# Desktop Living Wall



## EverettC (Mar 9, 2004)

I finished planting my first production living wall model last night and wanted to share it here . This is all a part of my green tech startup and my goal to bring something living to everyone's desk/work space. Miniature living walls don't really exist so I thought I'd create an easy way for people to enjoy the tropical plants that we all do without having to worry about maintaining an entire vivarium.










You can see it's mostly air plants (the background cover is live Spanish Moss) but I do have a bromeliad pup from one of my frog tanks. The two plants at the bottom are carnivorous plants! I can't remember the name of the one on the left but the one on the right is a Butterwort.

Thanks for looking!
-Everett


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

Nice! I liked the idea when I saw it at your house and I like it even more now that its fully planted

Hope everything thrives, I might need one if it does


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

That's looking good.

Will that be too wet for Tillandsia? It looks like you have Hygrolon or something like that on the rooting surface. Tillandsia will rot if kept too moist.


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## EverettC (Mar 9, 2004)

hydrophyte said:


> That's looking good.
> 
> Will that be too wet for Tillandsia? It looks like you have Hygrolon or something like that on the rooting surface. Tillandsia will rot if kept too moist.


There is Hygrolon on the back panel. The first prototype I made has the Tillandsias glued on and they're doing great:










There are wires in the production version of the wall which make it much easier to plant and can keep the plants off the background entirely. I've got an album up if you'd like to see more pictures: here.


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

I like the idea. I think you could try some mini orchid.


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## EverettC (Mar 9, 2004)

rigel10 said:


> I like the idea. I think you could try some mini orchid.


Definitely! I had a bulbophyllum cutting that I tried to attach on but I neglected it while distracted by another project and I'm not sure it's going to make it . I tossed it back in the frog tank so we'll see. Either way, there are plenty of mini orchids that would do very well on the wall. I want to take a cutting of my Dracula and try that next.


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## Manuran (Aug 28, 2007)

EverettC said:


> Miniature living walls don't really exist


I hope you don't think I'm trying to burst your bubble, as that's not my intention. But I think if you are starting a business, it's best to know what's really out there.

This is from Variance. A frog hobbyist that's been at it for a long time.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...76771711.41908.162715503802365&type=1&theater

and

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...76771711.41908.162715503802365&type=1&theater

Hope this helps you in your pursuits. Good luck!


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## EverettC (Mar 9, 2004)

Hi Manuran,

I have seen Variance's designs before but I wasn't sure if they were publicly available or not. If you go to their website they don't really have a "For sale" section, they mostly feature their larger installations. I was basing that particular statement off of what's available on Amazon and a few other retail sites in addition to the results I've found just searching for "miniature/desktop living wall".

Don't get me wrong though, I love his builds


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## DamianR (Oct 24, 2013)

very cute idea.


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

What are the dimensions?


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## EverettC (Mar 9, 2004)

epiphytes etc. said:


> What are the dimensions?


Footprint: 10"x3"
Height: A hair over 7.5"


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

Nice! What kind of lighting? Natural?


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## epiphyte (Jan 25, 2011)

Bladerunner is one of my favorite movies...but I'd much prefer it if the future looked more like the movie Avatar. Your project is a step in the right direction!

Not sure how much additional exposure it will bring...but I added this forum thread and your kickstarter project to the group for epiphytes on reddit. Hopefully others will rate the links up!

If you haven't already seen them...Jamie North's epiphytic installations are worth checking out.

One thing I highly recommend doing is contacting all the plant vendors who would benefit from the success of your project. Perhaps you can create a page on your website "Plant Sources" or "Plant Vendors" and list the nurseries according to how much they've contributed to your project. 

Ideally each nursery should have one (or more) of your desktop living walls so their customers can see it in person. People could see (and purchase) plants that the nurseries are successfully growing on your walls. Brochures should be available to anybody who was interested in learning more. 

This Saturday I'll be bringing a ton of new plants down to Kartuz Greenhouses. While there I'll be sure to recommend your project to him. I'll also contact my other favorite vendors (Andy's Orchids, SBOE, Hanging Gardens) and share the links with them as well. If you'd like you can PM me your e-mail address so that I can share it with them so that they can contact you directly. Of course Bonnie should be totally down to try out your desktop wall. 

Personally, Tillandsias really wouldn't have been the first thing that I would have tried to grow on your wall. They wouldn't even have been the second, third, fourth (and so on) plants that I would have wanted to try. Would they have been the last thing I would have tried? Nope. Poison oak would be the last thing. Or stinging nettle. 

Dan Newman (Hanging Gardens) has the neatest climbing miniature Begonia. It's the smallest Begonia that I've ever seen in person. I'd love to know how it would do on your wall. Microgramma tecta would be another plant that I'd love to try. How would miniature Sinningias do? It sure would be great to find out. In terms of orchids...Lepenthes calodycton is easily the first one that I'd try. A good portion of your wall's appeal will depend on the variety of awesome epiphytes that can be grown on it. PM me if you're interested in a list of recommended plants to test out. 

