The wonderful world of terrariums can be a daunting one to get started in
so here are five of the most common mistakes that beginners make with an easy solution to each one.
Mistake number one: Over watering. I get messages in my inbox every day asking what's
going wrong with their terrariums and more often than not, it's a case of overwatering.
A terrarium is a sealed glass container so the water has nowhere to run off to overwatering is
difficult to rectify and by doing so you are condemning your hard work to an early grave.
Always use a spray bottle on the mist setting and remember that
less is more. Now I don't want to generalise as different plants have different needs
but by keeping the substrate just moist you're giving your plants the best chance to survive.
I like to use the analogy that the substrate should feel like a damp sponge
rung of all its water, like as if you're about to wipe down a dusty surface.
You can test this by sticking your finger inside
to see how damp it feels or by observing how the substrate is pressed up against the glass.
You'll be able to see the degree of moisture within the substrate this way.
Mistake number two. Insufficient light. Starving a plant of light is the equivalent of removing food
from your diet. Sure, you could last a day or two but you'd be low on energy and extremely grumpy.
Plants are the same! They need lights to photosynthesize.
And also, often I see setups where terrariums and house plants are in corners of the room
where they receive no natural light and there is no sign of a grow light anywhere!
Use artificial light
I advise people not to use natural light for a terrarium as it's difficult to control and
far more powerful than most grow lights. I'm not saying you can't and if you decide to
a north-facing window is best as it receives no direct sun. A good rule of thumb with this is
to allow your terrarium to see as much of the sky as possible without sitting in the sun.
If you like what you're watching hit the subscribe button I upload a new video every Thursday.
Just in case you don't know my name is Ben Newell and I'm a terrarium artist.
I run Worcester Terrariums where I make and sell a wide variety of terrariums here in the UK.
You can check out my work on Instagram or facebook under the handle worcester terrariums
or you can head to my website at
www.worcesterterrariums.co.uk all the links are in the description below
Mistake number three. Unsuitable substrate
is one of the most important things to get right when it comes to building terrariums.
I highly advise you not to use regular compost or soil as this becomes compact very quickly
Use my substrate mix! My video is right here
and in it, I explain why I think it's the best substrate to use for a terrarium. It's essentially
a coir based medium with the addition of lava rock, vermicast and sphagnum moss.
The coir is the main body, the vermicast acts as a fertilizer, the lava rock helps
open up the substrate, the sphagnum moss is water attentive and helps plants root.
Mistake number four: using incorrect species of moss.
One of the most common questions that arrives in my inbox is 'why is my moss going brown?' My first
response to that is 'did you buy your moss or did you collect it?' ID'ing moss is very difficult
and it's easy to collect a species that is unsuitable for a terrarium.
If you're in the UK many species of moss are temperate species and need a
cold dormant spell during the winter they also only thrive in areas where there is
massive amounts of airflow so putting them into a stagnant terrarium will only end up one way.
Another important point is that many types of moss are slow growing and take years to develop
so for us to blindly harvest it from the wild with no idea whether it will work in a terrarium
is careless and damaging to the ecosystem so i encourage you not to do this.
It also has the potential to get you into trouble if you do not have permission from the landowner.
Buy moss in or don't use moss at all. I'm not saying that you can't collect moss from the wild,
perhaps look for species that grow in your garden rather than from a woodland or if you
do decide to collect moss from the wild then only take a very small amount. As i mentioned before
moss is slow growing and can take many years to regrow. Harvest species that grow on the ground
as your terrarium will mirror these conditions better than species that are growing on
rocks or tree bark but my advice to you would be to buy your moss in. Your florist will be able to
order you trays of Leucobryum glaucum moss also known as bun moss and that is by far my favorite
type of moss to use. Dicranum scoparium is another suitable species of moss for a terrarium.
And an additional point, it's absolutely possible to make terrariums without using any moss at all.
Mistake number five: Terrariums are often portrayed as being self-sustaining ecosystem but
I think that's only part of the truth. So sure, a terrarium can survive being sealed up at all
times but in my experience rarely do they thrive. Generally speaking, plants used in terrariums come
from tropical environments where the humidity is upwards of 70 or 80 percent. These plants
also have access to an infinite amount of airflow. The terrarium provides the humidity
but it does not provide the airflow. My advice to anybody who owns a terrarium is to open it up
every few days, perhaps for half an hour or so, or if the opening is very small you can leave it open
without any detriment to the humidity but obviously, you're going to have to keep a
closer eye on the water levels inside. There is a reason why that keepers of
rare plants and expensive orchids install mini fans into their large terrariums.
If like me you've made any of these mistakes leave me a comment below and
let me know what mistakes you've made and how you rectified them!
So I'm going to give you a bonus mistake: Unrealistic expectations.
A terrarium contains living plants, sometimes many of them and to expect it to look fantastic
at all times with no knowledge of how to care for it is an unrealistic expectation. Learning how to
care for it is important but equally important is accepting that everything has a beginning and an
end. For me a huge part of the enjoyment I get from terrarium building is maintaining them
and redoing them I've killed more plants and terrariums than most people and I can
guarantee that every single successful Instagram page or YouTube channel has done the same.
Allow yourself some wiggle room for failure. I know it's cliché but making
mistakes is absolutely the best way to learn! I hope you enjoyed this terrarium tips video,
if you'd like to discuss it further you can message me on Instagram and Facebook or feel
free to drop me an email with any queries. All the links are in the description below.
And if you'd like to join my terrarium discussion group on Facebook It's called terrarium group and
it's also in the description below. Thank you so much for watching and if you enjoyed it please
let me know by giving me a like, subscribe and comment with what you enjoyed most about it.
I look forward to reading your feedback and I'll see you in the next video