Attractive all year round plants?

[inky]

Hello,

I'm going to start keeping snails again, but as I used to have a habit of scooping one up and making its tank after I have it, I've decided to be more organised and I'm making up a small tank.

I want some edible plants that also look pretty all year round.

Any suggestions?

[sallysnail]

Not edible but my spider plants are doing very well. I have just planted a living lettuce from the supermarket which is very pretty but I don't expect it will last long especially as my tank is on the warm side. Would ornamental cabbages work do you think? I might try one.

[sallysnail]

Just thought, probably not what you were after but sunflower and cress seeds would sprout quickly and add some greenery to the tank, the snails do soon scoff them though.

[muddydragon]

if it's edible you probably won't be able to keep it all year round as the snails are likely to demolish it

[morningcoffee]

I kept a very young ficus carica (brown turkey fig) in the tank for a bit - the snails did like to nibble the leaves, so I don't know if they would have destroyed it completely if I'd left it in for longer. They liked to climb it while it was in there though.

Birds-nest ferns (asplenium nidus) are good too, they're not poisonous but the snails don't seem to like to eat them too much (a nibble here and there), and as they're ferns they enjoy darker conditions. Asplenium nidus is also a rainforest plant so it likes moist soil and high humidity, so it should do well in a snail tank.

[tsrebel]

I think that all ferns are well suited. I'm in the process of re-decorating one of my terrariums now with lots of different ferns. Will let you know how it works out.