Terrarium Plants: How to Choose the Right Plants for Your Setup

Not every plant that looks good in a glass container will actually thrive there.

Some love the warm, humid conditions of an enclosed setup. Others will put up with it for a bit, then gradually decline once the novelty wears off.

That’s what makes plant choice so important. It’s not just about what looks good together on day one, but choosing plants that want the same conditions and can live comfortably in the space over time.

Get that right from the start, and you avoid a lot of (very preventable) problems later.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to choose the right plants for your setup, which traits are actually worth paying attention to, and the types of plants that tend to work best in practice, with examples of our favorites.

This is the decision that does most of the work for you.

Are you choosing plants for an open terrarium or a closed terrarium? 

Everything else naturally follows from this critical distinction. These two setups call for very different types of plants, and there’s very little to no overlap between them.

Closed terrarium plants are usually tropical or temperate plant species that thrive in the hot and humid conditions of a sealed terrarium, e.g., miniature ferns, tropical vines, and orchids.

Open terrarium plants are typically arid species that enjoy low moisture and humidity environments with good airflow, e.g., mini cacti and succulents.

The important part is not to mix the two – one cannot thrive in the same conditions as the other. One group wants damp, enclosed stability. The other would rather dry out properly and breathe a little.

For the rest of this guide, we’re mostly talking about plants for closed terrariums.

That’s where plant choice becomes much more selective, and where tropical and temperate species really come into their own. Open terrarium plants like succulents and cacti play by different rules, so we’ll come back to them later.

Most people think of a good terrarium plant as something small, slow-growing, and fond of humidity.

That’s (genuinely) a good starting point, but it’s not the whole story.

After all, some plants stay naturally compact. Some can be kept in check with trimming. And some are perfectly workable in larger builds, but would overwhelm a smaller container in no time.

The context of the setup matters (and what you’re willing to do to maintain it).

Still, the best terrarium plants do tend to share a few important traits:

• Humidity-tolerant – they’re comfortable in consistently moist air.
• Happy in damp substrate – not waterlogged, but consistently moist.
• Naturally compact – they stay in scale without constant pruning.
• Manageable growers – steady, not aggressive.

What matters is not how small a plant looks in the shop pot, but what it becomes once it’s settled and actively growing.

A lot of “terrarium plants” are only terrarium-sized for about five minutes, which is why mature size matters far more than first impressions.

It also helps to choose small-leafed plants where possible.

After all, you can easily trim stems and vines, but giant leaves, not so much (Monstera, I’m looking at you). If the leaf itself is bigger than any reasonable terrarium space, there’s not much you can do except admire it somewhere else.

With that in mind, let’s look at the plant types that tend to work best in closed terrariums.

Most closed terrarium plants fall into a few reliable groups.

The best builds usually combine at least a few of them to create something that feels natural, layered, and balanced. We’ve covered our favourite plants for closed terrariums in more detail separately.

We tend to favor a healthy mix of ferns, vines, mosses, compact foliage plants, and a few (well-behaved) epiphytes.

• Ferns – soft, lush, and naturally suited to humid conditions, e.g., Sword Ferns, Maidenhair Ferns, Button Fern.
• Vines and creepers – useful for tying things together and adding a touch of wild growth, e.g., Selaginella, Ficus pumila, Syngonium.
• Compact foliage plants – ideal for colour, contrast, and focal points, e.g., Peperomia, Calathea, Begonia, Pilea, Jewel Orchids.
• Mosses – for softening edges and making a build feel established, e.g., Cushion Moss, Mood Moss, Hypnum Moss, Fern Moss.
• Orchids and epiphytes – best used sparingly to add some color and depth higher up, e.g., Air Plants, Neoregelia, Anubias.

These kinds of tropical understory plants also tend to be forgiving in low light, so that’s a bonus.

Finding small plants is easy enough. It’s finding plants that stay small that’s the real challenge. 

A surprising number of those perfectly petite plants at the garden centre are really just baby big plants in disguise. I’ve made that mistake more than once.

