S. pusilla is a tropical rainforest plant- it's care is ridiculously simple, as long as you keep two major needs in mind: It needs high humidity and warmth. Both conditions are easy to maintain in a normal house, inside a terrarium. I have seen beautiful plants grown in open air, on wicks, and I am having successful experiments with tiny little Texas-style potting; However I can't recommend the methods unless you want to be experimental- no guarantees!

A terrarium for S. pusilla is also very simple: anything big enough to leave a little space around the plant, and either partially covered, or tall enough to retain humidity within. I find that any clear container that's about 3" (5cm) or so wide is adequate (4" will leave more room for flowers and look more balanced I think), and anything with sides taller than a brandy snifter of that size doesn't always need a cover- though it's much easier to keep humidity high without constantly watering, if you keep a loose-fitting cover over the opening anyway.

My favorite displays are actually 5 inch wide spherical "Bubble Bowls", which I cover with a piece of plastic or small plastic yogurt cup lid when I'm not displaying them. These fit loosely to keep the air fresher within the bowl. I also stack the bowls sometimes, but don't try this at home kids :)

Before leaving the cover off for long, I mist with a light spritz of warmed distilled water to avoid possible leaf spotting/browning.
Portland, Oregon water is very soft and clean, but many other places even nearby have harder water that can cause discoloration. This depends on the particular composition of your water- some hard waters seem to do no damage at all, but will leave white crusty stuff still, and that can get ugly as it turns brown and green.

For growing out young plants, I often use clear plastic drinking cups, or even the small 2 oz. plastic condiment cups with a second one placed upside-down over the top, a strip of tape on one side making it into a 'clamshell' greenhouse. I have also grown out nearly all of my seedlings in open pots, inside a small aquarium which is about 3/4 covered, and they do fine. In fact, growing them in a container with some air movement seems to make them less sensitive to changes in the environment than they are if grown in nearly sealed containers, then moved later.

Here is how I set up the terrariums, of whatever sort:

First, put a 1/2" layer of washed horticultural charcoal or fresh aquarium filter carbon in the bottom of the container if there will be no drainage holes. Sometimes I put it in anyway, even with drainage, because it really does help keep the root zone fresher.

Next, top the charcoal with 1/2 to 1" of planting medium- and they will thank you to keep it light! My best plants are grown in pure chopped green sphagnum moss- in such small amounts you can even afford to use the elite 'New Zealand Sphagnum' which costs more but also has superior lasting and water retention capability. (And often the real source is South America, here in the US, but then S. pusilla isn't from New Zealand, either!)

Personally, I use whatever green moss is closest, even chopping it in a food processor if it's the long-fiber kind. Just please avoid florist's mosses which can be chemically treated and dyed. To pasteurize mosses, just boil a pot of water, when it comes to a boil, take if off the burner. as soon as it stops bubbling, toss the moss in and let sit until cooled, then strain out.
This will get rid of nasty bugs without completely sterilizing the moss, which you don't want because the good bacteria are necessary in the medium for good growth of your pusilla.
I also use a mix of 1/3 each sphagnum peat, perlite, and vermiculite with good results, though it's not as pretty to my eye. Another mix I have succeeded with is about 1/3 to 1/2 well-rinsed (to get out any salts) coconut coir, and the rest perlite. Sometimes I add a little dolomite to these mixes, sometimes not. S. pusilla doesn't seem to care as much as some others about the acidity of the soil. If you're not fertilizing much, the soil will not acidify like it does in heavily fertilized, unlimed mixes.

Sinningia pusilla doesn't much care for fertilizers. The only time I feed, is once when there are at least four true leaves on seedlings, and once, about a week after transplanting. I have aquariums as well, and don't use any algicides or other chemicals in them, so I will water with water from the tanks in the terrariums about 2-3 times a year (more won't hurt, if they're in pots that drain). All of my more sensitive plants find this to be plenty of food. If you are growing in pots with drainage holes and flushing them with rain distilled water at least once each couple months, you can try feeding occasionally more often, but I don't recommend it unless plants are showing very obvious deficiency symptoms- unlikely in the case of these plants.

