Hermetospheres

Experiences with plant life in closed glass containers

Latest Articles

Neither strawberry nor begonia nor geranium

Saxifraga stolonifera, commonly known as the strawberry begonia or strawberry geranium, demonstrates that there are plants of non-tropical origin that can thrive in the closed terrarium. Not only can the plant grow under a wide variety of conditions, but it also exhibits great diversity in its appearance. Recent research findings shed light on the underlying…
Read more: Neither strawberry nor begonia nor geranium
Unexplained breakdowns

Sometimes, a container just heads towards decline, and you don’t know why. Even if you think you have found the ideal conditions for your hermetospheres after years of experience and dozens of tries. Let me show two examples where, after a promising start, none of the plants simply would thrive.
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Collected once and never again since?

You wouldn’t expect this from such a widely grown plant: it appears that all cultivated specimens are descended from a single wild collection. Discover the story of the Asian Violet and find out how it thrives in a closed terrarium.
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A truly tiny dwarf

Within the pepper family (Piperaceae), species of the genus Peperomia are also known as ‘dwarf pepper’. They are found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. Some of them have long been popular with horticulturists in Europe, including this particularly small as well as pretty species. Here is how Peperomia prostrata is doing in…
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From Andapa to Munich to Edinburgh into cultivation

Discover how Plectranthus rosulatus, a Madagascar endemic belonging to the Deadnettle Family, found its way into science and cultivation, and how the plant is doing in the hermetosphere.
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Named after an anagram

Find out how the fern Selliguea metacoela is doing in the closed terrarium and how this fern genus got its name.
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Decline and resurgence

This is another story of a plant that has undergone prosperity, decline and resurgence in the hermetosphere. Follow the timeline of an astonishing development of a small, creeping Begonia from Borneo.
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Diving into the world of bryophytes

Mosses and other bryophytes are often overlooked or regarded as decorative add-ons to flowering plants. On a closer look, however, an entire miniature wold can be observed. One of my closed terraria with at least three different bryophytes thriving made me dive deeper into this fascinating group of plants.
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Vivipary in two Gesneriads

In viviparous plants, the embryo grows sufficiently to emerge visibly from within the seed tissues before dispersal (Farnsworth 2000: 108). The number of plant species for which vivipary belongs to the usual form of reproduction in their natural habitats is relatively small. However, in some plant species where this form of reproduction is unusual, vivipary…
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The blue iridescence of the red Selaginella

Iridescence is the name of shimmering blue metallic colors of certain plants that appear to change as the angle of view changes. You can find out how it is produced in Selaginella erythropus, why it cannot be seen with the bare eye and how unusual this is in the plant kingdom. Before that, it is…
Read more: The blue iridescence of the red Selaginella