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Terrestrial Plant Ideas

allegoriest

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My little tiger salamander and I have decided he needs more plants. (Before he had none. Despair!) He had some... anubias? I think. But together, we killed it. :(

Now he has some pothos (...I think.) which appear to be doing well. One of them doesn't have roots yet, but its still green and perky. (This stuff is growing up the WALLS inside my house. Soon, it will be everywhere.) I'm pretty sure it will live. Especially since my humidity has greatly improved.

But what else can I grow? (And where can I find it?) He sort of has a pit of DARKNESS.

I have always been intrigued by the idea of moss. This is because I have never seen moss. (I technically live in a desert you see. I have scourged miles of river and forest looking for some, and found NONE. Of course, the river was almost always dry, but shh.) I think I want to grow it on his logs. But once again, I don't know what moss is. D: (I've always been told these gray spiky things growing on trees are moss, but ALAS, they are not.)


Anyway.

What else can I grow in low light with him? He has about 10-13" of space for plants, and he can't have tall ones, because without the lid, he will escape. (He has figured out how to stand on his tail you see.)


dawwww.png


Pic related: his decoration is the ping pong ball. (Also, he has half dirt now, yaaaay~)
 

BouBou

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Hi.
From low plants that will grow in high humidity i can recommend: Callisia repens, Fittonia,Hedera, Ficus pumila, Tradescantia and Lysimachia nummularia. Most of these plants You will get in supermarkets.
Regards
 

allegoriest

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Thanks~

I found tradescantia I think, it's the only thing that really grows in my backyard, the purple heart kind. I might have found the ivy, but not entirely sure yet. I don't really have high humidity yet, but its slowly improving. Haven't gone plant shopping yet, since my store has... cactus. D: And its either ridiculously hot or really cold for some reason. *kicks weather*
 

allegoriest

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I bring plants!

...Maybe. Thing is, I have these, and I know they don't have pesticide or fertilizer or anything. Just wondering if they're like, compatible or something.


aplant.png


It's purple! And most of them died! So I have several sprouts everywhere. This was one of the ones the first replier posted, but I found pics of different types.

anotherplant.png


It's ivy! I don't know my ivy. It all looks exactly the same to me. This has just been... there for over 20 years. Dunno what it is.


mysteriousplant.png


...I'm fairly certain this is some horrible parasite, but I'm just wondering if anyone here knows what it is, since you go off into the wilderness and whatnot alot. It's growing off the roots to an oak tree. o_O (And yes, my yard is full of NOTHING.) Usually we have these like, ball things that people call moss, that aren't moss, and made me feel my life was filled with DECEPTION. (I think they're related to bromeliads?) What is this mysterious thing growing off my treeeee D:

(...I wonder if he can have the not-moss stuff. Hmm.)


And its only the first two plants. Cause, that third one is terrifying.
 

Jennewt

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The second plant is what I've always called English Ivy. It should do fine in a terrarium, but it will take a long time to grow roots and it will grow much more slowly than the pothos.

In the photo, I see leaves that I think might be from a magnolia tree? These are supposed to be good ones to use in aquariums and terrariums, so you might want to consider adding some leaves. Your tiger will love hiding under them.

Be wary about buying plants in the store. They are often treated with pesticides and strong fertilizers. Better to use LTC plants or wild plants.
 

eldaldo

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Hi,

My posts are always long winded, but here goes,

The terrestrial plant I have had most success growing in complete darkness is Philodendron. There are many varieties, but the one I have looks like this (http://shakyard.com/wp-content/oldimages/shakyard//photos/uncategorized/2007/08/01/philodendron.jpg).

It is a very slow growing plant so you'll want to buy as much as you need, because if you just get a sprig or cutting it'll take a while to grow out.

Anyway, I have had this for over a year in my marmoratus tank. for six months the tank was in the basement sitting four feet away from a western glass block window. (basically no light) the philodendron grew two leaves, and the tradescantia I had in there died. Now I have the tank on the bottom of my shelving receiving indirect light four feet away from another western window and the plant has grown two more leaves.

My conclusion, dark green heart leaf Philodendron (scientific name according to google: Philodendron scandens oxycardium), is a pretty indestructible plant and will continue to grow in very low light conditions. None of the other low light plants I have tried have actually grown in such low light conditions.

Some plants that I have also grown in relatively low light conditions are Tradescantia. spider plant, and Brassaia. but often these plants do not grow in "very" low light. They do not need direct sun to grow, but will need bright light (less than two feet from a window), or bright fluorescent light during the daytime, to survive.

I have also heard good things about ivy, but have never tried it myself.

I think the parasite the plant has in your picture is scale (it's a little hard to tell for sure, so look it up online to confirm). This is a nasty parasite some of my houseplants had for a couple years. I was told the best way to get rid of it was with hand removal of the scales and to put them outside where natural predators will eat them. last summer a praying mantis took to living in my plants and they no longer have scale.

The thing about outdoor plants inside is that even shade outdoors is often brighter than anything you will find indoors. also alot of them are temperate and need hibernation periods to do well. You could try growing those plants you found indoors, but I am not sure they would thrive.

there is one outdoor plant, periwinkle, or vinca minor, that I have seen growing in total shade where it get's absolutely no direct or even filtered sunlight. you may try that, I am considering trying it myself.

lastly, do not try to collect moss from outside. moss takes years to colonise it's habitat and if you remove it, it may never come back. Also, moss needs surprisingly bright light and high humidity to be grown indoors. I have never actually accomplished this. so it would be a shame to bring moss inside only to have it die.

I hope that this long winded post answers all you questions. Good luck with your plants!
 

allegoriest

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I already have some of the ivy growing roots in a vase, since I'm trying to transplant it to other areas of the yard. And I figured I'd see if these two would work, since I know they don't have pesticides and stuff. (I'm very afraid of new plants.)

The leaves should be live oak. Alot of them sorta have spikes, so he probably wouldn't like them. I personally don't like touching them. D: (The scale is kinda messed up. Everything in the pictures is ALOT smaller than it looks.)


Having a plant that's near impossible to kill IS a plus for me. (I've killed duckweed. however, I still have other living plants somehow. I have the touch of death.)


I couldn't take wild moss even if I wanted to. ^^;
(I've never seen real moss you see. Only lichen. *despair*)

mossystuff.png


I mean this stuff. I don't know what its actually called, since everyone calls it moss. And it spreads pretty fast.


I might have misread your post (Which is very very likely) or I'm thinking of the complete opposite thing, but the parasite is the leaves. (I think scale is stuff on the stems and all? I think?) I dunno what the leaves are.


Most the plants I have do grow all year long, but its notably hotter outside. (Everything else died due to winter actually happening this year and all.)
As for my houseplants, I do have several, however, they're all kinda huge. And won't fit in his cage. :(


thanks guys~
 
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