I made my second terrarium today! I used dyed reindeer moss for ground cover. The plants are a Spider Plant, Fittonia, Button fern, and Aralia. I'm not sure what will happen with the spider plant. It has a huge root ball, and I might eventually have to re-pot it if it gets too big. I am hoping the button fern will grow outward and provide some more ground coverage.
kleinbl00 and In case you read the last post: the Hawthoria and hens and chicks in my succulent vase are doing great so far. The air plant is looking a little dry, but I've been soaking it weekly, keeping it indirect sunlight, and making sure it gets some air flow. I'm not sure why it looks unhappy.
It'll be pretty cool. Plan for the spider plant to grow the hell out of that container in a matter of weeks - they're fast, they're runners, and they don't like to be contained. I used to have a hanging one that draped about 5' and weighed maybe 30 lbs. Tillandsias don't really like living with anything else. I'm not surprised it's mad. They grow where nothing else does, so if everything else is happy, it's by definition a hostile environment for tillandsia. A suggestion? plant a terrarium with the intention to see how cool it will look in six weeks, in six months, a year. Somewhere I've got a picture of the one I built inside this awesome '60s bubble terrarium. It was like this one: except I ditched the stand and hung it from a leather webwork I built. Looked dope. But it didn't really hit its stride until the plants had a chance to settle in and grow together.
Great-- thanks for the heads up on the spider plant. Maybe I'll move tillandsia to a happier, more solitary place. I could put it into its own little open teardrop globe or probably something that allows for more air. Good idea to plant a more future-minded terrarium. But I won't likely make another big one for a while-- I'm running out of good spots in my small, mostly-windowless apartment. Well that may be getting a little ambitious for me!it from a leather webwork I built
I had a tillandsia that lived in a shell with a magnet on it. It sat on the fridge for like 3 years. They're tough to get to bloom (never succeeded) but they also thrive under neglect. Here's your next project: build one that's easy to take care of (maybe you already have). Live with it for a few months. Then give it to someone you like.