# Planting techniques, suggestions, net cup use?



## RentaPig311 (Jul 6, 2009)

So I've seen planting techniques touched on in other posts but no one has ever made a guide or been real clear. It's obvious that how you plant can turn a viv into a little slice of the jungle. Here's my problem.

I make this:




















And this is what I've been staring at wanting it to look better than the above.









This is what I want...sorry if I jacked your picture, it's because I admire your set up, they won't be posted anywhere but here.




























Anyway I was looking for a run down on some techniques to make a great viv. I've heard not to polka dot try to cluster plants. I've seen people talk about making a canopy but have no idea how that would work on a flat background. Also what's the deal with net cups and clay? Some people say it's not needed just push the roots in the clay. I was planning trying to foam around mine and hopefully make some shelves for frogs to climb on. Then do the rest in clay. I see in the pic of pumillios tank that his shelves don't have net cups but still have stuff growing on them, how do you do this?

Here's a list of plants I have to work with. Not sure if certain plants need net cups or what the rule is.

Peperomia aff putuelata 2-3 fresh cuttings
Ficus pumila fresh cuttings
Hoya curtisii several fresh cuttings
Pellionia repens several fresh cuttings
Pellionia pulchra several fresh cuttings
Selaginella uncinata 3 nice cuttings
Begonia 'Lubbergei' 1 rooted piece and 1 fresh cutting
Syngonium rayii (3 rooted plants)
Begonia glabra (2 pieces)
Calathea micans division of 1-2 fans
Nautilocalyx lynchii (2 fresh cuttings)
Selaginella SP Several fresh cuttings with air roots
Gesneriad (1 plant)
about 10 broms.


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## EvilLost (Jan 10, 2011)

there is a difference between growing cuttings and growing rooted plants.


cuttings are when you essentially snip a bit off a live plant, so they have no roots themselves. you do NOT plant these in dirt.

the traditional way to root cuttings is to place it on a damp paper tower/sphagnum for a while until it roots, and then to plant it. However, since our frog habitats are typically extremely humid, we can get away by simply "pinning" (literally) a clump of moss to our wall and putting the cutting in there. As long as the moss stays nice and moist (and it should) the cuttings will root themselves into the wall, and grow....never needing pots.
On the other hand, if you have already rooted plants, then you can place a net pot in the wall and fill it with a little substrate/plant it. 


thats a start anyway...


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## Ross (Feb 10, 2008)

First off, what species of frog do you have in mind and how large is this tank?



RentaPig311 said:


> Peperomia aff putuelata 2-3 fresh cuttings
> Ficus pumila fresh cuttings
> Hoya curtisii several fresh cuttings
> Pellionia repens several fresh cuttings
> ...


In the long run, your tank will look more natural if you keep the number of plant species relatively limited and instead give each specimen plenty of time to fill in and mature. 

Of those plants, I would ditch the following:

-Peperomia puteolata: you've already got plenty of stellar choices for ground plants e.g. Pellionia pulchra, Selaginella uncinata, Syngonium rayii, Calathea micans, Nautilocalyx lynchii, maybe the Gesneriad sp.
-Ficus pumila: it'll look nice and lush once it begins to establish, but unless you're actively pruning it, it WILL outcompete and kill plants. I advise against using it, or using the slower-growing oakleaf variety. 

Questionable choices...
-Begonia lubbergei: I'm not familiar with this cultivar but I assume it's a terrestrial. Already, you've got a lot of good candidates for terrestrials. It's entirely up to you, but I would choose only a few species for the floor with lots of leaf litter. 
-Nautilocalyx lynchii: again, not familiar with this plant but it appears to be terrestrial. 
-Calathea micans: this is a great plant, but it occupies a similar niche to Syngonium rayii. Both of these plants have dark green foliage with a white stripe running down the leaves. Personally, I would choose Syngonium rayii and plant it near the background so it can spread and eventually climb. 

I won't comment on the Gesneriad or Selaginella sp. since I have no knowledge of their growing habits or appearance.

