7 secrets for terrarium success

Today, I'm gonna give out 7 of my secrets, or tips if you like, that helps me to maintain healthy and long-lasting terrarium setups. I'm sure that most of these are practiced by all serious hobbyists but doesn't get covered as much in discussions. At least that is what I have noticed. I can assure very encouraging and positive results if you follow these tips However, you may need to tweak things slightly based on your geographic location and climatic conditions. First and foremost tip is about plants. I rarely use plants bought from the store directly in a build. I prefer to condition them first in my storage and grow bins for several weeks before using them in a terrarium. If the plant is a new species for me, I would consider leaving it for several months and observing it. This ensures that the plant is well acclimatized to a closed environment by the time it is ready for planting in a terrarium. If the plant is carrying any pests or diseases, it will show up during this period and the plant may be further isolated for observation. Sometimes plants produce biochemicals that may impact the growth and development of other plants and organisms in ecosystem. This is called allelopathy. The storage bins provide an excellent opportunity to study compatibility between different plant species. During the years spent in the hobby, I have seen that some species of plants do not seem to work well together in the same enclosure. This brings me to my next tip which is using the tried and tested plant groups in my setups. You would have observed that I almost always use the same group of plants in my terrariums. For example, a five plant group for me would be ferns, phytonias, pelionia repens, ficus pumila and anubias. These are the ones that have shown collective healthy growth in my growings and my understanding from these simple experiments is that they will not impact each other when planted together in the same enclosure. For example, I have never been able to grow polka dot plants with species like phylodendrons in a terrarium. Same is the case with friendship plants. There is no way to know for sure that allelopathy is the reason for their failure but what it indicates is that this group is not working. I would strongly suggest you work out your plant groups in grow boxes before you plant your terrariums. I never go all out with watering during the initial setup of the terrariums. I prefer to break down the watering into two to four observe and missed routines after the build depending on the size of the terrarium. Here's what I do. After the build, I mist the terrarium lightly keeping it on the drier side and close it up. I always believe that less is more when it comes to terrarium watering. Once the plants are settled in, I give it a few more sprays during the first week. I observe for a few more weeks and give it another round of misting if it feels dry. The condensation on the glass walls is a good indicator of the level of moisture trapped inside the terrarium. If it stays throughout the day, then it can be a case of over watering. Ideally, the condensation should clear up during the day and set in again by evening. This process of breaking down the watering always gives me the confidence that I'm not over watering the newly built terrarium. It assists the gradual setting of the water cycle and helps to keep any mold outbreaks in check to an extent. The next one is a no-brainer. It's the substrate mix. I have never used potting soil from the garden stores or soil from the yard for my terrariums except maybe for a build a couple of years back. Terrarium soil needs to have some unique drainage water retention as well as compaction resistant qualities to help plants grow in an enclosed space. I have been using my own soil mix for my terrariums and it has always given me good results. I will leave a link to my soil mix video above and in the description if you would like to mix your own based on my recipe. Try it and you will not be disappointed. And yes, do not forget to have a drainage layer below the soil layer. This will store the excess water and prevent the soil from remaining soggy that may cause plant roots to rot. I never depend on indirect natural lighting for my terrariums. I prefer using artificial LED lighting for all my builds. I make sure the lighting is consistent via automation, has sufficient coverage to light up the scape without being too bright and warm which can lead to algae problems. I don't spend a ton of money on expensive grow lights. Simple LED bar lights are enough to keep my terrariums going and growing. If you would like to know more about how I light my terrariums, I will leave a link above and in the description. If it works for me, I'm sure it will work for you as well. In-room temperature is a very critical factor for the success of a terrarium. Based on my experience, I can say terrariums can do well up to 28 degrees centigrade. Beyond that, artificial cooling via fans or air conditioners will become necessary. For the same reason, I have a temperature meter on my terrarium shelf for constant monitoring. Every summer, I face the inevitable when the temperatures shoot up forcing me to use air coolers in an attempt to bring the heat down. It has mostly worked for me. For more extreme situations over longer periods of time, an air conditioner will be the only solution I think. It is important to mention here that I have no experience on how extreme cold temperatures will impact the health of a terrarium since I have not lived in such a region. I have no idea what would be the threshold on the colder side. If any viewers of the channel have any experience or inputs here, please feel free to share in the comments for the benefit of all our viewers. I like to follow a 30 days close observation period for my newly built terrariums. During this time, I make it a point to spend a few minutes every day observing the terrarium very closely. This helps me understand how well the water cycle is setting in. I also get to notice changes in the moss and plants. Anything melting or dying must be taken out immediately. Any mold forming on the wooden hardscape or moss must be brushed off or removed manually. Purists in the hobby may not agree with me. They would insist that a closed terrarium must be sealed off, never to be opened again, come what may. But I am from a slightly different school of thought. For me, the health of a terrarium along with all its aesthetics are of prime importance. We must agree that a terrarium is not a natural system and will need our intervention, at least during the initial stages of its establishment, to maintain its health and balance. So, I do not hold back myself from opening the terrarium from time to time during these 30 days, whenever needed, to correct things I feel are not going in the right direction. This will ensure that the terrarium is set up for a long-term success, with minimum interference in future.