keeping plants ALIVE

[snipeusa14]

iv been a member of the forums for a a long time, Iv seen many recomendations for live plants but i have trouble keeping other plants alive besides pothos and I want to change it up because the cages look boring when they all have pothos,so im asking here is............
what is another choice i have to keep plants alive? like an umbrella tree or a ficus maybe even a hibiscus? any ideas other than pothos and how to keep them alive and how much it would cost?

 

[clarkrw3]

Hibiscus are my favorite but to keep them alive in an enclosure you really need at least 2 grow lights on them and even then it is iffy if you don't take them outside for regular sunshine. One of the big problems in my experience is the Organic potting soil most of us have access to. For the most part the organic soil does not drain well at all, so you end up with root rot rather quickly. You will notice that the plant will die for the root up. I would recommend going with an organic cactus soil if you can find it. I put rocks on the bottom of the pot to help with drainage and if you can get the pot off the bottom of the cage that helps as well. I have also put water crystals in the soil that help regulate the moisture but once they blow up the soil mounds if you over fill the pot and once they are completely full you are back to the draining issue.
Not sure if any of that helped.

 

[coldbloodedAL]

I use a mix of pebbles and abg mix from joshs frogs and have had no issues with my plants which include hibiscus(which I do need to keep under grow lights) money tree, pothos and umbrella.

 

[eeekroar]

Are you using a light specifically for the plants?

 

[snipeusa14]

Are you using a light specifically for the plants?

no thats why im asking if its expensive to obtain these lights? or is there a better solution?

 

[clarkrw3]

no thats why im asking if its expensive to obtain these lights? or is there a better solution?

I just use 6500K lights for the plants. You can pick them up in most sizes from Lowes. I haven't had problems with the CFL spiral bulbs either, but I prefer the long tubes.

 

[coldbloodedAL]

I use a vitalume t5 dual fixture that I originally bought for my cham but decided to go a different route due to the t5 bulbs. Vitalume is rather pricey and u can get the 6500k bulbs and a fixture from lowes or home depot all for less than half the cost of vitalume fixture. So no its not expensive

 

[eeekroar]

I could not find a dual 18" to save my life.
Ended up getting this...Dual t8
http://www.diycages.com/15264/22301.html
They also have 24"
I have my UVB, and a 6500k in there. You can get the 6500 from Lowes for about 7 dollars. Will defiantly keep you plants healthy.

 

[clarkrw3]

I could not find a dual 18" to save my life.
Ended up getting this...Dual t8
http://www.diycages.com/15264/22301.html
They also have 24"
I have my UVB, and a 6500k in there. You can get the 6500 from Lowes for about 7 dollars. Will defiantly keep you plants healthy.

I have found it VERY hard to find t8 6500k bulbs in the 24" size. 18" and 48" are easy and even 36" isn't bad but 24" is hard to find in the t8 size. I have two of the diy light fixtures and like them but for the future I have gone with the cheap lowes 48" fixture and run it over two or three cages. It also saves greatly on UVB and grow light bulb costs.

 

[eeekroar]

Haha, I had the exact opposite happen for me. Couldn't find the 18s, but everyone had the 24-48.

Yeah, If I had more cages I would just get one long bulb. Considering I only have one, there is no purpose on have a shop light in my living room, lol.

 

[Escalade]

I literally do nothing to my schefflera tree and grows and lives no prob, I have a regular house bulb and an 18 inch 5.0 reptisun on it and it survives fine, I would say its an easy plant to keep alive

 

[racerfreak]

My umbrella tree does amazing under 6500 sylvania blubs from my local grocery store. It outgrew my 18x18x36 cage in 3 months after I trimmed it back. If you aren't using the bulb for heat then go with led grow bulbs to save electricity.

 

[espressodude]

clarkrw3: I agree with you 100% about finding the 24" 6500K T8's. I've found them online but no Lowe's or Home Depot in the greater Los Angeles area carry them. In my situation I don't have my cages next to each other so using a 48" is a no go. I do have a local electrical supply store where I can order the 24" but they don't carry them. I order them online then pick them up at the store. I know it sound weird but that's the way they have me do it. Even with the dual lights my plants tend to thin out towards the bottom of the plant. It really takes a lot of watts to simulate full sun indoors, and two 24" florescent's don't even come close.

 

[lslcronk]

Hibiscus are my favorite but to keep them alive in an enclosure you really need at least 2 grow lights on them and even then it is iffy if you don't take them outside for regular sunshine. One of the big problems in my experience is the Organic potting soil most of us have access to. For the most part the organic soil does not drain well at all, so you end up with root rot rather quickly. You will notice that the plant will die for the root up. I would recommend going with an organic cactus soil if you can find it. I put rocks on the bottom of the pot to help with drainage and if you can get the pot off the bottom of the cage that helps as well. I have also put water crystals in the soil that help regulate the moisture but once they blow up the soil mounds if you over fill the pot and once they are completely full you are back to the draining issue.
Not sure if any of that helped.

The only other thing I might suggest in using lots of playsand! My schefflera is doing fantastically with a small amount of organic soil (which by itself is way too heavy) with mostly playsand. I water every few days - it is nice as then it smells like a beach!

 

[alvora]

How about rotating the plants?

Limey (veiled Chameleon) has four live plants on the bottom of his cage. But not always the same four plants.
I rotate them to outside, when it's sunny and in the house, near windows; then back to Limey's cage. They're usually changed a couple times a month.
My biggest concern is that no pesticide get near the plant. We are pretty organic, so it's safe (no roundup or pesticides in our house yard area). Right now there's Schefflera X 3 and a potted pot of Sweet Allysum (he likes to crawl through that).
There are fake vines on manzanita branches hanging for his climbs to the top and basking perch. Hope that's helpful.