A Closed Terrarium For Our Maidenhair Fern - February 2022

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Over the weekend, I posted some photos and an update on our potted Maidenhair Fern.  After having this delicate plant in our house for close to a year, it was time to give the soil a little refresh and to give it a closer look as Winter and the dry air in our house was taking a toll on it.  In that post, I also talked about a little bit of digging around the Web that I did in order to figure out how I can best help the fern live its best life.   If you read anything about Maidenhair Ferns, you'll find that most people recommend that they do best with very humid environments and that some people even talk about misting the fronds of the Maidenhair fern 'multiple times a day'.  Who the heck has time for that?!?  

But, as I kept poking around on ferns and houseplants, I continued to come across resources talking about terrariums.  There are all sorts of terrariums.  Open ones.  Closed ones.  Succulent ones.  Orchid ones.  And, variations on those ideas.  You can't swing a Google search without coming up with various listicles of the '16 best terrarium plants' and what-have-you. 

I've tried a terrarium before.  A closed terrarium.  I received a really lovely, large-scale closed terrarium that has a large glass top and a solid tray bottom.  Based on what I knew (at the time), I went ahead and tried to make it work.  Charcoal at bottom for drainage plus direct planting in soil in the tray.  It didn't last long and I abandoned the project when everything that I had planted died.  Now...what I didn't know at the time is that there are certain plants that are viable in open terrariums.  And certain plants that are viable in closed terrariums.  

Guess what plant shows up on a number of lists for closed terrariums?  That's right, Maidenhair Fern.

I went out to the garage and found my old terrarium and brought it in.  It is pretty dirty, but she sure is pretty, right?

I'm thinking that once I clean it up, I'm going to take a different tact this time:  instead of planting in soil, I'm just going to move a few containers inside.  See how they do.  Starting with the Maidenhair Fern. 

But, where to put it?

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

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