Tag: terrarium

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Maintenance: Plant Propagation.

I’ve had some difficulties with propagations with my “string of turtles”. It’s more because of its placement, and to add to that, the humidity had dipped well below 50%. Understandable, at this point, there’s the solutions going towards giving this plant a humidity dome, or any covering that traps the humidity. This can be as simple as using plastic wrap to cover the tops of the plant pot. For some plants, this works. For others, it doesn’t and often results in the development of mold, and the end of the plant’s life will soon follow.

I’ve gone the route of looking through the pot with the “string of turtles”, and what I’ve seen is that the plant is well rooted into the top soil, and is still currently growing. For the vines and exposed leaves on the vines, I chose to remove those and put them in another location.

This location, was another terrarium, where I filled it with both sphagnum moss and sheet moss. I of course soaked and squeezed out the excess water, prior to placing them inside of the terrarium, followed by the “string of turtle” cuttings. Since the humidity levels are still quite low, it has to be covered at all times, maybe I’ll remove the cover for an hour or so, on a weekly basis. I’ve decided to do so once a week, after discovering one terrarium I didn’t open for a bit, and well, the smell wasn’t pleasant. Now, it’s not to say that terrariums should always be aired out, because some terrarium designs are permanent, and they are closed permanently. When this happens, you need something extra for its longevity. This is for another topic, and I will discuss this in another entry.

This isn’t the only set of changes with propagations I’ve looked at. The sundews, a good majority of my spoon-leaved sundews died, but from what I found out, sundews of most varieties, can be propagated easily, because they really don’t need much to multiply themselves. In the right conditions, sundews can create clusters of themselves. I know this, because my first, and second, set of spoon-leaved sundews, came in clusters when they were shipped to me.

The conditions I had some of my sundews in, were an open terrarium, where the bottom and surroundings were made up of a similar combination of what I chose for my “string of turtle” cuttings. I used those, with also a couple of parlor palms, just for a different look. I didn’t see what was coming, which were ferns growing out of the sheet moss. Since the terrariums are clear glass, I can fill the bottoms just enough with water, so that the mosses can be soaked in water, along with the sundews. The sundews are also comfortable in boggy conditions, and the sphagnum moss holds lots of moisture, this is perfect to protect the plants from the drops in humidity outside of the terrarium. Win-win!

This worked so well, I’m trying the same template with some more sundews, that are separated from the ones in that open terrarium I just discussed. Since those developed clusters of sundews, all the more reasons to try this out, in another setting. Granted, this will be a bit smaller, but they will still have wet sphagnum moss, and sheet moss, as the base of the setup. For this however, I’ve placed some plastic wrap over the top of the container to start.

Before I’ve tried all of what I mentioned, I also had some other sundew propagations in water, that I transitioned in a mixture of sand and peat moss, and a lot of water. This was placed in a clear container with a lid. For a bit, I had them covered, but as soon as I removed the cover, many started drying out very fast. This may be due to the very low humidity, which made the timing quite bad, so, I replaced the lid that covered these plants. I periodically check on them to see if they will recover. If not, then I know what my mistake was, and I won’t make that mistake again.

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Hacks For (Some) Home Planting.

There are occasionally things that aren’t available all year ’round, especially if you live in an urban area such as NYC. In knowing this, there will be times where you need to be creative, or get some helpful tips from others.

This involves almost everything, especially hobbies like planting.

Oddly enough, one of the best hacks out there for plant enthusiasts, for some applications, is the pet store. I say this, because it helped me out for quite some time in the past, and should things be seen as seasonal once more, it can help you out too.

Although I really don’t like using the word, “hack”, for such instances, it seems appropriate for things like this, so I’ll just run with it.

NOTE: Although most of these can be found in their online equivalents, I’ll be focusing on stores you can walk in and out of physically, for those that still want to do it this way.

So, what are these likely hacks you can implement, should trying to find other things elsewhere become difficult? For starters, look at things like for example, finding sphagnum moss. Often, you’ll see sphagnum moss in hardware stores regularly, until the cold weather comes, and that’s when you have to improvise a bit. I got this hack when looking in a plant shop for this stuff, and they told me they didn’t have it, but before I left, that’s when I got this advice. Makes sense, because pet stores often will have sphagnum moss, but not always in large enough amounts.

What they have in pet stores, often will cost more for a small amount. For example, you may pay somewhere around $15 or so, for a package located where the reptile equipment is. Regular large bulk amounts are really only found online, all year ’round, but if you happened to be out and about, and need this right away, this is where you would go to get it fast.

To add to this, and I found this out from personal experience, this type of sphagnum moss, is more likely to be used to grow live moss, once left moist enough, for a long enough period. This will take patience, but not as long as the bulk versions normally found in hardware stores. Why? Well, another set of plant experts told me that the process is different for the types sold to pet stores, where it’s not treated as much in comparison to the other types found elsewhere. So, the likelihood of growing live moss (eventually) will happen much faster.

