Bonsai Terrarium

One of the questions that I hear all the time is “Where do I buy these tiny plants?”  So I decided to put together a guide on how to obtain terrarium plants as well as moss, stones, glass, and pretty much everything that I use for my terrariums.  I have even included a mostly complete list of where I buy terrarium materials   with a review of their prices and selection.

How to obtain terrarium plants?

Well there are basically 3 ways to ‘obtain’ plants to use in terrariums:

1.    Buy them from a store
2.    Grow from seed, take cuttings or divide larger plants
3.    Collect plants from nature

Let me talk about each one and it’s advantages and disadvantages:

1. Buy them from a store:

Obviously this method is the easiest yet you will find it to be the most expensive in the long run.  Most garden centers sell
smaller plants that are perfect for terrariums however you will end up paying $3 per plant on the cheap end.  This is how I obtained all of my plants when I first started and I still do buy some plants from stores (See list below).   But after awhile I began to think, “Where do these garden centers get their plants in the first place?”  Keep reading..

2. Grow your own from seed, cuttings and dividing up larger plants:

The plants that you  find in garden centers were either grown on site or bought wholesale from independent growers and marked up.      I want to talk about all three points individually:

Growing from seed:
This way enables you to start a lot of plants at once for a very small amount of money.  You will need to understand how to raise the plants from seed and this will also require that you put in a little time taking care of them.  This method works pretty well since terrarium plants are generally small it doesn’t take a very long time for them to get big enough to use in a terrarium.

Cuttings:
A cutting or clipping is when you cut off a growing part of the plant, generally 2-4 inches and then either place it in water or plant it in soil.  Most plants will put out new roots where you cut them and voila you will have a new plant (a clone really) with all of the characteristics of the parent plant.  I personally use this method quite frequently and it saves me a lot of money.  Of course you need to have a larger healthy parent plant to take cuttings from but you can also buy small terrarium plants and allow them to grow until they’re big enough to take cuttings from.  I do this all the time and the best thing is that a terrarium (I’m talking about a terrarium with a lid to hold in moisture) is the perfect place for a cutting to take root.  That means that most of the time you can just trim off the end of a larger plant and then stick it into the soil in a terrarium and it will root and grow.  Another point to mention is that if you have a plant growing in a terrarium now and you prune it just take the parts that you cut and put them in water or plant them in moist soil and you will have new plants!

Dividing up Larger Plants:
Normally when I buy a larger plant I will just use it to take cuttings from but sometimes I will just divide up the plant and use it in multiple terrariums.  I might also keep one part and let it grow into a larger plant which I can take cuttings from.  As you can see there are many advantages to having larger plants from which to take cuttings or divide up.   These methods give you the cheapest and most sustainable way of obtaining terrarium plants.

3. Collect Plants from Nature:

You can collect many plants from outside and put them in a terrarium. Generally I collect all of the moss I use from outside and store it in tupperware until I need to use it.  Sometimes weeds that are growing outside can look very nice inside a terrarium.  It’s really up to you but if you do decide to dig up a small plant just beware that you might be bringing unwanted pests, bacteria and disease into your terrarium.  I have found it best to keep any plants that I have collected outside separate from myother plants so as not to introduce any bugs or diseases to the rest of them.  Then once I can tell that the plant is healthy and isn’t going to infect my other plants I will use it in a terrarium.

Where I Buy Terrarium Materials:

Below is a fairly comprehensive list of where I get my terrarium materials from.  Obviously this list is comprised of the stores that are close to me where I live in the Philadelphia area so it’s not a list for everyone.  Generally I buy my glass from thrift stores, Home Goods, Marshalls, AC Moore etc.  Besides buying materials from local stores I also have ordered moss online from amazon.  I have never ordered plants or seeds online but there are a myriad of places to choose from.  Once I take that leap I will share some links.  I hope someone finds this list useful:)

Primex Garden Center
435 West Glenside Avenue
Glenside, PA 19038-3315

Review:
Primex typically has a great selection of terrarium plants as well as the cheapest prices.  Lucky me.. I live right behind Primex;)  I buy all kinds of things from Primex from reindeermoss to stones to gardening tools and seeds.  They have pretty good service, know what they’re talking about and they aren’t going to rip you off like some of the city stores do.  I also buy larger plants from Primex to take clippings from.
Bottom Line: I go to Primex first for most things that I need since they are reasonably priced and have a good selection.
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Terrain at Styer’s
914 Baltimore Pike
Glen Mills, PA 19342

Review:
Terrain is a deliberately wondrous showcase of ‘Home’ products from plants to clothing.  It’s actually owned by Urban Outfitters so don’t think that it’s a mom and pop operation and know that everything you see there is meticulously laid out to overwhelm you into spending money… BUT Terrain is pretty amazing.  Terrain is EXPENSIVE.  Now that we’ve got that out of the way.. they have a very good selection of terrarium plants as well as materials to make them.  If you don’t mind paying a ridiculous amount of money to make your terrariums then this is the place for you.  It is absolutely worth the drive out just to see the layout of everything there.. You could also stop at Longwood Gardens which is right down the road from Terrain:)
Bottom Line: Definitely make sure that you go see Terrain but it might be wise to only bring a little cash since you might be tempted to spend big $$.
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City Planter
814 N 4th St.
Philadelphia PA 19123

