How to take care of terrariums during summer

We have the summer, eventually. As fun as it sounds, that also means that your capsules might feel unwell.

A bit of basic knowledge: the temperature inside of your capsules is usually higher than the surrounding. So, as long as your apartment temperature is around 20-23C, everything stays under control. As soon as temperatures are reaching 28C or higher… Well, even if it is ok for the plants inside (many of them come from tropical countries where 35C is everyday temperature, so we can assume that they are used to it) it may be deadly for the moss.

Natural habitat of the moss is the lower, so the colder, part of the forest. Of course, even there it happens that temperatures are getting high. Though once it happens in a natural environment, usually the moss is dry, therefore it does not affect it so much. In the contrary, inside of the glass vessel, where is hot and humid, it creates the perfect condition for the growth of mould, which might very quickly overtake your terrarium.

The best approach to deal with it, is to avoid it – so try to keep your terrarium cool.

First, if the temperature of your apartment is higher as usual, first try to move your terrarium in the cooler place. This rule works for all terrariums except the bonsai terrariums. If you have a bonsai, specially from the Ficus family, then if the cooler place would mean completely change of environment, leave it where it is and go to the next point:)

Second: if it’s in the cooler place already and it is still too warm, then open your terrarium and spray regularly (mornings and evenings). It is important as it will lower the temperature inside of your vessel, but also cause it adds the ventilation. Good ventilation protects your terrarium from fungi and mould. In normal, colder, temperatures, it is not really needed, but right now it’s helpful. Unfortunately, opening your terrariums brakes the closed ecosystem circulations and reduces the humidity, therefore it will need spraying and it might need an extra watering too. It is hard to exactly say how much of watering is needed. It depends how humid the air is, how much you spray it and also when you last time water it. Still, remember: less is more and if you are in doubt, you can also write us here.

A cherry on the pie it would be a morning ice tea:
Serve your terrarium chamomile tea ice cube and place them on the top of the moss every morning. You can also spray your terrarium with cold chamomile tea, as it has antifungal effects, so it would additionally protect your capsule.