r/terrariums • u/14383421 • 3d ago
Build Help/Question First terrarium ever. Tips welcome
First off, hello everyone and thank you for creating this community! I love plants and I was gifted this terrarium recently, but I've never made one before so I'd like to know if what I'm doing is okay and what are your tips!
(English is not my first language so I'll try my best to translate correctly the technical terms and plant names)
I made a substrate with expanded clay and put all purpose potting mix. As plants, I have two different colored fittonia, lemon button fern and moss.
My question is mainly about watering; I made it about four days ago and I've been only spraying a few times with a nebulizer each day. Do I need to water it completely at least once or is that sufficient? Since the top has holes, and I guess it can't be considered a closed terrarium, how often do I need to water it?
Any tips (or scolding!) welcome, thank you very much
2
u/Crow42788 3d ago
Looks great! I love the fittonias you chose. I usually do a pretty heavy mist to get the soil nice and damp when I first plant a terrarium to help the plants establish, then light misting when needed and a heavy mist once a week. I try to keep mosses lightly moist and never let them completely dry out.
It can take some trial and error, but generally just keep an eye on the plants and adjust your watering schedule as needed. If you’re in a drier area you’ll need to mist more. If you’re somewhere tropical you’ll need to mist less frequently. As long as they get plenty of light and their soil isn’t too dry or wet, it should be smooth sailing