# My first plants?...For my first viv...



## kitcolebay (Apr 7, 2012)

Just about to plant my first viv. Of course I've been reading the forums a bunch. A lot to soak in and absorb when it comes to constructing, planting, frogs, and the list goes on. So, I've looked and browsed over most of these, but I thought it'd be nice if anyone wants to toss in their two cents on any of initial selections.
As always, any help is greatly appreciated! 
It's after 2am and I just got off work. My bed is calling. I thought I'd post these before so, then in the morning I'll do some more research, clean and soak the plants, and with any luck, maybe get them planted before going to work tomorrow.
Any help identifying and/or correcting would be great.

Wandering Jew









Plumosa and Sprengeri ferns









Arboricola









Peperomia(?) Orba(?) and Goldfish plant(?)









Pilea, Creeping Jenny, and Baby's Tears









Variegated(?) Ivy and Unknown(was told Zebra Grass)









Polka-dot plant and Rabbit's Foot Fern









4 types of air plants(gerantho, brachyalos, stricta hard, stricta soft)









Various broms









Another brom and pothos(?) Temporarily sitting in planter









Thanks again, Chris!


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## beefyg (Dec 15, 2011)

Wandering Jew will likely overun your tank.
Peperomia, pilea, pothos, and polka dot plant should work well I think.
I've had bad luck with air plants. Some people don't.
Those broms look like the type that get huge.

I don't know much about the others. What size tank are you planting? Keep in mind that these plants will need room to grow. A stuffed tank looks nice at first but its amazing how big some of the plants will get.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

You may want to also reconsider your Arboricola, unless of course, your viv is over 8 feet tall! 
Your ivy will grow so aggressively it will take over the viv. It could grow to the point it pushes the door open or even creeps under your silicone and cracks the glass.


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## beefyg (Dec 15, 2011)

The pothos ivy or the varigieted ivy or both?


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## ICS523 (Mar 10, 2012)

skip the ivy, it will get WAY out of control, iv even heard its can break through the bottom of the tank.


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## littlefrog (Sep 13, 2005)

Pretty sure that isn't rabbits foot fern... Some kind of boston fern maybe. The broms are big ones (which might not be bad, but you might have to cut the flower spikes next time they bloom), and the tillandsia will rot if you look at them funny.

Pilea and peperomia are always good bets. The wandering jew is fine in a viv, but it will really take over if you don't prune it aggressively. Every few weeks, probably. Pothos doesn't grow quite that fast, but it is another one that will take over if you let it.


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## B-NICE (Jul 15, 2011)

A lot of those plants look wy to big for a viv. I would try to get cuttings from a local frogger.


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## kitcolebay (Apr 7, 2012)

Thanks for all the advice! I'm always looking for more! 

I planted the tank about 3 weeks ago. Some changes have been made so far. I have some more changes I plan on making in the next day or two. Always a work in progress...especially when you're new!

I'm pretty sure that the fern is a lemon-button instead of a rabbit's foot. It was mislabeled when I first got it.

My initial ivy has already wilted where I didn't catch that the roots had come up out of the soil when doing the other planting. I'm still looking to get some kind of ivy or vine to plant top-center that will be laced in each direction to follow my man-made vines. I bought Vinca vine earlier today, but waiting to plant it if something better is suggested.

I just planted one of the big broms down in the center. It is 150 gallons, so I'm hoping there is enough room for it. I still may opt to switch it out for something else since a couple of the inner leaves wilted some. Although, the frogs love it...almost always has at least one parked in it.

A couple of the others are knowingly too large for the tank, but I had already bought them. For example, the Arboricola is already tall and not getting any shorter. I will try it for now and keep the top branches pulled and see how it fairs. I imagine it will be swapped out in the near future.

I had a nice "rare" begonia that I bought at FrogDay that was quick to die on me.

Too many beginner mistakes.

Here is a couple pics of what it looked like just shortly after planting it.
Left-








Right-









Like I said, it's already changed some and about to change some more. I will try to update sometime soon and will always be watching for more advice on how to do it better.