Another promotion recommendation is to offer free presentations to all the relevant plant societies. For example, there are around a dozen or so orchid societies in Southern California and all of them are hurting for new presentation topics. Since you live in Washington...you should work out a deal with KarmaPolice. He lives super close to Kartuz Greenhouses and Andy's Orchids...so he could attach multiple epiphytes to the same branch by selling your desktop wall and suitable plants. 

My fern society has a show and tell portion which I force myself to do in order to try and overcome my deathly fear of public speaking. I'd be happy to show and tell our members about your desktop wall. We also have a yearly show at the LA Arboretum. It would be pretty great exposure if you exhibited one of your walls. You could also set up a booth to sell your walls. 

The Pacific Orchid Expo is the biggest orchid show on the west coast. It would be another great show to get your desktop walls into. 

You should also create a page on flickr to share photos of your walls. You can add your photos to the group for living walls and the group for epiphytes. 

Eventually it would be nice if you offered desktop walls in different sizes and with a way to control the wall wetting frequency. There are plenty of epiphytes that prefer to dry out between waterings. In my garden I organize my epiphytes according to watering frequency requirements. So I have a continuum of watering frequency that ranges from one section that I try and water every day to my front yard which I water once a week during summer. In terms of orchids...the continuum ranges from Dracula polyphemus to Dendrobium canaliculatum. 

Let me attach another epiphyte to this branch by saying that crowdfunding sites should really allow contributors to share a link to a webpage of their choice. I think this would really encourage participation. For example, if I contributed to your kickstarter...I would have wanted my contribution to include a link to my new blog...Epiphytes and Economics. 

Rather than say "kill two birds with one stone"...I'm starting to say "attach two epiphytes to the same branch". I'm also replacing "there's more than one way to skin a cat" with "there's more than one way to attach an epiphyte". If there's an epiphyte on every desk then maybe these more animal and epiphyte friendly sayings will catch on!


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## EverettC (Mar 9, 2004)

Thanks Epiphyte! I just sent you a PM.

I do have plans for an advertisement page, like you mentioned, on my website. It might not be super clear in the project but under the $40 backing tier I offer to post a link from my site to wherever the backer chooses.

I'll be looking up all of those plants you listed later today; the air plants are just an easy, recognizable plant for most people so I started with those.



rigel10 said:


> Nice! What kind of lighting? Natural?


I've got long-term lighting plans but the light included at some of the backing tiers is the same grow light that's sold around Dendroboard. I'm testing natural light right now with my latest setup, just to see how it does without any additional light on it.


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## kate801 (Jul 7, 2011)

I love this! I would totally put one on my desk.


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## jdgators (Oct 27, 2012)

Pretty neat idea. I shared with friends in the startup community around Boston. 

Also, sure you've thought of it, but this would be a great replacement for living walls with soil in slanted pots that spill dirt continuously. So a similar sheet with a wall mount/frame about 30" x 42" might be a great addition to the product line (forgive me if you said this was already in the works).

Best of luck!


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## EverettC (Mar 9, 2004)

jdgators said:


> Pretty neat idea. I shared with friends in the startup community around Boston.
> 
> Also, sure you've thought of it, but this would be a great replacement for living walls with soil in slanted pots that spill dirt continuously. So a similar sheet with a wall mount/frame about 30" x 42" might be a great addition to the product line (forgive me if you said this was already in the works).
> 
> Best of luck!


Thanks JD! I do want to make larger structures at some point but it will require a redesign from the way I do it now. The structures would likely be too heavy at that size; I'm loosely applying principles from aquaponics to vertical gardens in an attempt to completely remove the need for soil


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## EverettC (Mar 9, 2004)

Plants!

Tons and tons of plants! I'll be adding these to living walls next week but I wanted to post pictures of them all, big thanks to Carlos for the hookup!


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## FroggyKnight (Mar 14, 2013)

Ahh, imagine the hours of fun experimenting you get to do with all those plants! I can't wait to see what end product you end up having with that selection


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## epiphyte (Jan 25, 2011)

So glad that you got the plants! I'm really looking forward to seeing how they do on your wall. 

Personally, I have a green thumb but absolutely no design skills. So I can attach plants to my tree and they'll grow...but if they end up looking so good then I can't take any credit for any aesthetic appeal. Any aesthetic appeal is purely accidental. Accidental aesthetic appeal. 

What about people who have design skills but no green thumbs? I think growing a plant vertically eliminates the problem of over watering. Don't most people kill their orchids from over watering / insufficient drainage? With most plants it's safer to err on the side of too much rather than too little drainage. 

I liked your facebook page and convinced 3 other friends to do the same!


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## EverettC (Mar 9, 2004)

I just posted two new videos showcasing the Hygrolon/EpiWeb combo that I've worked into my design. Shot out to Folius for sending the materials my way (and bringing them into the country  ) and another big thanks to Epiphyte for the plant package!


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## epiphyte (Jan 25, 2011)

Nice videos! The plants look really great attached to the wall! 

I shared your wall in the numerous plant forums that I belong to... "A Vertical Garden For Your Desk!"


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