Terrarium plants
Popular terrarium plants
When I think about the popularity of terrarium plants, in my opinion, the most popular Indonesian creeper is Epipremnum. Other proven species for dry terrariums would follow: Crassula, Peperomia or Tillandsia.
In wetter terrariums, Dracena, Nephrolepis, Chlorophytum, Tradescantia or the epiphytically growing Anthurium and of course mosses lead.
Planting terrariums
After you choose suitable plants for your terrarium and bring them from the store or from nature, you can start planting them. Pay attention to the substrate in which you buy plants, it may contain fertilizers that do not belong to the terrarium. Therefore, it is always more appropriate to tap newly purchased plants from the original substrate and plant the plant in a new substrate in a terrarium (sand, peat or lignocellulose). In humid tropical terrariums, I recommend using peat or lignocellulose. In dry terrariums, it is usually sand or a mixture of sand and peat or a mixture of sand with lignocellulose. It is also important to shower it with water, the plant can be sprayed with a chemical.
Live plants in a terrarium look very good, they help retaining moisture in the terrarium, the root system of plants can clean water well in paludaries but at the same time they are difficult to maintain compared to artificial plants. It is necessary to choose those plants that will be suitable for the type of terrarium (wet, dry) depending on the watering and light. It is very important to set up a terrarium well, then you hardly have to worry about the plants at all. It is a good idea to think about whether live plants in your terrarium are suitable before planting a terrarium. On the other hand, these plants could become food for the herbivorous inhabitants of the terrarium, or food for crickets.
Even plants have their requirements
When choosing plants, it is necessary to take into account their requirements. Not every species belonging to the habitat of the animal you breed can withstand limited conditions, even if they are as similar as possible to the natural ones. The biggest problem is the lack of light, so a good choice of suitable lighting will increase the possibility of a wider selection of plant species.
Light, heat
Plenty of light is resolved by artificial lighting. Heating bulbs in terrariums are not enough. The bulb has a bad composition of the light spectrum, discharge lamps and fluorescent lamps are more suitable. A large number of fluorescent lamps directly intended for plants are sold on the Internet, these lights are, in my opinion, the best. It should be lit for at least 8 hours a day, but ideally for 12 hours, and the light source should not be further than 50 cm from the plants. The advantage of fluorescent lamps is their attractive appearance and very low electricity consumption.
Can I fertilize a plant in a terrarium with something? - Yes, you can use biocompost or biofertilizers.
Plants by type of animal
Bearded dragon - Haworthia Plants, Echeveria, Prickly Pear Cacti, Aloe Plants, Dwarf Jade Plants (Portulacaria afra), callisia repens- agamas love its leaves, so it does not survive long in the terrarium, some species of cacti and Aloe are suitable.
Chameleons - Weeping Fig, Ficus family, Golden Pothos, Yucca, Dracaena Compacta, Hibiscus, Bromeliads.
Geckos, phelsumas, anolis - Bromeliads, Ficus benjamina, Ficus pumila, Golden Pothos, Dracaena, Bird's nest fern, Sansevieria Trifasciata.
Turtles - Hornwort, Java Moss, Java Fern, Dwarf Hairgrass, Moneywort, Red Ludwigia, Water Lettuce, Water Hyacinth.
Frogs - Philodendrons, Wandering Jew, Peperomia, Pilea, Bromeliads, Orchids, Ferns
What about poisonous species?
Novice terrariums are usually afraid that the animals will present a poisonous plant. There are breeders who do not share such concerns, because they have found from practice that their inmates of such species simply do not notice. Nevertheless, I prefer to avoid poisonous plants.
