Top 14 Picks: The Best Plants for Terrarium Adventure

Making and maintaining terrariums is a new trend. It looks so good and fresh that you might end up filling your room with glass containers for the people who don’t know what a terrarium is. It’s an indoor garden that you set up and grow in a glass jar or a container .You just have to follow some simple instructions and you can turn any glass container into a lush green miniature garden.

Before you start building a terrarium collecting information about the plants that you are going to plant is very important from the lighting to its watering needs.

While planting you should take care of one thing that plants are not touching the container. It should be kept in a low humid place and needs bright indirect sunlight to thrive.If you want hassle free work you can purchase DIY Terrarium Kit online or from your nearby gardening store.

Before adding plants in a glass jar you have to follow these simple steps : –

• Adding the first layer that would be your drainage layer you can choose gravel,activated charcoal or sheet moss.
  
• Then you will add a special terrarium soil mix.
  
• Then carefully plant your selected plants in the glass container.

Here I am suggesting some plants that will thrive well in terrariums.

Moon Valley Pilea

After growing this plant it will create a bushy foliage and leaves are of bright yellow-green color. This plant will look good in a terrarium and can grow 12 inches in height. Moon valley pilea loves moist soil and does not require much sunlight to thrive.

East Indian Holly Fern

You can also search this plant online from its Scientific name Arachniodes Simplicior its a hardy fern that has variegated foliage. These ornamental fern fronds can grow up 1 to 2 feet . It will look fantastic in a terrarium. The leaves will shine through glass.

 Peperomia

Pretty much all the varieties in this species are perfect for a terrarium. All it requires to thrive is a humid environment and indirect light. Once planted Peperomia will easily adapt the glass jar conditions so that you can sit back and watch them growing without much care.

Watermelon Peperomia – It’s pretty popular among houseplants lovers because of its stunning watermelon pattern leaves. It can grow up to 8 inches and thrive in indirect sunlight.They love to be planted in moist  environments making them a perfect choice for building a terrarium.

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Starfish Flower Cactus

They are also known as carrion flower or Stapelia grandiflora; it comes under succulent family and also used for ornamental setups.

Nerve Plant

It is a spreading plant and creates deep green & burgundy mixed foliage. It is also known as Fittonia and has the capability of spreading 12-18 inches and loves to be kept under the moist environment.

Baby Tears Plant

It’s a perfect and a must have plant for your terrarium. You can use it as a carpet plant. Its tiny bean shaped and shiny leaves look so good in every setup. It requires low light conditions and rich moist soil to thrive. You can easily grow it as a beginner.

Golden Club Moss

This tropical club moss grows and spreads like a spongy mat and gives your terrarium a charming look. It has two varieties one is neon green and other is dark green. But you have to maintain it inside a terrarium and require a trim if needed.

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Spiderwort

Spiderwort comes under Tradescantia genus and there are 75 different species but there are 3 most popular variety Ohiensis,Virginiana,Subaspera there are some evidence on the internet that a spiderwort lasted 53 years in the same jar that it was planted in.The plant is easy to care and the blooms remains for long time.

Air Plant

By the looks Air plant seems like they are outerspace species with alien tentacles these plants grow in air and without any soil.If you want to build an terrarium with air plant you can purchase plants from the Tillandsia Genus they also blooms funnel like flowers. These plants will look super cool hanging in a glass jar or container.

African Violet

These small houseplants love moist soil to thrive and grow from 1-6 inches in height , the flowers of these plants are perfect to fill color in your terrarium with white,blue & purple blossoms.

Strawberry Begonia

These gorgeous looking plants create a mesmerizing foliage of hairy red leaves. They don’t like too much humid environment; it can grow 8 inches tall.

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Syngonium

Syngonium plants will add bold colors in the terrarium. It will not go big but display beautiful little cutie leaves.They are easy to care for and definitely worth adding.Syngonium have 100 plus variety to choose from. But if you want my pick for the terrarium it would be Pixie ( Syngonium podophyllum ) , Neon Robusta or Llano Carti Road.

Pothos

It’s a well known and popular houseplant and you can see this plant in almost every plant parent garden. These plants are easy to care for and thrive well in humid conditions. There are many varieties and you can plant any of them in a terrarium but the varieties with the shorter leaves will make terrarium life better.

Some Popular varieties with small & gorgeous leaves 

• Manjula Pothos – With heart shaped and variegated leaves they will give an elegant touch to your terrarium.
  
• Njoy Pothos – This variety has green and cream mixed variegated leaves.
  
• Jade Pothos – Jade pothos also known as devils ivy and is able to adapt to different light conditions.

Dainty Accent Plants

These plants are perfect for adding texture and creating a lush foliage in your terrarium. You can choose plants like Silver sparkle and Baby tears don’t add these plants in the starting phase of preparing your terrarium.

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Plants To Avoid As A Greenhorn

There are still some plants like Prayer plants & Orchids missing from the list because these types of plants require close attention to humidity and water content. If you are a beginner you may find difficulty in growing these plants. 

 Plants like Cacti,Succulents like Jade plant are not suitable for terrarium because they love to thrive in dry conditions and they are not suitable for closed glass containers.If these plants are on your priority list you can take them for an open terrarium.

At last choose your plants and make a shiny and beautiful terrarium and put a comment in the box about your experience planting awesome and beginner friendly plants in a terrarium.