Sealed Terrariums create a humid self contained environment which lots of tropical houseplants love. Here’s a quick guide to some of the best plants you can put inside!
Fittonia
Fittonias, or nerve plants as their commonly called, are great ground cover plants to put in terrariums. For many, they’re the go to starting point and for good reason! In the wild, they grow on rainforest floors where the atmosphere is really humid, so they’re perfect to seal up. They tend to stay quite low to the ground in little clumps but they can gradually branch upwards. They’re usually pink, green or red in colour.
Fittonia or Nerve Plant and Ficus pumila
Commonly known as Creeping Fig, Ficus pumila is another plant that thrives on humidity. They tend to climp upwards and vine their way around bits of wood. It’s great to put a little bonsai branch in a terrarium and train the Creeping Fig up around it as this can create the effect of ivy climbing up a tree! Once they’re established inside a terrarium they can produce little aeriel roots that suck up moisture in the air.
Pileas
A very large and diverse family of plants, Pileas grow across the world in some slightly different environments. They can be a little bit trickier in terrariums than some of the other plants mentioned and it’s really important to not give them too much water when planting up. Generally speaking, the less succulent and thick the leaves, the easier they’ll be inside. Typically they like to have better drainage than some other plants you may find in terrariums, so if you do decide to use them, be sure to use a soil that drains really well to support your Pilea.
Cryptanthus
These small bromeliads can add a really nice extra dimension to your terrarium. They tend to stay low to the ground and can be really bright to give an arrangement a bit of an extra visual spark. They often grow in Brazilian rainforests so are another easy addition to most terrariums.
Coffee Arabica
If you’re using a taller container, these plants are great for adding a bit of height to your arrangement. They’re really easy to split up as well. You can separate each individual stem as each plant grows from a small coffee seed. They have glossy dark green leaves and look great with other plants that have bold solid colours.
Coffee Arabica
Syngonium
Syngoniums are versatile, beautiful plants that tend to grow in small clumps, but in the ideal environment of a terrarium they can grow nice and tall. They look great with fittonias and can add a bit of height to any arrangement much like coffee plants. Pixie and Arrowhead varieties have muted green or pink leaves.
Syngonium
