Long tools, because the neck is narrow

A terrarium is worked through an opening a few centimetres across. Your hand does not fit through it, or it crushes whatever it brushes against. Terrarium tools solve that problem by their length: tweezers 25 to 70 cm long set a plant exactly where you want it, a telescopic rake levels the substrate, long-handled scissors cut one leaf without touching its neighbours.

Stainless steel is the right material. The air in a closed terrarium is saturated with moisture: an ordinary tool rusts in there within a few weeks, and rust stains the moss.

What actually gets used

Three tools cover almost everything. Long tweezers, for planting and removing dead leaves. Scissors, to keep in check a plant touching the glass. A brush or a sponge on a stick, to clean the wall from the inside. Extending claw grabbers become useful beyond 30 cm of depth, in a carboy or a demijohn.

Day-to-day upkeep

A closed, balanced terrarium asks for little: take out what yellows, trim what overreaches, wipe away stubborn mist. The mister is there to moisten the substrate at the build, then to correct a drop in humidity, never to water through the glass. The guide Watering a terrarium gives the markers.

Starting from nothing? A self-assembly kit brings together the glass, the plants and the substrate; the tools are chosen separately, according to the size of the neck.