Terrarium, also called vivarium, is basically a clear glass jar used for growing live plants.
Cultivating live plants in a glass jar is a concept, going back to ancient Greece and New England. As the plants are grown in a transparent medium, they are easy to maintain and have the looks to become the focal point of the room. Having a terrarium is one great way of indoor gardening, with least maintenance needed.
You can make one with old or empty aquarium, fishbowl or jars. Decorate it with plants. Make sure it has a tight lid for plants to get ample humidity.
Care
Since terrariums are placed indoors, one has to be careful while selecting live plants. As a basic rule of thumb, check for the atmospheric compatibility of your house with the plants you choose. Most require high humidity levels, at least during the time of plantation.
Once the terrarium is set, the leaves collect moisture from the condensed water present on its inner walls. In this way, they can survive for weeks without having to water them regularly.
There are plenty of houseplants that are perfect to be grown in terrariums. If you are finding it difficult to give extra time for their maintenance, then you must opt for slow-growing plants. On the other hand, if you can find enough of spare time for trimming and maintaining the plant, then fast-growing varieties are an ideal choice for you.
Lastly, it is always important to create the perfect base for the plants. This base should be made of a suitable gravel with some activated charcoal on top of it. Another thing to take into consideration is their placement.
Make sure that they are placed in the middle, so that their branches do not touch the inner sides. This factor actually restricts the number of plants you want. Try to keep it as spacious as possible, which is ideal for their proper growth.
List of Plant Varieties
Most of these plants are low-light plants, so make sure that they don't get exposed to extremely bright light and/or direct sunlight. When it comes to the size, one can choose species of any size. Miniature varieties reach up to a moderate height and this way they are easy to maintain. However, there are also some taller varieties that you can choose.
For example, the golden pothos, cobra lily, aluminum plant and maidenhair fern, etc are a few of the plants. Here are names of some of the plnts that require low to moderate amount of light and moderate water levels as well.
Irish Moss
Height - 1" to 3"
Miniature Peperomia
Height - 1" to 3"
Swedish Ivy
Height - 1" to 3"
Maidenhead Spleenwort
Height - 1" to 3"
Bird Nest Sansevieria
Height - 3" to 6"
Nerve Plant
Height - 3" to 6"
Partridge Berry
Height - 1" to 3"
Spider Plant
Height - 1" to 3"
Aromatic Wintergreen
Height - 1" to 3"
African Violet
Height - 3" to 6"
Club Moss
Height - 3" to 6"
Emerald Ripple Peperomia
Height - 3" to 6"
Creeping Charlie
Height - 3" to 6"
A few more plants are:
Earth Star (Height - 3" to 6")
Tahitian Bridal Veil (Height - 3" to 6")
Rattlesnake Plantain (Height - 3" to 6")
Button Fern (Height - 3" to 6")
A good ground cover has a big role to maintain humidity. Choose plants of contrast colors to make them attractive. Water once a fortnight and NEVER fertilize them. Remove topmost layer of gravel and add fresh potting soil.