Someone told me my moss wall was too wet and now I get it

I posted a pic of my first closed terrarium here a while back, a jar with a little moss wall on the side. A user named 'FernGuru' commented, 'That moss is gonna rot in a week, you're drowning it.' I was annoyed but checked after five days, and sure enough, the moss was turning brown and slimy. I took it out, squeezed most of the water from the sphagnum moss base, and let the jar air out for a day before sealing it again. Now the new growth is bright green and happy. How do you guys judge the right dampness for a sealed setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

lee.lucas1mo ago

My friend's fern drowned in a similar jar.

-1

patricia9051mo ago

Drowned" is a pretty strong word for a plant, don't you think? Maybe it just needed better drainage.

lilyo3022d ago

My friend once "drowned" a succulent by watering it three times in a month, so I get the drama here. But honestly, that fern in the jar looked like it was already half dead before the water even hit it. The glass jar with no drainage hole is basically a coffin for any plant that likes air around its roots. If she really wanted to save it, she could have drilled a hole in the bottom or used it as a terrarium with gravel at the bottom. Instead, she just poured a whole cup of water in there and called it a day. Classic case of loving your plant to death, if you ask me.