plants recommended for terrariums

[Meagan]

My sister was asking me what kind of plants to put into a terrarium, and I was surprised what I found when I searched the internet. They were the basics, but not all that much fun. Ivys, ferns and mosses is what I came up with. Another was african violets, but that seemed strange to me, since the leaves on those plants do not like to be wet. My sister is also a beginner, so I want to give her no-brainers, but something a little more exciting than ivy. Any suggestions?

We both live in NYC, so Wal-Mart, Home Depot and all those other stores are out of the question. We have several farmers markets that sell varieties of plants, but seem to be on the larger scale. Any recommendations are grateful.

 

[magore]

You can always make a desert terrarium and use succleants such as hen & chicks lithops, and small catus. Just a thought.

 

[Kate]

Minuture african violet work wonderfully in terrariums as long as you plant them towards the center where their leaves don't touch the glass.

Other plants that work well are:

Artillery Plant (Pilea microphilla)
Baby's-Tears (Soleirolia soleirolli) this one is my personal favorite
ferns of course, some of which are actually quite beautiful
Creeping fig (Ficus pumila)
Corsican Mint (mentha requienii)
Nerve Plant (Fittonia argyroneura)
Pilea (Pilea deprssa)
and Japanese Sweet Flag (acorus gramineus)

Any small or slow growing plant will do wonderfully, except those that don't like humidity.

Hope this helped.

Mae

 

[Kate]

Oh, one other quick thought.

Try florist shops for sources of plants. They often have them already in small containers in group plantings where you can just take them home and drop them in a terrarium.