New Feature: 19 of the Best Plants for Terrariums

Check out the new and improved, comprehensive list of plants for terrariums.  If you are searching for a new type of plant to try in a terrarium, or are new to terrariums and are looking for plants that are suited for terrarium life, this list (complete with photos) should give you a good start.

Am I missing any plants that you have grown in a terrarium?  Tell me in the comments!

Fern Fever: The Story of Pteridomania - Victorian Terrarium Craze

Bell jar style terrarium ad, from the
book "Fern Fever"

Collecting ferns and moss was quite the fashion for the Victorians, so much so that one might have called it an obsession.  Fern enthusiasts traded and promenaded their fantastical ferns, going as far as making treks out to the wild to collect rare specimens.  An over-enthusiastic, fern-seeker even tumbled to her death while reaching for an elusive cliff-dwelling specimen.

Sarah Whittingham traces this phenomenon in her glossy book "Fern Fever: The Story of Pteridomania."  Jam packed with lush photos of ferneries, fern grotto gardens, and decorative arts graced with fern fronds, she forms an overwhelming set of evidence for the Victorian fern fever, or pteridomania.

Interestingly enough, young women embraced fern fever the most avidly of all Victorians.  Much like the pop star-crazed tweens of today, Victorian teens were engrossed in trading fern specimen collector cards and begging their parents to install fern grottoes in their basements.  Even the daughter of novelist Charles Dickens developed mild pteriodomania.

An excerpt from the book:

The novelist Charles Dickens was sometimes irritated by his daughter Mary's lack of vigour and purpose in life.  In 1862 he wrote to a friend to whom Mary (then aged 24) had expressed a wish for some ferns to plant in their home: 

"After careful cross examining my daughter . . . I do NOT believe her to be worthy of the fernery . . . When I ask her where she would have the fernery and what she would do with it, the witness falters, turns pale, becomes confused, and says: 'Perhaps it would be better not to have it at all."

"Fern Fever: The Story of Pteridomania"
by Sarah Whittingham

Gosh, Dickens.  Maybe if you hadn't bullied your daughter over it you could have both enjoyed an entrancing fern grotto.  Of course the ferns did hold a sort of "fantastical" fascination for many Victorians.  Some enthusiasts connected ferns with faeries and fantasy, while others touted it as a healthy study of natural science and a great family activity to fern hunt in the countryside on a weekend.  Clever folks published lucrative fern field guides; stuffy folk formed formal fern societies and journals.

Incidentally, all these ferns necessitated all sorts of fern cases, aquariums, terrariums and other methods of constructing suitable environments for the precious and often costly fern specimens.  I share a few copies of the advertisements for Victorian fern cases from the book.

Q & A: Mold on Terrarium Walls

Photo from forums.gardenweb.com

Here is a question I answered on the terrarium forum of gardenweb.com.

Q: Have a terrarium with a fern, would be about 2 months old & have noticed spots of mould on the glass.  Has anyone else had this problem?  The walls are covered in condensation even though I air it out at least once a week.
A: If the opening of your terrarium is narrow you may need to let it air out more frequently than once a week. I also see that you have a layer of sphagnum moss over the soil - this may contribute to trapping more moisture in the terrarium than is desirable. I would suggest removing it.

Terrain Terrarium Plant Kit

If you have a difficult time locating terrarium-suitable plants in your home town, you can order a set of six small plants suited for terrarium life from Terrain.

Kokedama Classes on the Rise in Japan

Photo from the Yomiuri Shimbun

Terrariums are not the only method in which you can care for a small bunch of plants indoors.  Kokedama is a planting method akin to bonsai gardening, and, according to the Japan News, is mounting in popularity in Japan.  The joys of microgardening transcends methods and nations!

Open a New World with a Terrarium Garden

Triblive.com reports on the popularity of terrarium-making classes in the Pennsylvania area, citing the appeal of monitoring a miniature ecosystem right from your desk.  The author also cites a helpful list of plants best suited for terrarium life:

"Plants that work best are those that require low to moderate light, do well in high humidity and can be easily pruned. Ferns, tradescantia, pilea, alternanthera and cryptanthus work well. Begonias and African violets are nice options for added pops of color. Club moss makes a nice ground, and ivy and creeping fig can help round out the look."

How to Make an Orchid Terrarium

How to Build an Orchid Terrarium -- powered by ehow

Check out this great video from Chuck Dorr, from the 'Dig' garden shop.  He makes some great points about the terrarium environment you'll need to support an orchid:

• Water very sparingly
• Build a "nest" of bark on the surface of your terrarium soil to keep your orchid out of the dirt

You'll have to watch the video for the rest of his advice!  And check out his other videos on e-how

How to Make String Gardens or Kokedama

Head over to Dennis' 7 Dees for a brief tutorial on constructing kokedama.  I am really hankering to try this out but - I can't really fathom keeping them out doors and they seem like potential gnat magnets if you keep them indoors.  Have you cared for kokedama and do you have any tips?

