Terrarium care and maintenance

A terrarium is one of the easiest and most fun ways to keep plants. The plants in a terrarium require no maintenance, yet it is a real eye-catcher in your home or office.

To help you get started with setting up a terrarium, but also to take care of it, we have combined our knowledge in this guide.

Indirect sunlight

No watering required

Pet-friendly

How do you build a terrarium?

Assembling a terrarium can vary from one type to another. This can be due to the shape of the glassware, the size or simply the supplies you have been given. The basics of building a terrarium remains the same!

Step 1: cleaning the glassware

First of all, make sure that the glass pot is clean, so that no bacteria can remain. If there are bacteria in the glassware, they can affect the health of the plants.

Step 2: Add substrate

First add a little bit of soil and then cover it with gravel or pebbles. If you have active charcoal, you can sprinkle a small layer of active charcoal on the gravel.

Step 3: Add soil

Then fill the rest of the pot with soil. This build-up ensures a good drainage of the water and a good basis for the plants to root in.

Step 4: Add moss and plants

Then place the moss on the soil. The best place for moss is around the edges, leaving room for plants in the middle.

Then place the plant(s) in the middle of the pot. If the root ball of the plant is dry, you can still moisturise the roots beforehand.

Afterwards, close the glassware.

What is the best location for my terrarium?

A terrarium likes to be placed in a location with enough indirect sunlight. A location facing north may not provide enough light for a terrarium.

Avoid a spot next to or above a central heating system.

The ideal temperature for a terrarium is between 15 and 25°C.

What are signs of too much water?

Even though a terrarium doesn't have a weekly watering schedule, there can be too much water in a terrarium. If there is too much water in a terrarium, you can see this by the condensation on the glass. Normally there is only condensation on one side of the glass. Is the entire glassware condensed? Or is it even covered with drops of water? Then let the terrarium air for 12 hours. You can remove the lid of the terrarium and remove any excess water with a paper towel.

What are the signs of too little water?

Is there little condensation on the terrarium glass? Then it may be a good idea to give a little water once every six months. We recommend between 5 and 10 cl of water. However, first feel whether the soil is indeed dry.

Help! There is mould in my terrarium.

Mildew may occur in a terrarium if the humidity is too high. This is not a problem! It can also occur in nature. Do you want to remove mould from the terrarium? Please read our blog on how to remove mould from a terrarium.

What can I do if the plants get brown leaves?

It is not a problem if the plants in the terrarium develop brown leaves. Especially if it is only a single brown leaf. As in nature, a plant often sheds older leaves in order to grow new leaves.

The brown leaves fall to the bottom of the terrarium and are used as food in no time. 

Do you want to remove the brown leaves anyway? That is possible too! Then cut off the entire leaf at the stem of the plant.

What are the slow flies in my terrarium?

If slow-moving flies form in the terrarium, they are usually mourning flies. Mourning flies occur when the soil is too moist, or when an older leaf decays. Read all about them in our blog.

Why are mushrooms growing in my terrarium?

The formation of mushrooms is completely normal! Mushrooms are a fungus formation and arise in the environment of a terrarium, just like in nature.