Bird's nest fern
Asplenium nidus
Pick a mini form.
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Closed tropical terrarium
A rainforest with its own microclimate
In a closed glass the plants create their own water cycle – hardly any watering. Ideal for small, humidity-loving tropicals.
☀️LightBright indirect or LED; never direct sun
💧Humidity80–100%
🌡️Temperature18–26 °C
🪴Water & substrateMist 1–2× a month; airy, peat-free tropical mix
Build
Step by step
Moss
Stones, wood, plants
Charcoal + substrate
Mesh barrier
Drainage (LECA, lava)
- 1
Clean the glass and add 2–4 cm of drainage (LECA or lava rock).
- 2
Lay a mesh barrier so substrate doesn’t wash down.
- 3
Add a thin layer of charcoal, then 5–8 cm of airy moist substrate – higher at the back for depth.
- 4
Place the hardscape: stones, wood, bark – the skeleton of your design.
- 5
Plant back to front: tall at the back, small at the front, ground cover last.
- 6
Fill gaps with cushion moss, mist and clean the glass with a brush.
- 7
Add a clean-up crew: springtails and isopods eat mould.
Plant list
What to plant
Background
Midground
Polka dot plant
Hypoestes phyllostachya
Pinch often or it gets leggy.
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Foreground
Nerve plant
Fittonia albivenis
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Carpet / ground cover
Silver sparkle pilea
Pilea glauca
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Spikemoss
Selaginella kraussiana
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Cushion moss
Leucobryum glaucum
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Climber, trailer
String of turtles
Peperomia prostrata
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Creeping fig
Ficus pumila
🐱Cat mild🐶Dog mild
Accent
Jewel orchid
Ludisia discolor
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Miniature begonia
Begonia prismatocarpa
🐱Cat mild🐶Dog mild
⚠️ Common mistakes
- Placing it in direct sun – the glass overheats.
- Overwatering: water in the drainage must never reach the substrate.
- Putting succulents in a humid jar – they rot.
- Fast growers (e.g. pothos) – they outgrow it within a year.
Member setups
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