No, don't put a bonsai in a terrarium. They need far more air circulation than it would provide. You can still use smaller plants, but I think you need to first do a lot of research so your nice gift will last. Do you have a particular container in mind, or ???

Actually a bonsai can be done BUT it is not easy. As Lucy mentioned, air circulation in a big issue, and for that matter so is lighting, and tank size. A bonsai tree will generally require a large tank 55 gal or more. You will not be able to plant the bonsai directly in the tank ... it must stay in its pot though the pot could be planted in the tank. It would need to be removed regularly to trim the tree's branches and roots. Many tree species MUST have a winter dormancy -- something not easy to do in a tank. Air circulation can be provided by installing PC fans in the tank. Lighting needs must be met. If you have no experience with bonsai, I wouldn't recommend you try one in a terr.

A wonderful idea but again one that will require LOTS and LOTS of research needs to be done 1st. I'd recommend you look at the gallery for this forum as well as read through the various threads on this forum before jumping into things.

You will need to first and foremost decide how big a set up are you interested in doing and how much maintainence are you willing and able to do. For instance, many plants will need regular pruning to keep things looking nice.

Good luck and keep us posted!
: )

You can put bonsais in terrarium, but not pines, best if the bonsai is a tropical plant.

One issue also is having the pot (or plant itself) sit in water at the bottom of the tank (which will rot roots), so it would have to be up out of the water somehow. Some people have used ficus in tanks and made it work.