecosystem has disappeared. It is possible that the condensation will return. In that case, move your mini-ecosystem to another place in your home or office.

Little flies in my glass mini-ecosystem. What to do? 

Insects play a very large leading role in the cycle of life on earth. They process organic matter and thus provide healthy soil for plants. So that’s what they’re doing inside your mini-ecosystem as well. Isn't that nice? We think so. Therefore, keep the flies alive. They will act as nutrients for your plants and disappear on their own.

What can I do about the brown leaves in my terrarium? 

Of course you could cut them off and/or remove them from your bottle garden. However, we would just leave them and let them serve as food for your little self-sustaining terrarium.

Help! I think my plants are growing too fast

Do the plants in your Bottle Garden grow so fast that they almost breach the roof of your terrarium? That’s of course not possible because of the cork, but something has to be done. What to do, you ask? Just prune it. Just like you would do in your garden. We will gladly explain how to do this. Grab a small pair of scissors, open your terrarium and cut the twigs of the plants that have grown too big just above the leaf attachment. After your excellent pruning work, leave your terrarium open for 24 hours so that the plants can recover from their shock and can heal.

Mushrooms in your terrarium. What to do? 

Nothing. Just let it grow. That’s because mushrooms are fungi that contribute to the natural growth of your terrarium. Even in nature, mushrooms suddenly appear at certain times of the year and disappear just as quickly. So be sure to enjoy the moment you see a mushroom in your enclosed mini-ecosystem and take some pictures (and tag us on Facebook and Instagram @flessentuin and @urbanjngl). Be quick, because they can be completely gone within hours. 

Dry and brown moss. What can I do? 

We use spherical cushion moss. This type of moss is sturdy and you could call it reusable or rather 'rechargeable'. This can be done my moistening the moss. How? Open your terrarium and very carefully remove a pillow of moss from the bottle. Place the moss in water and leave it there for a few hours. Then squeeze the moss very gently and place it back into your ecosystem and press lightly.