--- title: Best moss for a terrarium | Glass Jar Garden description: 25 mosses that thrive in a closed terrarium and 6 that need an open jar, with light, humidity and what each grows on. url: https://glassjar.garden/guide/best-moss-for-terrarium/ --- Guide # Best moss for a terrarium Moss has no roots: it drinks from the air and the surface it sits on, so humidity matters more than soil. 25 of the 31 mosses in the guide are fine in a closed jar. ## Moss for a closed terrarium MossDifficultyLightHumidityGrows on[Common feather-moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/kindbergia-praelonga/)Beginner800 to 10,000 lux70 to 100 % RHsoil, wood[Flame moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/taxiphyllum-flame/)Beginner500 to 10,000 lux80 to 100 % RHsoil, stone, wood[Java moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/taxiphyllum-barbieri/)Beginner500 to 10,000 lux80 to 100 % RHsoil, stone, wood[Rough-stalked feather-moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/brachythecium-rutabulum/)Beginner3,500 to 23,000 lux60 to 100 % RHsoil, wood[Sheet moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/hypnum-cupressiforme/)Beginner1,500 to 15,000 lux50 to 95 % RHsoil, stone, wood[Weeping moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/vesicularia-ferriei/)Beginner500 to 10,000 lux80 to 100 % RHsoil, stone, wood[Baby tooth moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/plagiomnium-cuspidatum/)Easy1,000 to 15,000 lux70 to 100 % RHsoil, stone, wood[Blunt-leaved bogmoss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/sphagnum-palustre/)Easy3,000 to 30,000 lux70 to 100 % RHsoil[Brocade moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/hypnum-imponens/)Easy2,000 to 20,000 lux60 to 95 % RHsoil, wood[Christmas moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/vesicularia-montagnei/)Easy800 to 10,000 lux85 to 100 % RHsoil, stone, wood[Common haircap](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/polytrichum-commune/)Easy3,000 to 30,000 lux60 to 100 % RHsoil[Common pocket moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/fissidens-taxifolius/)Easy400 to 6,000 lux75 to 100 % RHsoil, stone[Common smoothcap](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/atrichum-undulatum/)Easy1,000 to 10,000 lux65 to 95 % RHsoil[Fern moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/thuidium-delicatulum/)Easy1,000 to 10,000 lux70 to 100 % RHsoil, wood[Many-fruited thyme-moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/plagiomnium-affine/)Easy1,000 to 25,000 lux70 to 100 % RHsoil, stone[Mood moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/dicranum-scoparium/)Easy1,500 to 15,000 lux55 to 95 % RHsoil, stone, wood[Common apple-moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/bartramia-pomiformis/)Moderate800 to 6,000 lux70 to 95 % RHsoil, stone[Cushion moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/leucobryum-glaucum/)Moderate1,500 to 10,000 lux60 to 95 % RHsoil, stone[Dotted thyme-moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/rhizomnium-punctatum/)Moderate800 to 8,000 lux80 to 100 % RHsoil, stone, wood[Fox-tail feather-moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/thamnobryum-alopecurum/)Moderate300 to 4,000 lux80 to 100 % RHsoil, stone, wood[Red sphagnum](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/sphagnum-magellanicum/)Moderate8,000 to 50,000 lux75 to 100 % RHsoil[Seductive entodon](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/entodon-seductrix/)Moderate2,000 to 15,000 lux50 to 90 % RHstone, wood[Smaller white-moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/leucobryum-juniperoideum/)Moderate1,000 to 6,000 lux65 to 95 % RHsoil, stone, wood[Tree moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/climacium-dendroides/)Moderate3,000 to 25,000 lux70 to 100 % RHsoil[Knight's plume moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/ptilium-crista-castrensis/)Demanding1,500 to 10,000 lux70 to 100 % RHsoil, wood ## Moss for an open jar These dry-country mosses rot or yellow in a sealed jar. MossDifficultyLightHumidityGrows on[Fire moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/ceratodon-purpureus/)Easy3,000 to 50,000 lux30 to 80 % RHsoil, stone[Juniper haircap](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/polytrichum-juniperinum/)Moderate6,000 to 50,000 lux40 to 85 % RHsoil, stone[Silver moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/bryum-argenteum/)Moderate5,000 to 60,000 lux30 to 80 % RHsoil, stone[Star moss (twisted moss)](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/syntrichia-ruralis/)Moderate8,000 to 60,000 lux30 to 75 % RHsoil, stone[Rock cap moss (Hedwigia)](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/hedwigia-ciliata/)Demanding8,000 to 60,000 lux30 to 70 % RHstone[Woolly fringe-moss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/moss/racomitrium-lanuginosum/)Demanding5,000 to 60,000 lux50 to 90 % RHstone ## How moss behaves in the simulator - It gains ground two ways: thickening where it is, and creeping outward from its edge. - It climbs stones and wood it can live on, never rock of the wrong pH. - Aquarium mosses creep up the glass of a wet sealed tank. - Below 42% of its needs met it stops and slowly browns back. - It drinks from the air as much as the soil. [Press moss into a jar](https://glassjar.garden/) ## More terrarium guides - [Closed vs open terrarium: Which to build, and which plants suit each.](https://glassjar.garden/guide/closed-vs-open-terrarium/) - [Best plants for a closed terrarium: Plants that live sealed, easiest first.](https://glassjar.garden/guide/best-plants-for-closed-terrarium/) - [Terrarium layers explained: Drainage, barrier, soil and top dressing, and what each does.](https://glassjar.garden/guide/terrarium-layers/) - [Terrarium drainage: LECA vs gravel vs lava rock: Every drainage material side by side.](https://glassjar.garden/guide/drainage-leca-vs-gravel/) - [Mould in a terrarium: Why new jars fuzz, which mould matters, and how to stop it.](https://glassjar.garden/guide/terrarium-mould/) - [Springtails vs isopods: The cleanup crew compared: what each eats and where it lives.](https://glassjar.garden/guide/springtails-vs-isopods/)