Someone give me their green thumb 🙄

[snitz427]

The pothos definitely needed more water... I try to water cage plants heavily once a week. Mister does not reach the roots.

Pothos are so finicky for me. They do like water, though. Smaller pots will dry out faster, too (but potting up too large will lead to overwatering).

 

[Lindasjackson]

I prefer ficus trees or the umbrella or schefllera that are as big as small trees are great for Cham enclosures from what I hear.

 

[Jevin]

Honestly I would give advice, but the only plants I struggle with are cacti, but I think that's because my mom would overwater it. I tend to have a really good green thumb. For Pothos, I know lots of water and drainage and light makes them grow like weeds. For example, my bioactive build went from this five months ago:

To this:

 

[Jevin]

So today my pothos halfway down the cage wasn't looking too hot . I did notice the soil seemed kinda dry. My Philodendron (which replaced my pothos up top) seems to be thriving though ! The picture of my pothos is what all the ones up top were doing before I swapped them out in the past couple months

I would say that to me it looks like the Pothos isn't getting enough water for the amount of heat it is exposed to. Most of my Pothos are positioned right underneath my misting nozzles so they get a decent amount of water, but my setup is almost completely automated.

 

[FloridaChameleonLiving]

Thank you everyone for the advice !!!

I prefer ficus trees or the umbrella or schefllera that are as big as small trees are great for Cham enclosures from what I hear.

I love ficus trees also but they just get expensive where I live because nobody local carries them . So ordering them online is normally a $100+ but I normally do it anyways. My 2 in my cage are nice and the chams love them! Where do you find those really big scheffleras? I see alot of people out in Cali use them but can never find them here lol

 

[Jpeff]

I think this is the bigger Variegated Dwarf Umbrella

 

[Jpeff]

Jackson posted about it found it. I copied it. Schefflera specifically Calyptratus Tupidanthus which is multi trunking but there are several types that work great.

 

[snitz427]

I prefer ficus trees or the umbrella or schefllera that are as big as small trees are great for Cham enclosures from what I hear.

Ficus alii are my favorite. They are my profile pic / banner. Such delicate foliage and real, woody branches.

I like schefflera amate and arb., too, but they are huge magnets for scale. I struggle with them due to the pests, so I'm removing them from all enclosures and replacing them with f. alii..

 

[Kaizen]

Sooo I'm trying to get the whole plant thing down but have made a few trips too many to home depot so figured I'd ask you all what im doing wrong ! Lol. First and foremost my Golden Pothos in the top of Ares cage I've had to take out a few times. He tramples it but also don't think Pothos do very well at the top of the cage right ? The tag on it says "low light"Pothos will adapt to low light, but they’ll do better with more light—not to mention be more resilient. so I just swapped it out with a Philodendron that says high light so hopefully that helps . It looks similar to a pothos anyways lol. Now in my other cage I swapped out a Swiss cheese plant that was kinda too small for a hibiscus bush . Mainly got the bush to give my Blue Ambanja some extra spots to hunt and hide etc. Also more surface for the misters to hit. Just the past 4-5 days it has had quite a few yellow leaves dropping and I'm wondering what im doing wrong ?Tropical hibiscus are high light plants that rarely do great indoors, unless you’re blasting them with tons light. Mine will periodically loose leaves even in the greenhouse. I wanna get better at this plant thing More light, don’t oversaturate the soil, and try schfflerra arboricola. Ficus is another good option, but F.benjamina drops its leaves with reckless abandon—even if you just look at it wrong. They’ll grow back, but it happens. What plant lights are you using? A single t5 daylight bulb won’t be enough. Those Arcadia jungle dawn LED bars punch the foot candles pretty good.

First 2 photos was today . Last photo was like 2 weeks ago when we redid his cage & everything was brand new (except ficus tree)

 

[Clydesayzso]

I'm a newbie cham keeper but not a newbie plant keeper lol
You should DEF look into a 40w jungle dawn spot light for your plants. I dont like spending $75 on a bulb but wow, it was worth every cent as far as the plants go.
Ive got a 3.5' tall rhaphidophora tetrasperma, a calathea lancifolia and some goofy looking baby sun roses that Clyde winds up eating all time in his 2x2x4 enclosure.
The only problem Ive had with that bulb is that if i dont keep the tetra pruned down, the new growth scorches.
Ive never had a problem with overwatering due to misting or anything like that and Clyde basks under that bulb WAY more than his reg basking incandescent bulb.
Get the bulb! Shouldnt matter what plants you put in there, they should thrive.
Its to the point Ive started propagating succulent leaves in the pot of the tetrasperma. Light from the spot reaches clear down to the bare floor of the enclosure. Doesnt produce near as much heat as you'd think either

 

[snitz427]

I have a bazillion SANSI brand plant grow LEDs that are great, and a fraction of the cost of Jungle Dawn. A lot of my local plant friends use them too

 

[Multivitamins]

I have a bazillion SANSI brand plant grow LEDs that are great, and a fraction of the cost of Jungle Dawn. A lot of my local plant friends use them too

Thanks to the recommendations on the forum I also use the Sansi brand for both my chameleon and my indoor garden which is about 20-25 plants in a small alcove in my bedroom. The Sansi 70w is a steal and provides amazing full spectrum light. I also use one of the socket bulbs and haven't been disappointed.

 

[FloridaChameleonLiving]

I have a bazillion SANSI brand plant grow LEDs that are great, and a fraction of the cost of Jungle Dawn. A lot of my local plant friends use them too

What fixture do you use for your Sansi's? I see everyone talk about them . I've just been buying bigger jungle dawns but they get expensive LOL.

Ficus alii are my favorite. They are my profile pic / banner. Such delicate foliage and real, woody branches.

I like schefflera amate and arb., too, but they are huge magnets for scale. I struggle with them due to the pests, so I'm removing them from all enclosures and replacing them with f. alii..

Also gonna look into the Ficus Ali & the scheff arbs/amates so thanks for the extra info .

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

You should DEF look into a 40w jungle dawn spot light for your plants. I dont like spending $75 on a bulb but wow, it was worth every cent as far as the plants go.

Maybe you should look into the Sansi 70W. It'll light the entire enclosure for ~$60 or less.
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What fixture do you use for your Sansi's? I see everyone talk about them . I've just been buying bigger jungle dawns but they get expensive LOL.

The 70W is self-contained—just plug it into a timer and turn it on.
The floods will screw into any standard lightbulb socket.

 

[snitz427]

What fixture do you use for your Sansi's? I see everyone talk about them . I've just been buying bigger jungle dawns but they get expensive LOL.


Also gonna look into the Ficus Ali & the scheff arbs/amates so thanks for the extra info .

I am a SANSI fan and probably have one of each! But for the enclosures I am moving them all to the 70w. Sansi often has deasl on their website & facebook group to get them for like $35 around various holidays, but they are normally around $50. A single 70w will do an amazing job in a 2x2x4 enclosure. For my larger enclosures (4x2x6) I use two, for total coverage, which isn't necessary, but my trees are growing at an amazing speed and it gives a more even light appearance.

I've used the 40w spots, too, but find myself moving those around.