People with a green thumb enjoy adding artistic touches to plain horticulture. They turn a box or even a glass container into a miniature landscape, known as a terrarium. Creating a terrarium requires patience, hard work and time. Maintaining the terrarium clean and fit for growing plants is important to keep life on your terrarium viable. Cleaning a terrarium is not an arduous task; it would only require few minutes of your time. Here are some tips you can consider in cleaning your terrarium.
Check your tools. Prepare your cleaning tools and materials. To clean a terrarium you will need a pair of gloves, a brush, a basin of water, a glass cleanser, sponge or wet and dry towels and a pair of scissors.
Put on your gloves. Since you will be working with dirt and soil, it is best to protect yourself, or at least keep your hands clean.Put on a pair of gloves, either rubber gloves or working gloves. This will prevent the dirt from sticking under your fingernails and will keep you from being in too much contact with microorganisms living in the soil.
Weed the terrarium. Remove the weeds, dried leaves and twigs from the plants. These hinder plants from absorbing the nutrients, sunlight and water. Too many weeds in your terrarium can be an eyesore too.
Brush the rocks. Rocks are great for decorating terrarium. As time passes, though, they become too soiled and may look unkempt. Remove the rocks and soak them in the basin. Take the brush and scrub off any solidified mud. For best results, use warm water. This warm temperature kills some of the bacteria.
Prune the plants. Some plants can grow quickly while others mature slowly. Uneven heights of plants decrease the appeal of the terrarium. Keep your plants well trimmed and pruned. This keeps the plants clean looking and healthy. Trim the tips and ends of your plants, using your scissors, according to your own taste.
Practice your bonsai techniques. Practicing your bonsai technique may be great during your cleaning and maintenance. If your terrarium contains bonsai, try to prune and shape your plants. You may do a straight cut, cascades, twisted or slanting. This is a good opportunity, since you can remove the dried off parts while pruning at the same time.
Clean the container. Clean the inner and outer surface of your terrarium. Wipe off the dirt and soil from the inner surface of the terrarium, using a wet towel or sponge. Do this using gentle strokes, to prevent the glass container from breaking. Then wipe the excess liquid using a dry towel. Do the same procedure with the outer surface.
Clean the glass surface. Remove the dirt and fingerprints from the outer surface of the container. Spray the glass with glass cleanser. Wipe it evenly, with gentle yet firm strokes. Do it in a circular motion to make sure that the surface is completely clean. Sprinkle some water around the plants and let the terrarium have a bit of sun exposure.
Maintaining a terrarium is a great hobby. Keeping your terrarium clean will let you see the fruits of your labor better, through healthy plants and an attractive plant container.