Hermetospheres

Experiences with plant life in closed glass containers

Latest Articles

A leaf like precious, woven silk

Find out what makes an orchid’s leaf so glossy that the plant was named after a precious cloth. And learn how an early plant scientist explored the optical properties of the leaf’s epidermis.
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Perennial or not?

Discover a genus of Melastoma from the Neotropics comprising just four species, at least one of which has been found to be a perfect hermetosphere plant.
Read more: Perennial or not?
The Hoya from river Endau

Follow the two-year development of Hoya endauensis in the closed terrarium, from cutting to the first bloom, and learn what we can know about this particular wax plant.
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Moss propagules for an easy spread

Discover how the moss Bryum cf. moravicum spreads in a closed container without spores or wind or flowing water, just relying on threadlike propagules.
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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.
Read more: From Andapa to Munich to Edinburgh into cultivation
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.
Read more: Named after an anagram