How to Add a Plant to a Bottle

 I want to preface this tutorial with a cautionary tale: I seriously bit off more than I could chew with this particular fern division and I'm doubtful it will survive in the bottle terrarium.

When dividing your fern - pick a small chunk!  If the plant takes to your terrarium it can expand to the right size for the terrarium vessel.

1. Don't water your fern for a few days so the soil and root ball will be dry during the transplant.  More damp soil leads to more mess.

2. Sever a portion of the fern from the entire plant.  You can tease the roots apart and use a serrated knife when needed.

3. Use a piece of paper to wrap the rootball and gently compress it into a tube shape, this will allow an easier transition down the neck of the bottle.

4. Once the plant is in the bottle, use tools to adjust the placement in the soil.

Moss Monday: Accidental Terrarium

Have you ever encountered an accidental terrarium while on a hike?  I saw one once but somehow didn't grab a photo.

Nautilus Aquatics

Nautilus Aquatics in Ohio develops elaborate terrarium arrangements for use in vivariums, such as the above photo of an "Indiana Jones" themed mudskipper vivarium.

5 Tips from a Terrarium Pro

Jennifer Schultz Nelson is a horticulture education in University of Illinois Extension and apparently a savvy terrarium keeper who has shared a detailed, two-part article at herald-review.com on making top-shape terrariums.  I'll recap the five best tips but read both articles if you want a great overview of making and maintaining terrariums.

1. Plan on using 25% of a terrarium vessel for drainage material and soil mix.  Read more about the supplies you'll need to build the soil layers in a terrarium.      
2. Don't overwater your terrarium.  "If the walls are completely fogged up with condensation, open the terrarium and allow some of the water to evaporate for a day."
3. "A closed terrarium will likely not need watering more than once or twice per year."  That one is news to me!  I've never had a completely sealed up terrarium so I cannot attest to that fact based on my personal experience. 
4. Like many plants, you will need to occasionally prune or remove dead leaves.  "Prune plants by pinching out growing tips or using a small blade attached to a stick inserted through the container opening."  I've had minimal luck with the small-blade idea and prefer using very, very long scissors (specially purchased online).  This probably depends on the sturdiness of the plant in question.
5. And I've saved the best for last, as it an unfortunate truth of the terrarium hobby that I've mentioned before.

"Occasionally, plants may overtake a terrarium or die, making replacement necessary. It may be necessary to start over if plants are extremely overgrown and cannot be removed without disrupting the entire terrarium."

Whether a terrarium is overgrown, or fails - just like any other gardening experience - sometimes plants don't work out.  Read my five tips for starting a terrarium over again (the right way).

Table Top Bubble Terrarium

Envelop your cherished small plant in a table top bubble terrarium from Ruche.  The 18.5" bubble top acts as a cloche and rests over the plant.   This would be great for a wide-diameter fern!

How to Pinch Off Plants

Why pinch off plants?

Whenever I've grown selaginella in a terrarium environment it gets very leggy.  The humid conditions seem to kick it into overtime growth and it will takeover a whole terrarium if given the chance.  The remedy appears to be "pinching off" the top growth of each little stem in order to stymy the growth.  This is time-consuming but seems to work?  I wonder how frequently it needs to be pinched off.

Visions on A Shoe String

After operating this blog for several years, you'd think I've seen it all when it comes to terrariums, container planting or unusual small-scale planting schemes.  It's true that I've seen many of the same ideas get recycled in and out - but occasionally something so unusual comes along that it catches my breath.

stringgardens.com is that needle-in-a-haystack find that keeps me going with this blog and with off-the-wall gardening methods in general.  The site is a combination of French and Japanese so I'm having little luck determining where this operation is located.  But visit the site and scroll through some of the gorgeous applications of this gardening method - orchids, bonsai and even jasmine and small fruiting shrubs - all suspended and thriving and magical.

UPDATE: Thanks to commenter Cristina H. for sharing a link to a very detailed DIY with photos, which describes the construction of this Japanese planting method "kokedama:"

www.good.is/posts/build-your-own-string-garden-in-7-steps

This is a garden craft I am interested in trying!

How to Grow Ferns From Spores

I've discussed the challenge and the thrill of growing ferns from spores on the blog before.   With nursery prices they way they are- who hasn't fantasized about propagating a whole slew of ferns from the powdery spores of your cherished full-grown fern?

I poked around a bit and found a How-to guide that makes it sound positively easy to propagate ferns from spores.  The special ingredient seems to be patience.

Check out Sue Olson's how-to guide at the Hardy Fern Foundation for the full process description.  Here is my "a-ha" moment quote:

"The spores are then ready to be sown. I use a clear plastic container with a sterilized earthworm compost mix, but there are many other options. The spores are dusted on the top of the mix and the lid put on the container, which is then placed under cool white fluorescent lights that are turned on for 14 hours a day. The spores must be out of direct sunlight."

