Have you noticed small mushrooms growing in your terrarium? You must be wondering where those mushrooms came from and whether you need to get rid of them. Why is my terrarium growing mushrooms? In this post, you will learn why your terrarium is growing mushrooms and whether you need to get rid of those mushrooms.
If you notice mushrooms in your terrarium, it’s normal. Mushroom spores can be found in the soil of your terrarium. And then, mushrooms can grow if there are favorable conditions – warmth, too much water and dead leaves and so on.
Why do mushrooms appear in a terrarium?
Mushroom mycelium present in the soil becomes the precursor of actual grown mushroom fruit that you see. Those mushrooms create a network of nutrient transport in the soil of your terrarium.
They feed on decaying organic material and they die when there are no more nutrients. But what can also happen is that mycelium will wrap around your plants’ roots.
That is not bad however – and actually beneficial. This beneficial to both relation is called symbiosis, and specifically – mycorrhiza. Mushroom mycelium will provide your plant with crucial minerals and water. And in return, it will take sugars to feed on, that your plant makes in its cells during photosynthesis.
What should I do about mushrooms in my terrarium?
Mushrooms that appear in your terrarium are not harmful to you or your plants. Make sure you or someone else doesn’t ingest the mushroom however. Some mushrooms can be mildly toxic if ingested.
You can leave mushrooms in your terrarium, as they are not likely to live for too long (often few days only). You can then just remove them with tweezers or another tool.
Mushrooms appearing in your terrarium show that there is a healthy ecosystem. If you don’t like the way the mushrooms look, you can remove them from the soil. And if you want to prevent mushrooms from growing in the soil, watch how often you water the soil and plants. Make sure to allow air exchange to happen too.
If you have a moss terrarium and mushrooms appear from your moss, that’s also normal. Moss is especially grown in lower light and more water, creating ideal conditions for mushrooms to grow.
Make sure not to overwater your terrarium soil, because with too much water, you will experience growth of mold. If there’s mold, it will affect your plants and mushrooms as well.
While mushrooms are not really crucial for your terrarium, but mold will compete with your mushrooms for nutrition, and almost always take over.
Summary – mushrooms in a terrarium
Some people love the look of mushrooms in their terrarium, while others don’t. If you don’t like mushrooms in your terrarium, you can easily remove them using tweezers or long scissors like this.
But that wouldn’t guarantee that there wouldn’t be any more mushrooms emerging in your soil or moss. Mycelium that runs through the soil can lead to mushrooms (fruit) again, if there are favorable conditions. While you can treat the soil with chemicals, it can definitely harm your plants inside, especially in a smaller enclosed space.
If you don’t want mushrooms in your terrarium, don’t overwater the plants, allow air exchange in the terrarium and remove any dead leaves once you see them. Even if you get mushrooms in your terrarium, they won’t be there for too long.
Thank you for reading this post! If you would like to learn more on terrarium care, please see this resource page.