TIL my fancy glass cloche was trapping too much moisture and killed my ferns

Last Wednesday I noticed my little ferns inside this big glass cloche I picked up at a flea market were looking totally sad and brown. I'd been misting them every other day like I read online, but the leaves were turning mushy and dropping off. After three days of watching them decline, I finally stuck my finger in the soil and it was soaking wet. I realized the cloche had no air holes at all, so all that moisture was just sitting there with zero airflow. I took the whole thing apart and moved the ferns into a regular open bowl with some pebbles at the bottom for drainage. They're perking up a little now but I lost about half of them. Has anyone else had a decorative container turn into a death trap for their plants?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomas_roberts28d ago

Laugh cause it's funny how we think we're helping by giving plants a fancy little house but really we're just drowning them. Same goes for those terrariums people build, they look nice but if you don't plan for airflow you're basically making a swamp in a jar. Had a buddy who put a cactus in a sealed glass bowl and wondered why it rotted in two weeks. Sometimes the simplest setup with a plain pot and a saucer is all they need.

the_julia28d ago

did you try moving it to a shady spot with a fan nearby?

the_derek28d ago

Oh man, I've been there too. I remember putting a fern in this cute glass cloche I found at a flea market, thought it'd look so nice on my coffee table. Within a week the leaves were all mushy and brown, and it smelled like a wet dog in there. Now I just stick with terra cotta pots and a good drainage layer, seems to keep things alive way longer.