That’s why smaller-leafed, naturally compact species tend to be safer choices.

Thankfully, some truly small terrarium plants come in a variety of reliable forms:

• Dwarf varieties of large terrarium plants, e.g., the ‘Fluffy Ruffles’ Sword Fern.
• Jewel Orchids and Jewel Alocasia, e.g., the Lightning Jewel Orchid.
• Miniature vines, e.g., Peperomia prostrata and Pilea glauca.
• Miniature flowering plants, e.g., Begonia foliosa or Biophytum sensitivum.

Smaller plants also give you more freedom to build with. You can layer textures, add contrast, and create something that feels detailed without the whole terrarium becoming overcrowded.

Beginner-friendly terrarium plants come in all shapes and sizes.

What they share is their adaptability, versatility, and ease of care. In other words, they’re a range of plants almost guaranteed to thrive in a tropical closed terrarium (and look good doing it).

A few reliable beginner picks include:

• Nerve Plant – A true terrarium staple, the ornate foliage of the Fittonia is synonymous with modern terrariums. Though it can be a little dramatic when underwatered, it’s perfectly suited to tropical terrarium life.

• Selaginella – Somewhere between a moss and a fern, Selaginella brings the best of both worlds to a terrarium. The green foliage of this creeping vine is full of texture and color, and it’ll quickly form a dense mat over any surface it can grow.
• Polka Dot Plant – These vivid speckled beauties are a great pop of color in any terrarium scene. They do great in warm temperatures and a humid environment, so they’re ideal terrarium plants.
• Ficus pumila – Nothing can stop this prolific plant from working its way around a terrarium. Just pop in a few cuttings and watch them go!

• Pilea – The Aluminum Plant and Friendship Plants are both great examples of miniature foliage plants that thrive in tropical conditions. Their bold, variegated leaves and vivid colors are simply stunning.
• Hypnum Moss – This versatile sheet moss holds together well and is super easy to work with.

If you’re just getting started, there are plenty of other beginner-friendly terrarium plants worth considering, too.

Just be mindful of other recommendations you may find on the internet. Honestly, despite what people say online, carnivorous plants are not beginner-friendly. At all.

The same goes for fussier plants like Maidenhair Ferns, which may enjoy the humidity but can be much less forgiving in practice.

Open terrariums are a looser, drier take on the classic terrarium setup.

Without a lid, they don’t trap moisture or humidity in the same way as closed terrariums. That makes them a much better fit for plants that prefer good airflow, faster drainage, and lower humidity.

In practice, that usually means arid plants, the sort that are perfectly happy with a bit of neglect.

A few reliable options include:

• Succulents – Echeveria, Haworthia, Sedum.
• Cacti – Hedgehog Cacti (Echinocereus), Gymnocalycium.

These plants are usually quite easy to care for, but they do come with one non-negotiable – drainage.

Arid plants really can’t handle being wet for long. Consistently moist soil is a surefire way to turn these plants into soggy mush. So, arid open terrarium layers and substrates must be fast-draining and fast-drying.

On the flip side, arid plants aren’t the only kinds of plants you can use. You can also think of open terrariums as artistic planters. In that, anything you can grow in the house can thrive in an open terrarium.

• Houseplants – Philodendron, English Ivy, Spider Plant.
• Air Plants – Tillandsia bulbosa or Tillandsia Ionantha.

Open terrariums provide a unique opportunity to grow (slightly) larger-leafed varieties or long vines that can trail beyond the barriers of the container. Just don’t combine tropical houseplants with arid plants – that rule still holds up.

Whereas Air Plants are just horticulture on easy mode!

A good terrarium plant is really just a plant in the right place.

If it suits the setup, stays in proportion, and isn’t likely to take over in a month, you’re probably on the right track. That alone will save most terrariums from becoming overgrown, mismatched, or just quietly miserable.

Choose well, and even a simple mix of plants can look lush and balanced.