For your baskets:
Make sure that if you put foam around them, you make holes so they can adequately drain. 
Plants that should do well in the pots and then hang down include:
-Pellionia repens
-Peperomia prostrata (I highly recommend tracking this down; usually found at Lowe's or HD)

So if I was planting this vivarium,

Two Syngonium rayii on floor next to background, one more toward the foreground.
Selaginella uncinata on floor in shady spot to bring out iridescence.
Nautilocalyx lynchii on floor in foreground
Begonia glabra on floor next to background (this one also climbs)
Pellionia repens in basket
Lots of Peperomia prostrata (if you can find some) in basket
Hoya curtisii mounted on background.
3 or 5 bromeliads of somewhat similar size/color/texture mounted on uneven lines on the background. I would use as few types of bromeliads as possible to help maintain coherence and keep the vivarium from looking too "busy"

Considering the fact that many of these plants are starting as cuttings, the viv will look barren until they can establish and mature. A common mistake made is to overplant the vivarium with dozens of species that have not yet matured in order to make the vivarium appear "done" as soon as possible. To me, naturalistic and aesthetically pleasing vivariums are those which have limited numbers of species and have had plenty of time to fill in.

Just some thoughts...


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## RentaPig311 (Jul 6, 2009)

Great responses. I'm a bit of a black thumb so any info is gold to me. I actually have three 20g verts to fill so I plan on splitting these plants. As for inhabitants I'm not sure. I have some luecs and a crested gecko in q.t. as well as a need for some thumb tanks.


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## AeroWRX (Jul 9, 2011)

EvilLost said:


> there is a difference between growing cuttings and growing rooted plants.
> 
> 
> cuttings are when you essentially snip a bit off a live plant, so they have no roots themselves. you do NOT plant these in dirt.
> ...


How do you pin a plant to the wall? I heard peat moss somewhere, but how would you pin peat moss which is very broken up? I would imagine pinning spagnum moss into a "nest" which can hold a plant


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## RentaPig311 (Jul 6, 2009)

AeroWRX said:


> How do you pin a plant to the wall? I heard peat moss somewhere, but how would you pin peat moss which is very broken up? I would imagine pinning spagnum moss into a "nest" which can hold a plant


I'm still pondering myself. I'm no good with plants. I just set up a 10gallon high light high humidity plant tank and am letting them sit in there till they grow roots.


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## johnyrocks (Jun 25, 2011)

WHATS THE NAME OF THE THREAD IN THE FOURTH PICTURE! I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THAT THREAD FOR A LONG TIME!!!. Thanks!


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## Ross (Feb 10, 2008)

johnyrocks said:


> WHATS THE NAME OF THE THREAD IN THE FOURTH PICTURE! I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THAT THREAD FOR A LONG TIME!!!. Thanks!


my jungle


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## johnyrocks (Jun 25, 2011)

Ross said:


> my jungle


Thank you


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## DragonSpirit1185 (Dec 6, 2010)

RentaPig311 said:


> And this is what I've been staring at wanting it to look better than the above.


I've noticed a few people put the egg crate on the side and back and I'm curious as to why this is done. Does it hold the GS better or something?
And could you use this method for a paladrium?


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## johnyrocks (Jun 25, 2011)

DragonSpirit1185 said:


> I've noticed a few people put the egg crate on the side and back and I'm curious as to why this is done. Does it hold the GS better or something?
> And could you use this method for a paladrium?


The eggcrate and GS or just GS in general? I've used GS with peat moss submerged for a long time. Many people in aquaria say GS submerged is a big nono, but it's safe for fish too. And it look nices. And if it's eggcrate and GS, what would the issue be there? took me a while to figure out what you're asking but I still don't understand.


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## RentaPig311 (Jul 6, 2009)

I used eggcrate on the side for a few reasons. Allows me to sue less clay which means less weight and it makes hanging net cups easy. Looks a bit rough on the outside of the tank but if you actually care about that get some shelf liner or aquarium background to cover it up.


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