Showerthought: People keep putting succulents in terrariums like they're doomed to drown

Walked into a cute shop in Austin last weekend and saw a sealed glass terrarium with a cactus and a string of pearls inside. Moisture was literally fogging up the glass. Felt like I was watching a slow murder. I get that they look nice but succulents need airflow and dry roots or they rot in like 2 weeks. Has anyone else noticed stores selling these death traps or am I just being dramatic?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_eva7d ago

Totally get what you're saying. I saw the same thing at a farmers market here, a little glass jar with a haworthia and it was basically a sauna inside. Those terrariums are basically death sentences for anything that likes to dry out between waterings. It breaks my heart a little every time I see it, honestly.

the_susan7d ago

Grabbed a few of those little glass jars from a neighbor who was about to toss them. Carefully took the plants out, let the soil dry completely, then repotted them in small terra cotta pots with drainage holes. The haworthia perked right up in a couple weeks. Told her to just water when the leaves start looking a little wrinkled, maybe every two to three weeks depending on the season.

graydavis7d ago

My 12 year old nephew got one of those sealed terrariums as a gift last Christmas. He couldn't figure out why the succulent inside turned into brown mush within a month. We just stuck a little snake plant cutting in there instead, and it's actually doing fine with the lid cracked open.