Florarium Care Instructions
We always water the plant terrariums before we hand it over to you, so you don't have to water it for a while after receiving. At home put the florarium glass at a place with constant temperature. Never expose it to cold air and especially not to direct sunlight, as that hurts the plants. Until it gets used to its final place, do not close it. When the glass does not get damp anymore, you can try to close it on the top. It is important for the plant to get light, you should use an LED lamp for this purpose, unless you have a place in your apartment where there is enough indirect light. To close the plant terrarium, you need to create a natural balance between humidity, temperature and light, which may take some experimentation. You can read more about how to care for your plant terrarium here.
First steps - after you have taken it home
Where to put a plant terrarium in the apartment?
After taking it home, do not close the bottle until the plant terrarium gets used to the temperature and light. The best place for it you can find is one with constant temperature and no direct sunlight hitting the glass during the day. Do not put it in the window, especially in the winter, as the window-facing side of the bottle will start to get mouldy from the cold air. Do not expose it to direct sunlight, as it harms the plants. We recommend lighting the plant with an LED lamp through the day, the plants really enjoy this. Never use regular light bulb as it warms the glass. If you think the plants are growing too quick, you can lower the intensity of the light the florarium gets.
Do I have to water it after taking home? In the first weeks, there is no need to water your plant terrarium. Once you water, only use a few drops of water from a syringe or pipette when you see the soli being dry. Never water by putting the glass jungle under the tap or pouring water on it from a regular watering pot. Please read the detailed instructions on caretaking below as well.
Should I close it or not? After 1-2 weeks, when you see little to no dampness on the inside of the glass, you can try to close it. This is only an option. You can read details about this below.
Detailed instructions on how to take care of your plant terrarium
Watering
We always give you the plant terrarium already watered, so that you do not have to do it for a while at home. The frequency the plant terrarium needs water depends on many factors: temperature, humidity in the room, light, the size of the opening on the glass, the density of plants. For this reason, there is no one-size-fits-all rule for when to water. It is good practice to observe the florarium and the plants inside for the first weeks, see how things develop. If the glass is getting damp you do not need to water it. If the glass is dry and you see the moss and top soil layers also dry, you can carefully water it. Observing the soil, you can see it has 3-4 layers. For watering the best is to use a syringe or pipette, and aim to get the top two layers of soil wet. The bottom layers should not stand in water, as that is going to ruin the miniature plant garden inside. Do not ever overwater, as you cannot take the water out of the system once it is inside. If the glass is getting very damp after watering, leave the opening on the florarium's top open.
Placement of plant terrariums and necessary light
Never put the glass in direct sunlight, as it will get hot and the plants will perish. This can happen in a couple minutes as well. The best place for a plant terrarium is one with scattered light, potentially a north or north-east window with good insulation that is not opened frequently, or away from a window. Place the florariums at a place with near constant temperature, and find a cooler place for it if summer temperatures are getting above 30 degrees. In the winter months, it can be difficult for the plants to get enough sunlight, so we recommend you to use an LED light. If you see the plants growing rapidly under the LED light, you can decrease the amount of time the lamp is lighting the plants. There is no need for any special plant bulbs, a normal white LED light (bulb, panel or strip) is sufficient. The strength of the light you need depends on the distance and the size of the florarium but usually a 8-16 W bulb is enough. Battery operated LED lights which are 1-2W strong are not sufficient.
Closing the plant terrarium
The bigger the plant terrarium, the safer it is to close for longer periods of time (even months). You need to find the perfect timing for closing it, as the light, water and temperature needs to be in a perfectly balanced state. We do not close the mini garden for you, because when it is placed in a new environment the conditions are most likely going to be different in that environment from where they were before. If you close the florarium, do keep an eye on it. If it starts to get damp on the inside of the glass, you can open it for a few days and try to close again. If the glass does not get damp after closing, but the soil and moss are moist and the plants are feeling good, you can leave it closed. Still, you need to keep an eye out for dry soil or moulding. You can also have the plant terrarium open, in this case it humidifies the room and cleans the air as well. If you keep it open, do not put it at a place which gets easily dusty. If the glass is dusty from the inside, you can use a little water from the syringe to wash it off while watering. Do not do this often, as it will lead to overwatering of the system.
Taking care of the plants
We plant tropical plants in need of high humidity into our florariums. When planting, we are careful so plants are not outgrowing their home glass too quickly. If the plant has taken over the space in the glass, it can be cut back with a long scissor. If you have multiple plants, you can try to carefully remove one. If plant are growing to the side of the glass, you can use a long, narrow object to push them so they do not touch the side of the glass. Do not put plant nutrients in the bottle more frequently than every 6 months. In the florariums, similar to other indoor plants, mould or other pest can develop. Against insects or mite you can use pesticide that you can drip next to the roots. These agents are useful because you do not have to spray inside the bottle. You can ask shop assistants at gardening shops to choose the absorbable agent. If you see mould in the glass, then open it and do not water. If you can, take a long tweezer or a wire and take the mouldy parts out. After that, with the help of a straw you can drip fungicide to the affected area. You can also get these in gardening shops, where you can ask the shop assistant for recommendation of the best agent.