Thanks again, Chris.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

I'm going to jump in a bit with some comments... a number of those plants will "get out of control" if you don't trim them regularly. If it's viney and going where you don't want it, pin it where you do want it to grow. If you want it "fuller", keep trimming it to make it branch more. Some grow faster than others, you'll learn pretty quick who is who  Ivy is still not a great choice though, for being temperate and tending to need drier conditions. Only the mini varieties with little leaf surface do well, as this is a plant meant to handle much lower humidity, so your plant would do better as a houseplant or in an outside container. If that zebra grass is actually zebra grass you may want to toss that out in the container as well. It looks very similar to Spider plants which do great in terrariums but very few grasses do - plus zebra grass gets huge.

Some vines go up, some go down, some just ramble! Rambling everywhere it wants would be the Wandering jew in particular but the Pothos tends to do that as well. Of the small leaved varieties you'll probably see them just try and spread over a surface, not really climbers. The Goldfish plant and possibly the peperomia may be more upright, but don't be surprised if that peperomia turns out to be a rambling vine. I think that one will be more upright and bushy though. The Polka dot plant will be bushy as well, and to keep it that way pinch and trim it regularly or else it will turn into a stringy mess as tall as you are. It only tends to stay nice and compact with heavy trimming and/or lower humidity. All will handle regular trimming well, and the faster they grow the more aggressively you can trim them as well.

For the sake of all your plants, and particularly the ferns and tillies, make sure the leaves of your plants dry out 2-3 hours after you spray. If water continues to stay on the plant you may easily lose all the ferns, the Goldfish plant, and the airplants. 

Other thoughts:
- That's not lemon-button fern, it's a form of Nephrolepis (of which Boston fern is the most commonly available form). It likes humidity... to a point. Watch for the center of the plant on this one as lack of air flow will kill it.
- The big new brom is a Neregelia and may want to be up off the ground. The others (original pic with the neo are two vrieseas, the one with the pothos is a guzmania) don't mind their roots in the substrate as they are somewhat terrestrial (as long as it's well drained) but Neos typically are epiphytes. If you like where it's at you can just sit it on a peice of cork bark so it's up off the ground  Keep water in the middle and it should be happy.


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## kitcolebay (Apr 7, 2012)

Thank you Kero for sharing your knowledge and helping this rookie!

By looking at the "zebra grass", do you believe that is what it is? At the moment, it is pretty small. Someone else stated that they didn't think it was. If not, then I don't know what it is.

The Boston Fern is planted just below the waterfall/creek area. It's substrate is always damp from the splashing, but drains immediately into the false bottom. It is also planted just below the fan, so it gets more air flow than anywhere else in the tank. Do you think it needs moved to drier substrate with a little less airflow? Right now it seems to be doing ok(granted it has only been 3 weeks).

Appreciate the info on all the broms. I plan on switching the one in the tank for one of the others that don't mind substrate. I do like the idea of one bigger ones down in the center. Is there one that you would suggest over the other?

I'll be skipping the ivy and looking more into the Cissus amazonica. I have a few cuttings of the wandering jew in there. Would it possibly work for lacing around the man-made vines? I already plan on keeping a close eye on those cuttings to make sure they stay under control(I hope).

I'll be moving one of my airplants to be more "in the air" instead of next to the waterfall where it gets the occasional splash.

You mentioned "pin" it and "pinch" it. Same thing or different? What exactly is pinching it compared to trimming it? Sorry for all the rookie questions.

Thanks again for everything!

-Chris


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

> By looking at the "zebra grass", do you believe that is what it is? At the moment, it is pretty small. Someone else stated that they didn't think it was. If not, then I don't know what it is.