Review:
As overpriced and hyped up as City Planter is.. It’s where I got my start and initial inspiration for making terrariums.  I used to live just down the street from City Planter so I got to know it quite well having been in there numerous times when I lived in NorthernLiberties.  City Planter is pretty expensive.  They charge $4 per plant whereas Primes charges $3.  City Planter has a very cool little store with plants all over the place.  I think originally I was more impressed by how they laid out the inside of the store.. so much that I wanted my apartment to look like City Planter:)  But then I started look at the tiny plants and terrariums that they had there.  Their homemade terrariums are neat but pretty basic.  You can find all of the materials for terrariums at City Planter like: Moss, glass, plants, stones, charcoal, and little expensive terrarium tools;)  Bottom line: It’s worth a trip down to check it out but I wouldn’t buy anything there.. I just use it for ideas.

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Meadowbrook Farm
1633 Washington Lane
Meadowbrook, PA 19046

Review:
Meadowbrook Farm is where you can purchase the terrariums that you see on this website:)  (My setup is pictured on the left) In December after I moved up to Glenside I found Meadowbrook Farm and asked them if they would be interested in displaying or possibly selling my terrariums and it was love at first sight.  Meadowbrook Farm is very much like a toned down Terrain with genuine people and better prices.  Meadowbrook farm is by no means cheap but they do have a very good selection of interesting and rare succulents and cacti which I have used in my terrariums.  They don’t have as many moisture loving terrarium plants but they do have a nice selection of ferns.  Mostly I just buy succulents and cacti however.
Bottom Line: It’s worth a visit just to view my terrariums alone… Get over there!
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Ott’s Exotic Plants
Rte 29 & Ott Rd Ste 901
Schwenksville, PA 19473

Review:
Ott’s is a pretty cool place.  I have only been there once since it’s a bit in the middle of nowhere… Schwenksville… but it is definitely worth the trip.  The greenhouses there are HUGE and they even have a dome greenhouse with essentially a jungle growing in it.  As far as terrarium plants they have a decent selection to choose from at reasonable prices.  However I look at Ott’s more as a place to go and buy larger plants to use for cuttings which was exactly what I did;)
Bottom Line: It’s absolutely worth the trip but I wouldn’t by anything unless it was cheap or rare.
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Waterloo Gardens
136 Lancaster Avenue
Devon, PA 19333

Review:
Waterloo gardens is definitely a neat place to visit but at least from my visits they do not have many small terrarium plants.  They do have an ‘ok’ starter bonsai section (which I hit up) but Waterloo is probably best to buy larger plants for cuttings and root division.  However they do have plenty of stones and moss but the prices are a little bit of a stretch.
Bottom Line: If I was in the area I would stop by but don’t expect to get started in terrariums from Waterloo Gardens.
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Urban Jungle
1526 East Passyunk Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19147

Review:
When I first heard of Urban Jungle (Actually one of the women at City Planter suggested Urban Jungle to me) I figured that it was worth the hassle of trying to park in south Philly.  Well I was wrong..  They have a lot of space but very few useful materials to make terrariums with.  They do have a few different stones and moss but mostly the store is empty.  The other incredibly annoying fact is that they just close in the winter… Which I found out when I tried to stop for my last visit.
Bottom Line: Urban Jungle is basically a very lame version of City Planter without any plants.  If I happened to be walking down the street from Urban Jungle I would stop in (if they were open!!) but I’m not going out of my way to see their limited overpriced selection.

Glass and other Things:

New Life Thrift
800 N. Easton Rd
Glenside, PA 19038

Review:
This is my FAVORITE thrift store ever.  You never know when you are going to leave with an awesome piece of glass (or piece of furniture).  The prices are fantastic and generally it’s very easy to get around and see everything.  Don’t waste your money buying glass from more expensive stores until you’ve hit up all of your local thrift stores.
Bottom line: Thrift stores are perfect for finding glass to use for terrariums.  There is a certain element of adventure when you’re looking for that perfect piece of glass at a dirt cheap price.
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Dollar Tree
Review:
I buy all of my ‘river stones’ from the Dollar Tree as well as some kitchen utensils which I use for making terrariums.  I also have 2 turkey basters that I got from the DT which I use to water my terrariums.
Bottom line: A great place to find some materials like stones, tupperware containers and terrarium tools.
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Home Goods
Review:
Home goods is more expensive but sometimes they are the only place that has very unique and interesting pieces of glass.  They are really the only place that I have found wardian case glass boxes. (As pictured on the right).
Bottom Line: Very expensive but sometimes worth it… It can’t hurt to look;)

I hope this post gives you some good ideas as to where to obtain terrarium plants and materials. Please free to comment or contact me if you have any further questions.