--- title: Best plants for a closed terrarium | Glass Jar Garden description: 42 plants that live in a sealed jar, easiest first, with the light, humidity and size each needs: from nerve plants and ferns to carnivorous plants. url: https://glassjar.garden/guide/best-plants-for-closed-terrarium/ --- Guide # Best plants for a closed terrarium 42 of the 49 plants in the guide live happily in a sealed jar. They are listed easiest first, with the light and humidity they want and how big they get. Pick small, slow plants that like the same things: a closed jar is one climate, so a fern that wants 90% humidity and a succulent that wants 40% cannot share it. PlantDifficultyLightHumidityFull size[Arrowhead plant (dwarf cultivars, e.g. 'Mini Pixie')](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/syngonium-podophyllum-mini/)Beginner2,500 to 10,000 lux50 to 90 % RH14 cm tall, 14 cm wide[Asparagus fern](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/asparagus-setaceus/)Beginner2,500 to 15,000 lux40 to 80 % RH40 cm tall, 32.5 cm wide[Baby tears pilea](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/pilea-depressa/)Beginner2,500 to 10,000 lux60 to 95 % RH5.5 cm tall, 32.5 cm wide[Baby's tears](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/soleirolia-soleirolii/)Beginner1,500 to 8,000 lux60 to 95 % RH10 cm tall, 135 cm wide[Cape sundew](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/drosera-capensis/)Beginner10,000 to 30,000 lux50 to 90 % RH15 cm tall, 20 cm wide[Creeping fig](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/ficus-pumila/)Beginner2,500 to 15,000 lux50 to 90 % RH350.5 cm tall, 137 cm wide[Creeping fig 'Minima'](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/ficus-pumila-minima/)Beginner2,500 to 10,000 lux50 to 95 % RH17.5 cm tall, 65 cm wide[Dwarf mondo grass 'Nana'](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/ophiopogon-japonicus-nana/)Beginner2,500 to 15,000 lux40 to 90 % RH10 cm tall, 25 cm wide[Dwarf sweet flag](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/acorus-gramineus-pusillus/)Beginner2,500 to 15,000 lux60 to 100 % RH7.5 cm tall, 11.5 cm wide[Earth star](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/cryptanthus-bivittatus/)Beginner3,000 to 12,000 lux50 to 85 % RH10 cm tall, 15 cm wide[Lemon button fern](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/nephrolepis-cordifolia-duffii/)Beginner2,500 to 10,000 lux50 to 85 % RH25 cm tall, 30 cm wide[Mexican butterwort](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/pinguicula-mexican/)Beginner8,000 to 25,000 lux40 to 80 % RH3.5 cm tall, 10.5 cm wide[Mini spider plant](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/chlorophytum-comosum-mini/)Beginner1,500 to 15,000 lux40 to 90 % RH17.5 cm tall, 25 cm wide[Moon Valley pilea](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/pilea-involucrata-moon-valley/)Beginner2,500 to 10,000 lux60 to 90 % RH19 cm tall, 19 cm wide[Parlour palm](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/chamaedorea-elegans/)Beginner800 to 10,000 lux40 to 90 % RH40 cm tall, 27.5 cm wide[Pennywort](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/hydrocotyle-tripartita/)Beginner1,500 to 10,000 lux60 to 100 % RH6.5 cm tall, 40 cm wide[Pilea 'Aquamarine'](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/pilea-glauca/)Beginner2,500 to 10,000 lux60 to 95 % RH5.5 cm tall, 40 cm wide[Polka dot plant](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/hypoestes-phyllostachya/)Beginner5,000 to 15,000 lux50 to 90 % RH45.5 cm tall, 26.5 cm wide[Pothos](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/epipremnum-aureum/)Beginner800 to 15,000 lux40 to 100 % RH27.5 cm tall, 115 cm wide[Red flame ivy](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/hemigraphis-alternata/)Beginner2,500 to 12,000 lux50 to 95 % RH11.5 cm tall, 30 cm wide[Trailing watermelon](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/pellionia-repens/)Beginner1,000 