Because of its small size and controlled environment, a tabletop terrarium is easy to make and care for. There's a plethora of plants to choose from when desiging a terrarium, but the best terrarium plants are relatively small and offer tons of color and texture. If you're gearing up to challenge your green thumb by creating a mini indoor garden, these charming, humidity-loving selections are some of the best terrarium plants for a thriving, dynamic ecosystem.
Air Plant
Although air plants don't need soil, they make versatile terrarium plants with captivating color and texture. If you're interested in curating an especially otherworldly selection of terranium plants, alien-esque air plants are an unbeatable inclusion. Set them among other plants in your miniature garden or create a soil-less display exclusively for showing off your air plants.
Name: Tillandsia stricta
Size: To 8 inches tall and wide
'Aquamarine' Pilea
If you closely examine the foliage of Pilea glauca 'Aquamarine,' you'll see tiny speckles across its silvery-blue, rounded leaves. This terrarium plant's low-growing, densely matted, creeping stems create the perfect base for other plants in a mini terrarium. 'Aquamarine' pilea also loves high humidity and low light.
Name: Pilea glauca 'Aquamarine'
Size: To 12 inches tall and wide
Black Mondo Grass
Familiar to gardeners in Zones 6-9 as a durable groundcover plant, black mondo grass also makes a pretty terrarium plant. Its tufts of dark, strappy leaves will lend a moody hue to your mini landscape. For terrariums that use rock as the base, black mondo grass is an excellent selection as it has no problem growing in rocky crevices.
Name: Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens'
Size: To 5 inches tall and 12 inches wide
Dwarf Golden Sweet Flag
Of all terrarium plants, the grassy, golden foliage of tiny Acorus gramineus 'Minimus Aureus' makes an especially vibrant addition to mini gardens. The verdant plant, commonly called dwarf golden sweet flag, is a low-maintenance perennial that does best in consistently moist soil. Its bright, spiky foliage looks particularly whimsical when nestled amongst other colorful plants.
Name: Acorus gramineus 'Minimus Aureus'
Size: To 4 inches tall and 6 inches wide
Golden Clubmoss
The light green foliage of golden clubmoss has a delicate texture that contrasts beautifully against plants with bold leaves. Even though golden clubmoss stays compact in height, it likes to spread—which makes it a great shade garden groundcover plant in warmer zones. Trimming is necessary in an indoor mini garden to keep it from crowding other terrarium plants.
Name: Selaginella kraussiana 'Aurea'
Size: To 6 inches tall and 2 feet wide
'Moon Valley' Pilea
Delicate patterning and deeply textured craters and valleys in its foliage give 'Moon Valley' pilea a distinctive look. Its unique green leaves with purplish-red veining add subtle color variation amongst other terrarium plants. This variety of pilea occasionally blooms delicate pink flowers, too.
Name: Pilea involucrata 'Moon Valley'
Size: To 12 inches tall and wide
Mother Fern
Although mother fern can reach about 2 feet tall, it still makes a good terrarium plant when it's small. This graceful, arching, fine-textured fern does best in high humidity. When mature, the fronds produce tiny plantlets that you can propagate to make more ferns or replace the original plant if it has outgrown your terrarium.
Name: Asplenium bulbiferum
Size: To 2 feet tall and 4 feet wide
Nerve Plant
Give your mini garden a tropical look by adding a nerve plant. The terrarium plant's foliage has a netlike pattern in silvery white, burgundy, or pink hues. This pretty variegated plant thrives in the high humidity of a closed container—a perfect choice for a terrarium. If your nerve plant starts to crowd other terrarium plants, trim it back and use the cuttings to start new plants.
Name: Fittonia verschaffeltii var. argyroneura
Size: To 12 inches tall and wide
'Ripple' Peperomia
'Ripple' peperomia is a small, slow-growing plant that thrives in the high humidity of a closed system—again, a perfect choice for terrariums. The wrinkles on Peperomia caperata's heart-shaped leaves make this plant an intriguing textural addition to any mini garden. Its reddish stems add an extra splash of color, which may be a welcome attribute if your other terrarium plants are all green.
Name: Peperomia caperata
Size: To 6 inches tall and wide
Starfish Plant
A favorite among terrarium plants is Cryptanthus bivittatus, a member of the bromeliad family with the common name, starfish plant. Its straplike leaves almost seem to glow with iridescent stripes, which can be red, maroon, white, and deep green. Starfish plant's leaf colors can change under different intensities of light, and its slow-growing nature makes it well-suited for a terrarium. The plant is also known to bloom with a tiny white flower in its center.
Name: Cryptanthus bivittatus
Size: To 6 inches tall and wide
Strawberry Begonia
The name "strawberry begonia" is a little misleading because this plant isn't actually a begonia or related to strawberries—but its leaves do look a bit like begonia foliage, and it sends out runners like strawberry plants do. While strawberry begonia grows quickly, it stays compact enough to fit in most terrariums. Like 'Ripple' peperomia, strawberry begonia has reddish stems, which can add a colorful note amongst other terrarium plants.
Name: Saxifraga stolonifera
Size: To 8 inches tall and 6 inches wide
Variegated Spider Fern
Each glossy, green leaf of variegated spider fern sports a yellow band down its center. The distinguishing characteristic sets this easy-care, evergreen fern apart from similar-looking plants. Though variegated spider fern can grow relatively large for a houseplant, you can take it outside and plant it in a shade garden in Zones 6-9 if it eventually outgrows your terrarium.
Name: Arachniodes simplicior 'Variegata'
Size: To 16 inches tall and wide
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