Yes, it's suddenly popular...again. ;-)

I saw one with an Agave in the bowl, and had to leave a comment on facebook, describing how A) Agaves are monsters and B) drainage is a necessity. The response at first was, Well I'll just trim the agave. Hmmph. Not a chance. Ultimately, the person who'd assembled the terrarium said, Well I'm just going to re-pot everything after I've enjoyed it for a while. Fair enough, I can't argue that. Although I suspect that the plants will just die.

Josh

I have one with a Haworthia in it.

I use m8ne just as a bavkup in case my hardys turn out to not be so hardy (also 1 panda plant abd a cactis) bit thats just me my syonecrop sedum is doing better than it did outdoors! My hen and chicks are dieing one by one though tgey turn a crackaly brown on some yhen it just consumes them. Thats life i guess.

Thanks for the responses, I feel vindicated that y'all also think something IS going on. Josh, I had the same thoughts, and also wonder about the magnification effect if/when direct sun shines on the glass...

If people who don't know how to not-rot succulents see these in pics, they might not know the risks to the plants, or realize there's an added degree of difficulty in about every aspect of putting sux in terrs, especially with such brief, breezy discussion about care like the Today show bit mentioned above.

Not everybody obtains every plant with the goal of keeping it alive for eternity, like the billions of tender perennials used "as annuals" planted with the knowledge that their lives will end when cold comes back. I just feel badly for those folks in the part of the Venn diagram who think their terr sux are off to a great start of long life. Hopefully they are few.

Good vibes to anyone trying this, I do plenty of things with plants that aren't supposed to go well. I'm not 'for' or 'against' this, just curious. I admire your courage, creative thinking, and optimism. Not to mention patience arranging stuff through that little hole. Feel free to add some pics!
- Tiffany

there's a general, terrarium, fad. I think people think the succulent ones are easier which is a little silly. It doesn't get much easier than moss in a jar.

The trend is growing, that's for sure. Etsy has exploded with terrarium kits and supplies. However, I see a lot of arrangements that were obviously created for an interior design photoshoot that simply will not survive the way it is potted. Looks great in the photo, but to tack up some pity "tutorial" about putting some plant sprigs in a tiny, non-draining container is misleading and kind of irresponsible. Sort of like those succulent dishes at the BBS that put plants with completely different needs in them. You get maybe two months before something is in crisis.