to 8,000 lux60 to 95 % RH7.5 cm tall, 45 cm wide[Wandering dude](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/tradescantia-zebrina/)Beginner1,500 to 12,000 lux45 to 100 % RH15 cm tall, 60 cm wide[Anubias nana](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/anubias-barteri-nana/)Easy1,000 to 8,000 lux70 to 100 % RH8.5 cm tall, 14 cm wide[Bird's nest fern (dwarf)](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/asplenium-nidus-dwarf/)Easy2,000 to 8,000 lux60 to 90 % RH27.5 cm tall, 27.5 cm wide[Dwarf Boston fern](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/nephrolepis-exaltata-dwarf/)Easy2,500 to 10,000 lux60 to 90 % RH25 cm tall, 32.5 cm wide[Emerald ripple peperomia](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/peperomia-caperata/)Easy2,500 to 10,000 lux40 to 70 % RH17.5 cm tall, 22.5 cm wide[Java fern](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/microsorum-pteropus/)Easy1,000 to 8,000 lux75 to 100 % RH17.5 cm tall, 20 cm wide[Jewel orchid](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/ludisia-discolor/)Easy1,000 to 8,000 lux60 to 90 % RH26.5 cm tall, 34 cm wide[Krauss's spikemoss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/selaginella-kraussiana/)Easy1,000 to 5,000 lux70 to 95 % RH6.5 cm tall, 37.5 cm wide[Mini nerve plant](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/fittonia-mini/)Easy2,500 to 10,000 lux60 to 90 % RH7.5 cm tall, 17.5 cm wide[Neoregelia 'Fireball'](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/neoregelia-fireball/)Easy8,000 to 25,000 lux50 to 90 % RH11.5 cm tall, 15 cm wide[Nerve plant](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/fittonia-albivenis/)Easy2,500 to 10,000 lux60 to 90 % RH14 cm tall, 30 cm wide[Peacock spikemoss](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/selaginella-uncinata/)Easy1,000 to 5,000 lux70 to 95 % RH11.5 cm tall, 37.5 cm wide[Rabbit's foot fern](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/davallia-fejeensis/)Easy2,500 to 10,000 lux50 to 80 % RH30 cm tall, 45 cm wide[String of turtles](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/peperomia-prostrata/)Easy5,000 to 15,000 lux50 to 80 % RH7.5 cm tall, 19 cm wide[Trailing jade](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/peperomia-rotundifolia/)Easy2,500 to 10,000 lux40 to 80 % RH5.5 cm tall, 30 cm wide[Flask-shaped pitcher plant](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/nepenthes-ampullaria/)Moderate3,000 to 15,000 lux70 to 95 % RH37.5 cm tall, 40 cm wide[Grass-leaved bladderwort](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/utricularia-graminifolia/)Moderate4,000 to 20,000 lux80 to 100 % RH2.5 cm tall, 40 cm wide[Rex begonia (miniature cultivars)](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/begonia-rex-mini/)Moderate5,000 to 20,000 lux75 to 95 % RH17.5 cm tall, 22.5 cm wide[Shingle plant](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/marcgravia-rectiflora/)Moderate1,500 to 8,000 lux70 to 100 % RH6.5 cm tall, 37.5 cm wide[Maidenhair fern](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/adiantum-raddianum/)Demanding2,500 to 10,000 lux70 to 95 % RH40 cm tall, 48 cm wide[Tailed orchid (miniature Masdevallia)](https://glassjar.garden/guide/plants/masdevallia-mini/)Demanding10,764 to 21,528 lux60 to 90 % RH17.5 cm tall, 10 cm wide ## Before you plant - Pick plants that share light, temperature and soil wetness. Desert and jungle plants never share a jar. - Small and slow growers: a tall plant soon hits the lid. - Leave room between them; they spread and shade each other. - Trim what touches the glass and pick out dead leaves. [Plant a jar in the simulator](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 moss for a terrarium: Mosses for closed and open jars, and what they grow on.](https://glassjar.garden/guide/best-moss-for-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/)