Horticulture Principles and Practices

TABLE 25–1
Plant
Selected Plants Suitable for Growing in a Terrarium
Scientific Name
Maidenhair fern
Spleenwort
Scaly spleenwort
Begonia
Killarney fern
Irish moss
Button fern
Parlor palm
Lace flower vine
Table fern
Hard fern
Creeping fig
Christmas cactus
Prayer plant
Siper plant
Adiantum capillus-veneris and other species
Aspleniun fontanum, A. viride, A. trichomanes, and A. ruta-muraria
Ceterach officinarum
Begonia spp.
Trichomanes speciosum
Selaginella spp.
Pellaea rotundifolia
Chamaedorea elegans
Episcia dianthiflora
Pteris spp.
Blechnum spp.
Ficus pumila
Schlumbergera spp.
Maranta leuconeura
Sinningia pusilla
(e.g., tropical plants or ferns). Good terrarium plants include those that originate in the
forest region and thus are adapted to humid and shaded conditions. Examples are lichens,
ferns, mosses, violets, and ground ivy, which are suited to closed-container terrariums.
Cacti and other succulents make good open-container terrarium plants. Table 25–1 provides
a list of plants suitable for terrarium culture.
25.3 TOOLS
When planting a large terrarium, such as one using a fish tank, ordinary hand tools used
in the garden are adequate. However, in bottle gardens, creativity may be necessary in
choosing instruments to plant and maintain the unit. The operation becomes more challenging
as the neck of the bottle becomes longer and narrower. A number of tools may
be improvised for placing growing medium into the container, scooping soil, inserting
and planting, firming soil after planting, cutting, cleaning the inside of the container, and
retrieving material (Figure 25–5). To deliver the planting medium into a bottle, for example,
a funnel may be used to direct the soil placement in order to avoid dirtying the inner
walls and having to clean them later, sometimes with great difficulty. A disposable funnel
can be made out of paper. A spoon with a long handle, or tied to a long stick or wire
for increased reach, may be used as a minispade to make planting holes and fill them after
transplanting. For firming the soil, the spool from sewing machine thread mounted on a
stick or dowel may be used. Long forceps, a forked stick, or a pair of long sticks may be
used to deliver plants into planting holes. Dirt on the inner wall of the container may be
wiped with a damp piece of cloth or foam attached to the end of a flexible wire. When a
leaf or branch must be cut off after planting, a scalpel blade mounted on the end of a stick
may be used.
706 Chapter 25 Terrarium Culture
25.4 THE PLANTING MEDIUM
Some general principles should be observed in selecting and preparing a growing
medium for a terrarium. Good drainage is critical since most plants do not tolerate waterlogging.
Good drainage also ensures that plant roots have adequate air for proper growth