I googled zebra grass and I don't really think it is. I saw something similar to it at the local garden center and brushed it off as being inappropriate so I didn't investigate further. It could be a variegated grass of some sort and I don't use grasses since they tend to be large, high light, and not tropical rainforest plants. I had a thought that it could be one of the spider plant group (which are GREAT terrarium plants, especially the smaller forms - not a true grass even though sometimes they are called one) but I can't really tell from the pic. Google "Chlorophytum" and you'll see that there are some plants that look VERY similar and this just could be a young plant of one of the species/varieties. I'd need to see the base of the plant and feel the leaves, but since I can't really do that being here and the plant there, the easiest way to tell at this point is to just see how well it does  If it grows out well and has flowers, it's not a grass!



> The Boston Fern is planted just below the waterfall/creek area. It's substrate is always damp from the splashing, but drains immediately into the false bottom. It is also planted just below the fan, so it gets more air flow than anywhere else in the tank. Do you think it needs moved to drier substrate with a little less airflow? Right now it seems to be doing ok(granted it has only been 3 weeks).


If it's below the fan getting the most airflow in the tank, leave it there. It will always want the max air flow with the max humidity! If the substrate is chunky and drains most of the water it sounds like you've got it in the best place it has a chance to do well in. They like moist roots but it needs to be high drainage so it sounds like you've done your best on that option too.



> I plan on switching the one in the tank for one of the others that don't mind substrate. I do like the idea of one bigger ones down in the center. Is there one that you would suggest over the other?


Of all the broms the Guzmania may take the transition the best, but that plant or either Vriesea would do fine. The Vriesea seem to take the change not as well for some reason BUT their pups will do great. You can gradually get them more and more used to high humidity and try that option too. I think their leaves just aren't as flexible about air humidity as the Guzmania are.

Every time I see the Neoregelia pic I just want to stick it on that log right there LOL.



> I have a few cuttings of the wandering jew in there. Would it possibly work for lacing around the man-made vines?


Wandering Jew lives up to it's name and really just wanders... it's not so great at going where you tell it. It's also a creeping spreader rather than a climber. The only plants I can think of that would like those vines would be stuff like the Cissus amazonia with the little clinging tendrils... I could think of a couple of other vines that may grow in there but they aren't ones I'd recommend for a beginner. I don't want you to spend a lot of money on a plant you may not be able to grow! _C. amazonia_ is gorgeous, cheapest, and most forgiving of the bunch  I go into why one or the other a little bit more below.

I wouldn't worry about it getting totally crazy as long as you go in there and give the plants some love every two weeks, or have a more serious session once a month. This would involve trimming and training stuff. Just realize the more often you do it the easier on the plants... it's easier to train vines where you want them when they haven't already rooted or grabbed on somewhere else, and to trim and keep tidy and have it look nice afterwards if you do it more often (less often and it looks like you weed-whacked it). I feel that people who say this stuff gets out of control and it takes over a tank are those that need to spend a little more time in the tank (just saying... I say hello to it with scissors, that's probably why it's not out of control for me!). I also use this time to check out how everyone is doing, clean leaves off (no algae or frog poo!) and if there are frogs in there then I'd also be doing a head count, looking at how healthy they are, and check for eggs if they are breeding. With livestock in the tank I'm usually in there once a week checking everything out so it's pretty easy to maintain. I just use small scissors and a water bottle, with a trash bag tied to my belt so it's handy to toss the trash/extra cuttings in 



> I'll be moving one of my airplants to be more "in the air" instead of next to the waterfall where it gets the occasional splash.


The air plant will appreciate being left high and dry 



> You mentioned "pin" it and "pinch" it. Same thing or different?


I want to say something smart-ass like "well obviously the 'ch'!" but I'll be good  In the context of the post below I mention "pinning" the vines of the wandering jew. While not the most well behaved wanderer, it will usually root to a surface if you use something to hold it against that surface ("pin it to the surface"). It's a method of "training" the plant so it will grow where you want. It's not a climber so the roots aren't a "grab and hold" type root like Ivy, but are true regular roots it expects to go into a substrate so it will need some help on backgrounds (especially going UP since that's not it's natural direction most of the time). This is also why I don't recommend it for the vines, because whatever grows on them will need grabbing parts - either roots that "grab and hold" or tendrils that hold on for dear life. "Grab and hold" roots tend to do best on larger, rougher surfaces and I've had a hard time getting any of those to cling to those vines, and tend to use things my wrist sized or larger diameter for them. Tendrils are the opposite... they are meant to grab and wrap around things smaller than my wrist size and support the entire plant that way. These are plants that can grow up netting and the like so the vines are perfect for them.

