Low-Maintenance Terrarium Plants For Your Home Ecosystem

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The relaxing neutral colors and clean, organized spaces of minimalist interiors are inviting, but such spaces can also become cold and boring. Bring life to a dull, minimalist space with terrarium plants! These miniature gardens do not only add style to your home but they also help create a relaxing ambiance. Plus, they are easy to care for! Keep on reading to find out which plants grow best in a terrarium.

What are Terrarium Plants?

Terrariums are similar to vivariums or reptile enclosures as both use a glass vessel. However, terrariums are smaller as the plants that thrive in such glass vessels are slow-growing plants, such as cacti, succulents, and air plants. Tropical plants such as jade plants, orchids, and ferns are viable options too as they are humidity-loving plants. These are great for closed terrariums as they are enclosed glass vessels with high moisture levels.

If you want a bit of a challenge, you can try growing some carnivorous terrarium plants such as pitcher plants and sundews. They are also tropical plants that thrive in hot and humid conditions, so these would go well in closed terrariums. Do mind that not all carnivorous plants can grow in terrariums, so make sure to do some research first before purchasing!

Advantages of Having Terrarium Plants at Home

If there’s a whole bunch of houseplants you can buy, why would you specifically choose terrarium plants? Other indoor plants also look decorative and are low-maintenance, so what’s the edge of terrarium plants? First, they do not take too much space, unlike other houseplants that grow uncontrollably as they are only confined in a small, glass container.

Second, they can thrive even during the cold, winter months. The interior of a closed terrarium remains humid as long as the lid is shut tight. This will keep the plant inside properly hydrated as high humid terrariums produce a lot of water vapor. The water vapor condenses on the glass walls and drips on the soil below, helping water the plants.

Lastly, they are perfect for anyone with a busy lifestyle. Enclosed terrariums don’t need to be watered for months. Although open terrariums need extra TLC due to water evaporation, plants used in such miniature gardens are succulents, which require little maintenance.

Best Low-Maintenance Terrarium Plants

1. [Bloomify] Sundew Terrarium Plant

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Houseplants help create a relaxing and inviting ambiance, but maintaining them can be a hassle. You will have to water them daily, take them out from time to time to expose them to the sun, and add the right amount of fertilizer. With the Sundew Terrarium Plant from Bloomify, you won’t be hassled anymore! It’s a self-sustaining terrarium as it uses a special gel that provides water and fertilizer to the plant. Furthermore, sundews are tropical plants that grow well in humid conditions. Just make sure to place this mini terrarium plant near a windowsill or use an LED light as sundews need enough light exposure to thrive.

2. [Bloomify] Celosia Flower Terrarium Plant

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One easy way to enliven spaces is to decorate with flowers. However, fresh flowers don’t last long, and the preserved ones are expensive. A much better option would be a terrarium plant. Consider buying the Bloomify Celosia Flower! It uses an innovative gel that provides the flower with complete nutrition. It also comes with an exquisite dome-shaped glass vessel, similar to the glass vessels used for preserved flowers. Place this on a coffee table to give the living room a fresh, vibrant look.

Read more: How To Make A Glass Terrarium

3. [Carnivero] Tropical Pitcher Plant

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Wouldn’t it be nice to look out the window with beautiful live plants in view? Even if there isn’t enough space to build an outdoor garden, it is still possible to get this beautiful view with terrarium plants. The Tropical Pitcher Plant of Carnivero is one of the terrarium plants that you can display on a windowsill as it needs full sun to thrive. The only downside is you have to water a pitcher plant with distilled water or rain as tap water contains chemicals that can affect its growth. But other than that, pitcher plants are relatively easy to care for as long as the soil is moist and is placed in a bright space.

4. [CTS Air Plants] Fuschii Air Terrarium Plants

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Even if your family lives in a small apartment, it is still possible to do some gardening even with the limited space. For starters, you can try making a miniature terrarium fairy garden. It is great for beginner gardeners as they are easy to make and require little to no maintenance. You just need a glass container, potting mix, and some pebbles and mosses to make one. As for the plants, we suggest adding these Fuschii Air Plants as these are open terrarium plants that don’t need soil to grow. This gives you more freedom to arrange the plants in the terrarium creatively.

