Go For The Sealed Bottle Terrarium?
Last spring and summer I planted a bottle garden in a giant bubble-type bottle. Now what am I going to do with it? It has grown SO MUCH! This is a type of terrarium with a very small opening in the top and the plants seem to have really enjoyed their environment in there. But now there is no place left for them to grow!
I thought that I would post my dilemma on here to see if anyone else has faced this problem. Is my only option to allow the plant to continue growing until they just die from overcrowding? Should I seal it up forever?
These plants inside are the Heart Fern (Hemionitis arifolia) and a Club Moss (Selaginella kraussiana). The Heart Fern is touching the sides now in places and has reached the top of the bottle opening. The club moss has climbed the walls and spread throughout the terrarium bottle so there is nowhere else for it to go but out the top.
I do think some of the club moss is looking “stretched” so it may not be getting enough light. I moved it to a different location to see if just a simple change may make a difference. It won’t necessarily get more light here but I can supplement with a lamp next to it. It doesn’t really need any stimulus to grow more, but what else am I to do?
Have you grown a bottle garden and what did you do when it got too big? I did not feed the garden at all, since that Club Moss says it does not do well with fertilizers, so it only got nutrients from the soil . I rarely water it as there is always condensation mist forming in the morning hours as the sun comes up and shines briefly on it.
Any advice for me? I have searched the internet and I cannot find anything about what to do where a small-opening bottle is overgrown. Is my only choice to mutilate everything by dragging it out with tweezers? I sure don’t want to do that!
Or should I just seal it shut with a cork or rubber stopper and let it exist on its own…thereby making its own little world that I originally intended it for? I think I may do that. You must all remember seeing the articles on the internet about the man who had a sealed bottle that has lived on its own for over 60 years? I may just go for a record myself!
Check out the history of this bottle garden:
New Project! Making An Enclosed Bottle Garden
I’ve Finally Planted My Bottle Terrarium With A Heart Leaf Fern!
Carpeting The Bottle Garden With Club Moss – Selaginella kraussiana