Let’s say you want to find certain types of food, if you have carnivorous plants, such as venus fly traps or pitcher plants (of any variety). The pet store is great for stuff like this. You can find everything from live crickets and mealworms, to dried versions of both, and more.

Since they sell lizards, fish, turtles, and so on, it’s quite easy to find something for the occasion. In fact, fish food such as dried bloodworms are perfect for carnivorous plants, but the key to feeding most carnivorous plants like venus fly traps, often come from re-hydrating these somewhat, so it’s not hard for them to consume and digest.

In regards to other carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants, that create their own liquid to digest their prey, you won’t need to re-hydrate the fish food, or other types of dried insects, and worms.

Oddly enough, another, for an odd enough reason (as far as I’m concerned), is also finding certain plants there also. I found one bamboo plant, that I separated to three plants. Only two of the three survived, because of initial placement where one didn’t adapt, but whatever – it happens. The plants seem to be thriving, and doing just fine. They are rooting quite well because of how I chose to place them. Often, these plants aren’t hard to take care of, as long as they sit in some type of clean water, they’ll be just fine. Which leads to another hack.

Finding things like pebbles, gravel, or small stones, you do find in the pet store regularly, and since most are made for being in water, for fish tanks especially, all the more reason to get some from there. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but those do exist, but usually those will be in small amounts, so if those are the kinds you are looking for, hope that they are available, and on sale. These can be useful for growing “lucky” bamboo plants, by keeping them stabilized, regardless of its shape. If you have a container that’s deep enough, and you’ll be able to fill it with pebbles or small stones and clean water, and you’ll see results over time. What results? Leaves coming out of the bamboo stalk for one. This is often a clear indication that it has rooted in that setting, and the leaves growing are often that next step. For some, flowers may come also, but it depends on the environment. (I’m saying this from my experience, but it can vary from person-to-person, if done right.)

You could also say, just look outside and pick up some small rocks. Sure, but for this, you will still have to wash, and make certain they are smooth enough to not cut the plants. With most of the pebbles, gravel, or small stones in the pet store, this is less of an issue, especially if you are using this as your primary medium for planting bamboo plants or similar ones.

Lava rocks are an option to find at pet stores also, but the problem there, is that they aren’t always easy to break apart. I’ve went through some difficulty breaking up some of these, and it’s not always easy. If this is something you want, you can go to a pet store also, but be very discerning of what types you buy. I say this, and it will save you time and money should you go this route. If you buy one type that needs to be broken apart, do so with a small piece that’s sold separately, where the smooth edges are not where you want to start chipping away at it. The under side of the rock, is where you need to chip it away with either a hammer and chisel, or some tools you’ll find in hardware stores, to chip away and get smaller pieces of lava rock. Notice I didn’t mention things like drilling or sawing, because it will lead to accidents and other problems.

Generally, lava rock is best for those that want a creative setting, but they are also good for aiding in drainage, If they are small enough pieces, and for plants rooting in humid environments. This isn’t a must, but it’s an option to look at. By the way, if the lava rock is smooth on all sides, trying to break it apart may be much harder, so hopefully this isn’t what you’ve run into, especially with a large enough stone.

Let’s say you want to maybe use some water sprayers, for large sets of plants, instead of using the typical handheld sprayers, which can take its toll on your fingers after a while, when watering large sets of plants in your home. Pet stores will have some pump sprayers available, and they are often found with other equipment for reptile care, such as terrariums. These will come in handy, especially if you have bushy plant growth in your home.

This may or may not be seen as a hack per se, but I’ll put it here because it worked for me. Fish tanks make for great alternatives to terrariums, because they are strong and hold large amounts of water. Keep them covered, and you have a great little environment for tropical plants especially. Why? It creates a humid environment where tropical plants can grow, root faster, and potentially bloom also. Many carnivorous plants do love these areas, and I know this firsthand. When I had a red dragon, it didn’t take long before seeing flower stalks surface. I’ve had other tropical plants grow fast and comfortable in that setting, and I’ve witnessed a few of them flower, and the rest spread out over time. Also, because these types of plants love humidity, their growth will be fast, and constant, and the likelihood of successful propagation there will occur more frequently as well.

Should you decide to buy a new fish tank, it can be on sale at the pet store. Some places will have a sale price for example, a 10-gallon tank for $15 (plus tax) (that’s what I paid for mine in 2022). This is if you don’t have one already sitting around in your home, and you don’t want to throw it away, or give it to someone else.

What’s also good to get from the pet store, are humidity gauges. These will be needed, especially if you have carnivorous plants and tropical plants, because monitoring humidity is a must. This is optional, but for something like a fish tank or a small terrarium, these would work best; for me they do anyway.

Right now, these are the ones that come to mind, and how they worked for me in planting, so if this helps you, then great. I just know that it saved me a bit of time and frustration, in finding certain items often discussed and/or shown by others that have these items themselves.