5. [The Drunken Gnome] Air Terrarium Plants

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Terrariums can sometimes look dull with all the greens and browns encased in a glass container. Add color to a terrarium with these Air Plants from The Drunken Gnome! These are rare Ionantha rubra air plants that produce a bluish flower and red foliage once matured. Live terrarium plants such as these are perfect for indoors as they don’t need direct sunlight exposure. Yet, air plants are still like other houseplants that require enough light to grow, so avoid placing them in a shaded spot.

6. [Air Plant Shop] Xerographica Air Plant

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If you live alone, you may always have to spend so much time in the kitchen, cooking and preparing meals. However, if the kitchen appears dull, motivating yourself to try out new recipes and cook delicious meals can be difficult. Spruce up the kitchen and give it a fresh look with hanging terrarium plants! These wall-hanging decors help add color to the kitchen without taking much space.

For hanging terrarium plants, we recommend choosing the Xerographica Air Plant of the Air Plant Shop. This is a good choice for kitchens with large windows as it needs more light than other air plant species. Caring for a Xerographica air plant is easy as you just need to water it once every other week.

Read also: 12 Best Zilla Reptile Terrarium Heat Lamps Mini Halogen Bulb for 2024

7. [Rooted Store] Watermelon Peperomia

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Sometimes, sleeping on a soft, comfortable bed is not enough to relax because of the built-up stress at work. An easy way to reduce stress is to surround the bedroom with terrarium tropical plants. The Watermelon Peperomia of Rooted Store is one of the tropical plants that would grow well in a terrarium due to its small size. Surely, you’ll be reminded of the warm, pleasant summer days as its foliage looks like a watermelon!

This live terrarium plant is also great for beginners as you only have to water it once a week. As for the fertilizer, adding some at least once or twice a year is already enough.

8. [skygardenLG] Live Tree Clubmoss

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Not all of us have large window sills to display a terrarium. Luckily, you can still decorate some plants at home, even without a large window. Some terrarium plants like the Live Tree Clubmoss thrive well in the shade and love humidity, so you can place them in the bathroom or kitchen. You just have to create a “false bottom” in the terrarium using gravel and pebbles to allow proper drainage. This will help prevent the clubmoss from rotting.

9. [Optiflora] Mini Terrarium Plants

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Deciding which plant should go in the terrarium can be difficult because of the wide selection of indoor plants. If you are not entirely sure which plants to buy, why don’t you seek help from online plant shops? Shops like the Optiflora can handpick a set of terrarium plants for you. This way, you don’t have to go through the hassle of researching every single plant you come across online, checking if it will grow in a terrarium. In addition, with Optiflora’s Mini Terrarium Plants, you can already build a fairy garden because the set comes with six different ferns and other tropical plants.

10. [Altman Plants] Assorted Live Succulents

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Do you have a dedicated office space at home? Consider decorating with terrarium plants to enliven a home office space. They do not only look decorative, but they also help purify the air. For terrariums, we suggest placing live succulents as they are slow-growing plants. What is also great about succulents is you don’t always have to water them.

If you find it difficult to choose among the many available succulents online, we recommend buying from Altman Plants. They will provide you with a set of hand-selected succulents that can be grown in a terrarium.

Terrarium Plant Care Tips

Always Check the Humidity

This tip is for closed terrariums. Even though these are self-sustaining miniature gardens that can water themselves, the humidity level can still drop, especially during the winter. One indication is when there isn’t much condensation in the terrarium. In other words, the terrarium looks almost completely dry as there are no signs of fog and moisture on the walls. If this happens, freshen up the terrarium plants with a spritz of water. Be careful not to spritz too much as this can cause fungal growth.

Remove Any Dying Plants

If you are wondering why your fairy terrarium garden is not thriving, it could be because of the presence of dead plants. Leaving them inside the terrarium could infect other plants, so better remove them as soon as possible. Just be careful not to remove or disturb the roots of other terrarium plants when removing any dying plants!

Place Plants in a Bright Space

Although most terrarium plants have low-light requirements, it is still better to find a bright space to place them. After all, they are still plants that require light for photosynthesis. You don’t have to place them right in front of the window as most terrariums can burn with direct sunlight exposure. It’s enough to put them in a room with ample natural light.

Final Word

Terrarium plants may not be a necessary purchase, but they provide many benefits. One of which is they add a splash of color to your home! Furthermore, they are easy to take care of. You can just display them without worrying they might end up dying the following days. For exquisite and low-maintenance terrariums, check out our product recommendation above!