How to Care for a Terrarium

The concept of a terrarium was created, by accident, by English botanist, Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward in 1842. He was raising moth pupa in a sealed jar containing moss and ferns and observed that the plants thrived in the closed environment.

Since the terrarium is sealed, they won't be purifying your air much, but you can bet that the air inside is FRESH!

Toxicity will depend on which green amigos are planted inside the terrarium, although the glass jar will protect the plants from being munched on by pets and small children.

Closed terrariums are self regulating since no moisture can really escape. There is no need for additional watering as long as the soil is slightly moist when you build your terrarium. The only time to take off the lid is if you see condensation building up. Remove the lid until the condensation disappears. Do not leave the terrarium open for more than one day.

Terrariums prefer bright, indirect light, but can tolerate lower light conditions as well. Keep an eye on it to make sure it's not getting hit with direct light as the glass can magnify the light and this can burn the leaves of the green amigos inside. Periodically rotate the terrarium to avoid having all the plants crowd to one side.

Terrariums don't need any plant food, so you can skip the fertilizer.

As the plants inside grow, they may start to overcrowd the space. At that point, it will be time for a terrarium refresh and some plants will need to be removed and transplanted elsewhere and replaced with smaller plants.

The occasional yellow leaf may need to be trimmed, but pruning should be minimal. As the plants grow, you may want to prune them back a bit so they don't outgrow the space too quickly.

If things are a bit too moist inside your terrarium, you may start to see mold growth. Don't panic, it's not going to hurt your plants, but you will want to air things out a bit by opening the lid. Any mold can be physically removed or wiped away. Keep an eye out for any other pests that may have snuck into the terrarium on the green amigos including spider mites, thrips, scale, mealy bugs and other common houseplant pests.