Pinching on the other hand is a way to get certain plants to stay bushy and compact by cutting off (often pinching with your fingernails, thus the term) the new growth at the tip of the stem. This means the plant will now have to grow NEW branches. With some plants doing this will only result in one branch just below where you pinched and it will continue on it's merry way (ARG!) but stuff like the polka dot plant will also send up new branches from the base of the plant. A more extreme version of this is to just mow the top of the plant right off leaving only one or two bottom pairs of leaves on the stem, and with that plant you may need to... you can root the freshly cut off stems at the base of the plant (just poke a hole with something like a pencil and insert the stem) to help keep it bushy as well. This plant grows REALLY fast in high humidity so you may have to pinch and mow often. If it annoys the daylights out of you but you want something similar I'd go with Fittonia... it's slower growing, does best in terrariums, have just as much color yet won't grow to the lid of the tank when you're not looking! It's also a great plant to learn pinching/mowing on as it's very forgiving. I've mowed it to the ground before just to have it come back.



> Sorry for all the rookie questions.


If you don't ask questions, how would you learn?  Well, ok, someone could not answer but at least then you *tried*.


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## kitcolebay (Apr 7, 2012)

Wow! Thank you again for the tremendous amount of help! 

Where to start?...

I went back to our local greenhouse where I bought a good portion of my plants. I asked about the "Zebra grass". That is what it is labeled. The supervisor, a young gentleman, has terrariums of his own. I believe he said he has some geckos. He told me that he has some of this in one of his terrariums and stays very well controlled. Only another inch in two in height. We'll see how it does.

The fern I bought from them is labeled lemon button fern. It is right next to their Boston ferns. One noticeable difference I saw between the two, their "lemon button" has slightly narrower leaves than the Bostons. I'm not real skilled on knowing the signs for when a plant is doing good or when it might be having some problems, besides the obvious. As of now, it seems like the fern is doing well. It just has a couple slightly faded tips where it is almost touching the water in the "creek".

I did switch out broms. I went with the Guzmania. My dogs had limited my options...I had planted the others in a planter for my wife and the dogs were slightly curious to how chewy some of the leaves were on the others. Lol.

I trimmed the tops off of the Arboricolas.

Pulled my dead ivy. Moved some of the wandering jew cuttings in its place for now.

I checked at the greenhouse for the C. amazonia. Unfortunately, they didn't have it. The only thing they had when I mentioned it was another variety from the Cissus group with the common name of grape ivy.

Some of the wandering jew cuttings are already trying to "wander". I just redirected them for now. Like most have said, I imagine I will end up pulling them eventually. For now, I will just try to redirect them occasionally to go where I would like them, let them fill in a little, and trim them afterwards. Time will tell.

I switched around two of my cork logs. 

Moved a few airplants.

Moved a couple neo broms.

Pulled a dead piece of bamboo that was in there.

It's a start.

Oh, still lmao on the "ch" comment. I had that coming!

Can't thank you enough!

-Chris.

If I get a chance, I will try to snap a pic or two to post the little changes I made.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Cissus amazonica may be something you have to order, but I've seen it show up at my garden center a couple times as well as surprising me in home depot once. Sadly I don't grow it anymore since it went gonzo in it's tank which didn't have something nice for it to strangle except a brom, and I chose the brom LOL. If you ask around for it or keep an eye on the plant ads I imagine it will pop up.

The hard part about rainforest terrariums is that the best plants make crappy houseplants so you usually have to pick them up from terrarium suppliers at shows or order online.


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## kitcolebay (Apr 7, 2012)

Just got off work. Couple random pics that I took...

Fern from above(lower right)









Upper right









Mid right









Upper middle









Replaced brom(mid left)









Left









Feeding time









Random









Everything look ok?

Thanks, Chris


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