Maybe I'll stick to splitting up fern rhizomes...

Bottle Terrarium with Fern

An unusual liquor bottle can make a lovely terrarium, like this terrarium from artintheage.

Lotusland: Fern Garden

Fern garden at Lotusland

I'll be out of town this week so I am sharing some of my old photos of my favorite garden on the west coast: Lotusland in Montecito, California. 

Operation Diagnose: Ferns in Terrariums

Unhappy Fern by Nesting Ranch

Operation Diagnose:  This week I'll explore a variety of ailments that commonly afflict terrariums.  A reader contacted me a with a bevy of floundering terraria (with accompanying photos).  This affords a great opportunity for me to attempt to diagnose the problems and make suggestions - but I also encourage you to chime in and share suggestions or anecdotes in the comments!

Here is a brief summary of the questions from Nesting Ranch:

Question:  We could really use your advice as we're having just a dickens of a time with our terrariums. Some are open, others closed, some with ferns, some are just moss, some "wild" from the yard and some revived... none are doing quite well. Ferns are loosing leaves or turning black. Mosses are browning or yellowing. Just can't seem to pin-point why. 

Answer: Today I'd like to discuss the success and demise of ferns in terrariums.  

TL:DR Answer: Ferns are tricky business.  Unfortunately, it is trial and error for using a specific fern variety in a certain terrarium vessel. 

For those of you that have some more time: read on...

Nesting Ranch, your unhappy fern photos are a sad casualty of terrarium-keeping.  Many people assume ferns love shade and lots of water but they actually span a wide variety of climates and conditions.  Some ferns just can't handle terrarium conditions.  Some ferns are better suited for certain sized or shaped terrarium vessels.  Almost all of my "settled" terrariums containing ferns were replanted several times.  I would try one type of fern, it would die, and I would start again from scratch.

I would encourage you to experiment with different varieties of ferns.  I've had great luck with the hardy and common sword fern but it gets tall and needs a tall, narrow terrarium.  

If you obtain a special or hard-to-obtain (aka purchased) fern you may want to divide it into smaller, self-sufficient plants to see if it takes to terrarium life and maximize the opportunities to try it out in different vessels.  You can also keep the divided ferns in a wardian case or other holding zone to observe whether the plant thrives or shrivels in a terrarium environment.

Operation Diagnose: The Best Soil for a Terrarium

Soil Mix by Nesting Ranch

Operation Diagnose:  This week I'll explore a variety of ailments that commonly afflict terrariums.  A reader contacted me a with a bevy of floundering terraria (with accompanying photos).  This affords a great opportunity for me to attempt to diagnose the problems and make suggestions - but I also encourage you to chime in and share suggestions or anecdotes in the comments!

Here is a brief summary of the questions from Nesting Ranch:

Question:  We could really use your advice as we're having just a dickens of a time with our terrariums. Some are open, others closed, some with ferns, some are just moss, some "wild" from the yard and some revived... none are doing quite well. Ferns are loosing leaves or turning black. Mosses are browning or yellowing. Just can't seem to pin-point why. 

Answer: Today I'd like to discuss soil mixes for terrariums.  

TL:DR Answer: I recommend a 50/50 potting soil and sand mix for terrariums.

For those of you that have some more time: read on...

If you are using a larger terrarium vessel like an aquarium, you may want to increase the ratio of soil you mix into your substrate.  This will ensure your larger plants get more nutrients as time goes on.

Nesting Ranch, it appears from your photos that you used a potting soil mixed with peat?  I use soil mixed with sand to ensure that I can water frequently and have it drain through the soil quickly.  As the environment is so small and enclosed, I do what I can to make sure roots aren't standing in overly dry soil or damp soil.  Here is my brief spiel on soil from my how to, Adding Soil Layers:

"Mix one part potting mix with one part sand to ensure proper drainage. Add distilled water to make damp but it is easier to transfer to terrarium when it is dry. Remember - you can always add more water to your final terrarium but it is difficult to remove!  You should have enough soil to fill about 1/4 to 1/3 of your terrarium container. I would recommend using about 1/2 of the portion you have set aside for your terrarium and then adding the rest after you have planted your largest terrarium plants. Add the soil by scooping spoonfuls into your paper cone and tamping down with a skewer.   Once you have layered your dirt into the terrarium you'll want to mist down the soil.  Soil will need to remain damp throughout the life of your terrarium to support your plant growth."

According to Wikipedia, "The most important property of peat is retaining moisture in soil when it is dry and yet preventing the excess of water from killing roots when it is wet."  That doesn't sound inherently bad for a terrarium, but the part about retaining moisture in the soil makes me hesitant of its application to terrarium life.  Yes, plants like moss and ferns need a lot of moisture.  However,  a healthy terrarium has an interior water cycle; water moves through the soil, evaporates into condensation on the sides of the vessel, which again spill down into the soil in a cycle.  

Has anyone had good luck using peat or sphagnum soil mix in terrariums?