Guide
Which plants go together?
By Paul Reaney · Updated 5 August 2026
Pairing terrarium plants comes down to one hard rule and three soft ones. The hard rule: every plant in the vessel must want the same climate — all humidity-lovers, or all dry-air plants, never both. After that, match the light, mix the shapes, and don't let a fast grower bully a slow one.
1. Match the climate (the hard rule)
A terrarium is one climate in one vessel. Ferns, mosses and fittonia want sealed humidity; succulents and air plants want dry, moving air. Mix them and you're running a hospital: whatever you set, someone's dying. Every plant here is tagged closed or open — pick one tag and stay inside it.
2. Match the light
The vessel sits in one spot, so everyone gets the same light. Most tropical terrarium plants agree on bright indirect light, which makes this easy — just don't pair a shade-tolerant moss build with a light-hungry earth star and expect both to shine.
3. Mix the shapes, not the needs
Good builds vary form while keeping needs identical: a carpet (moss, baby's tears), a midground shape (fern, peperomia), one feature plant (jewel orchid, nerve plant), and something trailing or climbing (pilea depressa, creeping fig). One plant per job stops the scene turning into a hedge.
4. Respect growth rates
Pair a vigorous spreader with a slow grower and the spreader wins the vessel by summer. Either group thugs with thugs (pothos, creeping fig — and prune), or keep everything slow (peperomias, haworthias, moss) for a build that holds its shape.
Five combinations that work
The classic closed jar
Small sealed jar or bottleThe proven first build. All three love sealed humidity, stay small, and cover the three visual jobs — a splash of colour, a mossy floor, and soft trailing edges.
The lush showcase
Medium–large closed vesselA layered rainforest scene: velvet leaves as the focal point, a compact fern for structure, moss below and a climber to soften the hardscape. All strict humidity-lovers.
The desert bowl
Open bowl or dish, bright spot- Echeveria· feature rosette
- Zebra haworthia· structure
- Hens and chicks· clustering filler
- Burro's tail· trailing over the rim
Four succulents with identical needs — dry air, gritty mix, bright light, sparse water — and four different shapes, so the bowl reads as a landscape rather than a row.
The beginner-proof build
Open or closed, mediumThree of the most forgiving plants in the directory, all happy in either environment — so the build survives beginner watering and an imperfect spot while you learn.
The carnivore corner
Its own vessel — never mixed- Sundew· gnat control
- Venus flytrap· the showpiece (open only)
- Tropical pitcher· the showpiece (closed only)
Carnivores need nutrient-poor substrate and pure (rain/distilled) water — conditions that starve ordinary plants, while ordinary substrate slowly kills carnivores. Give them their own build, and note the flytrap wants open air while the pitcher wants sealed humidity.
Want to build your own combination? Filter the full directory by type and size, and shortlist as you go.
FAQ
Which plants can live together in a terrarium?+
Plants can share a terrarium when they need the same climate. Humidity-lovers — ferns, moss, fittonia, selaginella — pair with each other in closed builds; succulents, cacti and air plants pair with each other in open ones. The combination that never works is mixing the two groups: whatever conditions you set, one side is slowly dying.
Can you mix succulents and ferns in a terrarium?+
No. Ferns need constant humidity and moist substrate; succulents rot in exactly those conditions and need dry air and fast-draining grit. There is no middle setting that keeps both healthy — choose one climate and pick every plant from that side.
How many plants should go in a terrarium?+
Fewer than looks right on day one — plant it about two-thirds as full as the final look you want. As a rough guide: two or three species in a small jar, four or five in a medium vessel. Overcrowding is one of the most common beginner mistakes, and terrarium plants fill space quickly.
Can carnivorous plants share a terrarium with other plants?+
It's best not to mix them. Carnivorous plants need nutrient-poor, peat-based substrate and only rain or distilled water; ordinary tropical plants want richer substrate that releases the very minerals and nutrients that kill carnivores. Keep flytraps, sundews and pitchers in their own dedicated build.
Should terrarium plants have the same light needs?+
Yes — a terrarium sits in one spot, so every plant in it receives the same light. Group plants whose light needs match (most tropical terrarium plants want bright indirect light; many succulents take some direct sun), and check each plant's light rating before adding it.