Time to discuss something I have largely worked out through trial and error: the arrival or manifestation of pests and fungus or disease in terrariums. The white web-y fungus is the most common disease in my terrariums. It seems to affect: moss I have in quarantine that have not been planted, moss in too small and claustrophobic of terrariums, and moss that is not receiving some form of air circulation. 
The best solution I have found thus far is to remove the offending chunk of moss from my arrangement or terrarium as soon as I spy it. This is why it is good to pay special attention to your newly planted terrariums. If they don't develop the fungus within a month or so- you can probably assume it will be fine (until the addition of a new plant- then the vigilance needs to begin again).I have heard that a sprtiz of water with one drop of bleach can help prevent it's arrrival but I have yet to really try that on healthy-looking specimens.
The prevention of "undesirables" I excercise is
1.) rinsing all containers with a bleach/water mix before planting (with a day or two to dry out).
2.) rinsing my newly harvested moss while I look for pests or unwanted plants in the chunks.
3.) quarantine new specimens in a "holding tank" for 1-2 weeks so I can observe their behavior and adaptation to the terrarium environment.
Washing moss for use in terrariums is an essential step - especially if you are too impatient to quarantine and observe new plants for a while. Make sure to really scrub around in the moss chunks in clean water and remove any weeds, rock chunks, seeds, insect eggs, insects etc.
Two other examples of unwanted pests - a seedling that sprouted in an arrangement and is clearly not a wanted plant- probably a weed. This scenario can illustrate the importance of being familiar with all the plants you planted in an arrangement and how their offshoots or baby plants will look. The pest on the right is a wee wee snail that popped up in my bottle garden. Probably a stow-away. Cute as he is- can't have him hanging around.
Another set of undesirables is gnats - which can speedily overtake the damp and warm soil in a terrarium. I normally try to prevent this by washing my moss, having a quarantine period for all new plants and keeping open-topped terariums covered with a piece of cheesecloth and a rubberband.
A beneficial stow-away worth mentioning: earthworms. An earthworm or two is an excellent and welcome addition to a terrarium - especially large terrariums that will provide the earthworm a nice large habitat. My grand wine jug terrarium is home to a big fella and I am always happy to see him pop up when I am doing maintence in it.
Fascinating. I can't recall those problems with any of mine but fore-warned ... and I like earthworms too.
ReplyDeleteVery fascinating, thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteI've been here reading your blog for quite some time. So much great information on terrariums. Do you think cinnamon would work on the gnats problem. It works in my open containers. I just sprinkle a bit on the top of the soil. Welcome to blotanical.
ReplyDeletewhat if you already have a gnat infestation in a moss terrarium? I've been searching forums and haven't found a context-specific solution to this problem.
ReplyDeleteI've been getting terrible fungus problems in my small globe terrarium. I have near a window that is now almost constantly open with the warm weather and even before that, my air unit is directly below the window so air current has never been a problem. I had it set up for over a month with no issues. Large parts of the moss sheet are now dead so I'm going to have to remove it. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi anonymous commenter! If your terrarium received any direct light (aka sun on the terrarium) by being next to your window that may have contributed to high temperatures within the terrarium that can cause mold growth. Terrariums should never be in direct light. A corner across from a window is better - with maybe periodic moments (an hour a week?) near the window if the plants start to turn yellowish.
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