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kaleanna

good plants for a children's classroom terrarium?

kaleanna
18 years ago

Hi All,

My son's teacher sent home the class terrarium so that i could take care of it over the summer. Right now there is only one lone plant in there and so i would like to spruce it up. I was wondering (since this will be the first terrarium ive ever done) what are good plants for a children's classroom terrarium? It is a small tank with a lid on it.

and any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Meesh

Comments (10)

  • sahoyaref
    18 years ago

    Can you tell us exactly how big the tank is? Does it look like a 10 gallon fish tank? What is the medium being used? (Potting soil, perlite, etc) Do you have the teacher's permission to 'spruce it up'? How much sun does it get in the classroom? What kind of plant is already there?

  • kaleanna
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    its a small fishtank,(i am not sure of size gallon wise.) yes i have the teacher's permission to spruce it up. It had a cactus in there and from what i have read and what ive been told that the terrarium isnt good for cacti i promptly took out the cactus and repotted it. I havent seen the new room that the teacher will be in come next school yr yet so im guessing low to med light just to be on the safe side. potting soil is the medium being used.

    Meesh

  • sahoyaref
    18 years ago

    Well, it's probably a 10 gallon, since that is the standard 'small fishtank'. Just to make sure, can you measure it and give the dimentions in inches? Or figure it out yourself, by doing length x width x height (all in inches), and then divide by 231. The answer you get is the number of gallons.

    Good choice on removing the cactus, as they are totally the wrong choice for a terrarium, especially one that is using potting soil and is probably in low light.

    Potting soil is fine, but it would be better if you could add some extra perlite to it to increase soil aeration. And it only needs to be 2-3" deep. I would vary the height to make it more interesting. For example, you could make the back higher than the front, or make it slope to one side.

    For plant suggestions, since this is a classroom terrarium that will probably not get a lot of maintenance, I'd stick to plants that stay naturally small, and will not need constant trimming to stay in check. A mini African Violet would be a good choice if it doesn't stay too moist. The glass cover should allow a little crack to let air in and excessive heat out. A mini fern like 'Fluffy Ruffles' would also be good (all other ferns will get WAY to big in a year or less). Selaginella kraussiana or uncinata (club moss) would make a good groundcover. I like the 'aurea' (golden) version of S. kraussiana better than the regular green, because it really helps brighten things up in the terrarium. Some ferns may naturally start to grow in the terrarium just from spores in the potting soil, and they can be left, as they will take a very long time to gain any real size, and depending on the species, may never grow large. You could also add a neat piece of driftwood or some nice rocks to the landscaping. An air plant (tillandsia) could be attached to the driftwood. Just make sure you pick one that enjoys more moisture (they appear more green, others appear more silver) and stays small. T. stricta or T. ionatha might be a good choice. Hmmmmmm. . . . fittonia is great for low light, but is a rampant grower, as is Ficus pumila. . . same deal with english ivy and wandering jew. . . You could plant the smallest Neanthe Bella palm that you can find. It will be good for a few years before it outgrows the tank. A small cryptanthus might be good, but they will revert to plain green if not given enough light, and will form a large, spreading clump if happy, so maybe not the best choice.

    DON'T plant an aluminium plant or polka-dot plant. They seem to be perfect terrarium plants because of their small leaves and slower growth habit, but they rot and drop their leaves easily in that much humidity.

    If you don't mind spending some more money, and you like Rob's Violets anyways, you could place an order with them. They carry many mini plants. Check the link below.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Rob's

  • butterbeanbaby
    18 years ago

    Wow, what a fluke. I was just reading an article on this subject in a kids' gardening book and decided to pop into GW to see what other info I could find. My daughter is home for the whole summer this year and I thought this would be a great project for us.

    We have two choices of location, both in a northfacing window with no direct light. One location is bright and the other is darker. Any thoughts on which would be a better bet?

    Holly

  • client_m
    18 years ago

    Some other good terrarium plants are small sanderianas, mondo grass, arrowhead, Baby's tears, and Ficus pumila 'Quercifolia' or 'Minima'. The link below and www.logees.com show the above species.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Terrarium Plants

  • necro1234
    18 years ago

    Well kids can be murder to sensitive plants, but I can tell you one thing, Carnivorous plants will get a ton more attention than a cactus, lol
    A venus flytrap is nice but may be a poor choice due to the overwhelming temptation to fiddle with it so itll snap shut (which will eventually exhaust the poor thing), so a nice hardy plant that will keep the kids going "WOW" for the entire year would be something like a nice Drosera Capensis (South african sundew)

    I think a nice "Broad Leaf D. Capensis" would be great.
    They very very tough, beutiful and when the kids drop the odd insect in there, seeing the plant curl its leaf over the insect in about 15-20 minutes is an awesome sight.

    Just an idea though :)

    Cheers

    Sheldon

    PS: If this was done ofcause you would need sphagnum peat moss to pot with (and mabey a mix of perlite, no normal soil) and then ofcause the only downside is that you need clean water (less than 50 ppm TDS and no chlorine, aka distilled or R/o water is best is available)

  • sahoyaref
    18 years ago

    Holly: always pick the location with more light (unless it's a large south window). Plants need light to grow, and they will grow more compactly (something you want in a terrarium) with better light. Just make sure your lid has some small holes or a little crack to allow excess heat to escape, or you will cook your plants.

    Meesh: forget about the 'sanderianas' or 'arrowhead' plants. I looked at the link, and for some reason, they call dracaenas 'sanderianas'. This doesn't make sense at all since there is actually a species D. sanderiana: Lucky Bamboo, so they shouldn't collectively call Drac's 'sanderianas'. All drac's will quickly outgrow a terrarium, as will an arrowhead plant (Syngonium). Mondo grass is good though. Acorus would also be good, and you can get a variegated version. Babie's tears might be good, but they might become invasive.

    CPs would be great choices, and you should ALWAYS use RO water or rainwater on a terrarium, regardless of what plants you have in there. Unlike growing plants in pots or in the ground, excess minerals and 'salts' cannot be flushed away, so they will build up and eventually kill the plants. Some people have problems with D. capensis though, so I'd go with something easier, like D. adelae or D. rotundifolia. Make sure you get tropical carnivores, not temperate ones (like sarracenia and most pinguiculas) that will need a dormancy period.

  • client_m
    18 years ago

    Below is an informative link on terrariums. It includes a list of plants that are suitable for the terrarium or dish garden. Plants are selected based on the dimensions of the terrarium.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Terrariums

  • kaleanna
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    thank you for all your advice and suggestions. as soon as i decide on what to choose I will let you all know how the progress is going.

    Meesh

  • breezyb
    18 years ago

    Nix the Venus Flytraps.

    Contrary to what most folks think, Flytraps are actually winterhardy outdoor plants - not terrarium plants - which is why so many of them die after a short period of time.

    If you're interested in possible carniverous plants for your terrarium, check out the Carniverous Plant forum here for indoor/terrarium suggestions.

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