How to Find, Navigate (and Buy) Planted Terrariums for Sale

Whether you’re looking for an injection of green to jazz up your home or an awesome gift for a loved one, terrariums are undoubtedly the answer.

That said, being carefully balanced ecosystems, they’re tricky to create and transport – making finding planted terrariums for sale surprisingly challenging. 

In this buying guide, I’ll dish the dirt both on buying terrariums online and sourcing them locally. I’ll also give you the best terrarium kit picks if you want to try your hand at your own.

Let’s do this.

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The first thing you need to know about purchasing a pre-built terrarium is that they don’t travel well.

Terrariums are comprised of unsecured (often heavy) separate elements contained within glass. Which is a recipe for a shipping disaster…

Even the slightest rough maneuver by a delivery driver could result in unearthed plants or, worse, cracked glass. And because of this, the vast majority of terrarium artists aren’t willing to take the risk.

So, unfortunately, as you might have guessed, your options for buying a terrarium online are somewhat limited.

That’s why the only terrariums available to purchase online (and shipped) tend to be moss terrariums, occasionally with small hardscape items and plant cuttings. 

Let’s take a look at the artists available to purchase from:

• Doodlebird Terrariums – Patricia from DB Terrariums creates gorgeous mossariums that typically depict serene watery scenes. By using resin to give the effect of water and a selection of rocks to build a creek or lagoon, these designs perfectly combine living and artificial elements to make a bright statement.

• River Rocks Terrariums – If you’re looking for a slice of nature in your home, look no further. Daniel makes lush, wild, closed terrariums in all kinds of sizes and shapes. While they’re made-to-order, the delivery time is pretty competitive, so you might still be in luck if you need a birthday gift as soon as possible.

• Marauders Moss – Terrarium artist Tara makes fully assembled mossariums. Some classic, and some themed (if you thought baby Yoda was cute, wait till you see him in a terrarium).

• Tiny Botanica – Rachel from Tiny Botanica has a fairly small but extremely vibrant selection. Unlike most builders, her terrariums aren’t made-to-order, so what you see is what you get, and I like what I see.

• Terra Living – Though these guys usually use preserved moss and not live, it would be rude not to mention them. If you haven’t seen their work before, prepare to be inspired. 

Because shipping them is significantly easier, tiny terrariums are easy to get your mitts on if you only want something small. You can also find plenty of terrarium jewelry options, some with live moss and some with preserved.

*A quick note on buying terrariums online… Be careful to check the fine print; often, “terrarium” and “glass terrarium container” are used interchangeably online. Unless it explicitly states that it is a planted terrarium or that the plants are included, assume it’s just the container. A total nightmare, I know…

If you haven’t found what you’re looking for yet, it’s time to look for a terrarium in your local area.

There are a few ways to approach this:

• While it might seem like an obvious place to start, Google “Terrariums for sale near me” and see if anything juicy comes up. Just know that while many terrarium builders are fantastic artists, if they haven’t mastered the Google game, they won’t come up first, so it might be worth checking further than the first page.

• Join a local plant swapping or selling Facebook group and ask there. While there aren’t any professional terrarium builders in my local area, there are plenty of hobbyists who are both talented and available for commissioning. If your area is anything like mine, these fabulous people will certainly be found in a plant swap group. 

• Head to your local craft market/event. This is a great place to look for terrariums and have a great day out while you’re at it. You can’t go wrong!

• You’ll never find people more friendly than those who work in horticulture, so try asking for recommendations at your local gardening store. They can often point you in the right direction. While it’s not the same thing, we were surprised to hear that our store runs the occasional terrarium workshop.

• You can always check out the likes of Gumtree & Facebook marketplace as a final resort. While I’ve not had any luck there, you never know what you might find.

Naturally, the more metropolitan a location you live in, the easier it will be to find a planted terrarium for sale. If you live in the middle of nowhere, or none of the options have come up successfully so far, fear not; I still have one more trick up my sleeve. 

While I know it’s not what you asked for, why not buy a terrarium kit and build it yourself?

Obviously, this requires some assembly, but what a kit offers is the ease of getting everything you need in one place, in one go. This is much easier than sourcing every individual component you need yourself, guarantees compatible terrarium plants, and works out more cost-effectively, too.

But you do need to know what to look for, and there are some absolute cowboy terrarium kits out there… 

I’ve seen a kit including succulents and live moss alongside each other (which is 100% not going to work) and even seen one kit recommending that a closed terrarium should be kept in direct sunlight (it totally shouldn’t – indirect light all the way). 

But luckily for us, there are some great products available, too:

• This kit by BTV Terrarium Kits looks like a fantastic choice to me. It includes a glass container, suitable terrarium plants and moss, quality substrate, and drainage layer material. You need it; you got it.

• Rollie Pollie Foliage’s kit (sidenote – how good is that name?!) looks very good. It doesn’t include the actual container, but that can be easily sourced elsewhere.

• I also love this little mossarium kit by EK Terrariums – such a cute little project.

If planted miniature gardens are more your thing, there are plenty of succulent terrarium and air plant terrarium kits available, too. 

Where did you end up finding your planted terrarium for sale? I’m curious if it was an online buy or a local find.

If you’re in need of a present, why not check out my top picks for terrarium gifts?

Oh, and on our Instagram, we share terrarium artists’ projects from around the world. If that sounds like something you’d like to see, check it out.

You might even find someone near you!