I would say "don't bother"- but they really do look better with a little spruce-up occasionally. If you really must primp them, due to company you must impress for example, here's how.
The most useful tools will be either a pointed small scalpel and tweezers (grab and cut), or more practically, if not so precise, a small, sharp, pointed pair of scissors. Don't try to just pull off old flowerstalks and yellowing leaves- you will break the plant from the tuber half the time.
To pull those, use tweezers to gently tug down, out, and away from the plant at the same time. Easier said than done, and sometimes I have used a toothpick (or the sharp end of those bamboo skewers) to sort of hold back the crown as I'm pulling.
But really, the easiest grooming method is to use those little scissors to VERY CAREFULLY snip off old flower stems and leaves as close to the center of the plant as you dare get. Those tiny little thread scissors suddenly seem much bigger and clumsier when they're in the business of a plant half their size. This isn't brain surgery, but it can be nerve-wracking if you haven't done it before! Remember the mantra "It Will Grow Back"; and if you stay relaxed, nothing will go wrong anyway :)

If you get live packaged plants, please remove the packaging from the plants to get them some fresh air as soon as possible. If it's a very dry day, it is a good idea to lay some plastic wrap or a plastic baggie loosely over them so they don't dry out completely. If plants appear dry already, please mist them with a little warm water while you prepare their new home.

When you've set up the terrariums to your satisfaction, it's time to carefully transfer your plants into their miniature garden. You will find a thin tool useful- I usually use a long drinking straw, with one end cut off at a sharp angle so there is a longer point on one side. This pointed 'digging tool' in invaluable for moving such tiny plants, and seedlings of many other gesneriads; also cacti, begonias, and other very tiny growing things. And, it won't put your eye out if you're as clumsy as I am! Another tool I use a lot, and am growing to use more as I get used to them, are bamboo kebab skewers, used like long skinny chopsticks. Just move aside a little of the moss or mix, set plant into it, and poke a tiny bit of moss or mix back over the roots. Don't worry if the tiny tuber is not completely covered, but if it's mostly so and most roots are covered it will be fine. Try not to bury the crown of the plant though. Mist with warm water to settle it in...

Easy, easy, easy. Make up a terrarium as mentioned earlier. Mist with warm water until moist and there's a film of water under the charcoal. Drop a few seeds in, preferably by sprinking a few on white paper and dropping them from a crease in it so you can at least see them. Cover the container and place in a warm place with some light. Ignore until either they look like they're dry, or they start blooming (about 3 months often as not). There you are :)

If you've planted too close (very likely, I still plant too many seeds no matter how careful I try to be), you can plant out as mentioned for young plants earlier here.

If you want to collect your own seed, tap the flowers that have been open a couple of few days, which shakes up the pollen and often is enough to pollinate the flowers.
Then simply trim off the tiny seedpods that will ripen about a month after flowers fade (Carefully, or see note about 'Broken Plants'); Place pod into a folded up piece of thin white paper and let dry for a day or so. when pods are realeasing the seed, shake out the pods into the paper with tweezers and remove the stems and debris. Make sure seed is completely dry, then store in refrigerator until planting if it will be more than a couple weeks. It takes very little seed to make dozens of plants, so share with friends!

• Rain or distilled water, try to avoid water high in salts or hardness.


• Very mild fertilizers, almost none at all.


• Very light soil mix, or pure green moss


• High humidity, easiest to grow in a terrarium.


• Low light, no direct sunlight. S. pusilla grows well and blooms almost without ceasing out at the edges of light shelves, or in a spot that gets light, but not quite enough to keep an African Violet happy and blooming.


• Warmth. Don't let the pusillas get chilly toes! They can die back if the temperature falls down below 60°F for very long, though the tuber may resprout. A constant 68 to 80°F is ideal. Warm water at least to room temperature for watering, and use hot water for misting (It cools off as mist!).