I saw "Tiny Wood Trail" in a terrarium and it seemed to be doing well.

I don't know much about them (terrariums) so I'm not the official word.

Are you married to the idea of a terrarium or would you be open to another form of growing?

Dora

Very open to other types of growing. Just looking for ideas of where to start with named avs

Hi,
I have been unsuccessful in growing AV's in a terrarium simply because they remain too wet and rot. I prefer to wick water my AV's. If you are looking for some hearty AV's which are at home on windowsills in natural light, follow the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Selective gardener

Hi,

I also agree that African violets don't do that well in a terrarium setting. In fact I have had an African violet in a rain forest terrarium for two years and it hasn't bloomed since I first put it in there. I even have a small fan in there to circulate the air. I basically only have it in there for color. I do plan on taking it out though pretty soon and put something else in there that does better.

Larry

All the people that I talk to say that in their experience, terreriums are mainly used for display for a temporary basis and once it is dissassembled - they just trash it because of all the stuff that can be hiding in the roots/dirt. The Tiny Wood Trail that I mentioned earlier grows quickly and is very compact for a terrerium environment.

lhmkc - Is there a particular reason that you seem drawn to a terrerium or a dish garden or would you be open to trying other methods with AVs? IMO, there's a lot more out there that may bring more pleasure than a terrerium.

Dora

She wants to do a terraium for the state fair but she wants to grow avs in general. I am not into avs so I dont know where to start her collection of them. She is an Orchid grower and I am trying to get her into somethingelse. She has always liked avs just when she was younger she had trouble keeping them alive. Now she is bale to and I am just looking for ideas of kinda are good to start with so I can order her some for christmas. Mom is gettting hoya pubicalyx red buttons hard to say no to avs. I was thinking that minis would be really cool but once again dont know where to start. She has outgrown Phals and gotten into dens and they are very expensive for a single mom of 3. I can get her more if I start avs. I am just kinda looking for the names of a few good performers. The terrarium thing is because mom has a large poison dart frog herbarium.

ok, that makes sense (I think)

Others can pitch in their opinion but Pixie Pink is pretty sturdy of a plant. It is a trailer (which means that it has multiple crowns that grow in different directions). I like Irish Flirt, Dresden Doll, Rob's Boolaroo and a few others. I am not sure about their likeliness to thrive in a terrerium environment.

Have you taken a look around yet at the AVSA site?

I've had such a positive experience with my local group that I am sold on promoting you attending one of those local meetings. There, you will meet people face to face and most likely be introduced to either plants you can take home right then or people you can trade with. Part of the fun of this whole AV addiction (even if you're just getting your toes wet) is the fun of sharing with others who enjoy the same thing as you and your daughters.

Good Luck,
Dora

I havent been able to get the website to load yet I will keep trying though. I wanted to get all of the plants shipped here before it gets too cold. SHe will be excited to finally have some named avs