List of most suitable plants for wet and dry terrariums
For better clarity in the selection of plants, it is appropriate to divide them into two categories: moisture-loving plants and drought-loving plants. I enclose a list of most moisture-loving terrarium plants here: Adiantum caudatum, Aechmea mexicana, Aglaomorpha coronans, Asplenium 'Parvati', ​Asplenium nidus 'Crissie', Asplenium scolopendrium, Begonia 'White Dove', Begonia dregei, Begonia erythrophylla, Columnea 'Red', Cycas revoluta, Cyrtomium fortunei 'Clivicola, Doryopteris cordata, Dyckia brevifolia, Epiphyllum 'Bevertail', Epiphyllum pumillum, Ficus 'Audrey', Ficus lyrata 'Bambino', Fosterella villosula, Guzmania 'Light Red', Guzmania dissitiflora, Hatiora bambusoides, Hedera erecta, Hemionitis arifolia, Hemionitis arifolia, Hoya carnosa, Pteris cretica 'Albolineata', Marantha leuconeura, Neoregelia 'Narzis', Neoregelia 'Victoria Secret', Neoregelia concentrica 'variegata', Neoregelia pendula, Neoregelia schultesiana, Nephrolepis 'Duffi', Nephrolepis exalata 'Green Moment', Peperomia axilaris, Peperomia columella, Peperomia pereskiifolia, Phlebodium aureum, Platycerium bifurcatum, Quesnelia humilis, Quesnelia sp. (Rio Grande do Sul), Racinea crispa f. black, Racinea fraserii, Rhipsalis burchellii, Rhipsalis cassutha, Rhipsalis cereuscula, Rhipsalis elliptica, Rhipsalis ewaldiana, Rhipsalis floccosa, Rhipsalis heteroclada, Rhipsalis horrida, Rhipsalis kirbergii, Rhipsalis marnierianum, Rhipsalis mesembryanthemoides, Rhipsalis mesembryanthemoides, Rhipsalis micrantha, Rhipsalis pachyptera v. pachyptera, Rhipsalis paradoxa, Rhipsalis pilocarpa, Rhipsalis pulchra, Rhipsalis rauhiorum, Rumohra adianthiformis, Sinningia eumorpha, Sinningia sp. Pedra Lisa, Tillandsia cyanea, Vriesea 'Splenriet Mini', Vriesea fenestralis and Vriesea guttata.
Dry-loving terrarium plants are here: Adenium obesum,Adromischus cooperii 'Deep Purple', Adromischus cooperii 'Soft Dots', Adromischus juttae, Adromischus schuldtianus, Adromischus undulatus, Aeonium arborescens 'Atropurpureum', Aeonium sphatulatum, Aloe 'Pepe', Aloe aristata, Aloe falcata, Aloe haworthioides, Aloe mitriformis, Aloe squarrosa, Aloe vera, Anacampseros filamentosa, Anacampseros rufescens, Anacampseros telephiastrum variegata 'Sunrise', Astrophytum ornatum, Beaucarnea recurvata, Ceropegia simoneae f. green, Coryphantha retusa, Cotyledon ladysmithensi, Crassula arborescens, Crassula lycopodioides, Crassula muscosa, Crassula ovata, Crassula ovata 'Gollum', Crassula sarcocaulis, Duvalia caespitosa ver. Caespitosa, Echeveria 'Pearl von Nurnberg', Echeveria gliva, Echeveria chihuahuensis, Echeveria pelusida, Echinopsis hybrid, Eriocactus Magnificus, Euphorbia obesa 'monstruosa', Euphorbia platyclada, Euphorbia submammillaris, Euphorbia submammillaris, Faucaria paucidens, Gasteria cv. 'Little Warty', Graptopetalum bellum, Gymnocalycium saglione, Haworthia attenuata 'Enon', Haworthia glauca, Haworthia limifolia, Haworthia pentagona, Haworthia radula, Haworthia retusa, Lithops julii, Lobivia arachnacantha, Mammilaria prolifera, Mammillaria elongata, Mammillaria gracilis, Mediolobivia eucalyptana, Neochilenia minor, Notocactus ottonis, Notocactus submammulosus, Opuntia tunicata, Pachypodium lamerei, Pachypodium lamerei var. Ramosum, Pachypodium rutenberghianum, Pachypodium saundersii, Pachyveria glauca, Pleiospilos compactus, Pleiospilos nellii, Portulacaria afra, Pyrrhocactus residuus, Plectranthus amboinicus, Sansevieria cylindrica 'Boncel', Selenicereus grandiflorus, Selenicereus hondurensis, Titanopsis calcarea and Wigginsia fricii.
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