Beginner Plants

[crank68516]

I'm currently working on building my first vivarium for some darts and I'm having trouble deciding on plants to put in there. My tank is a 20H and I'm looking for some that would look good, be relatively easy to care for and I don't want to spend hundreds on them. Any input would be appreciated

Thanks.

[Dartfrogfreak]

Here are some great plants you can find at HD or Lowes cheap

Syngonium
Maranta
Pilea
Fittonia
Philodendron

Sometimes you can find Hoyas and some ferns too

Heres some stuff you may want to stay clear of
Bromeliads like Vriesia and Guzmania that you see at HD , Lowes Walmart etc. these tend to rot in our dartfrog conditions
Instead order online such genre as Neoregelia , Aechmea. There are a few Guz and Vriesia that do well in our tanks.

Tillandsia can also be tricky if you are new to plants Id steer clear of Tills


Crotons, Ive noticed these tend to like it drier than we give our tanks.

Any types of Succulents typically hate our frog tanks

Selaginellas... I wouldnt say stay away from them.. they are easy once they establish in a viv. Just be prepped for them... DO NOT leave them exposed to open air long... I have no clue how the stores keep them alive for weeks.. but as soon as they get to the house they die in a few days of open air.. Get them in a growout tank as soon as you can.

Begonias can also be tricky in tanks.. they dont care to have their feet wet and you need to try to keep from getting water on their leaves .

Also keep your eye out in the classified section. Alot of hobbiest will post for sale ads, These tend to be plants that are grown in vivs or in terrariumns so theyve sorta been proven to do well in our conditions.


I hope this helps


Todd

[bobzarry]

Make friends with a hobbyist in your area and then get some cuttings

[highfyre]

We have a great local greenhouse in our area that knew exactly what I was looking for and helped me out when first starting. They understood the size limitations and what would do well and what wouldnt.

[crank68516]

Thanks for all the input so far. Today I've been running around to all the green houses to see what is available and at one of the green houses I was able to find some club mosses as well as many of the plants Dartfrogfreak recommended that were still small and trainable for my size limitations. Also, the guy that helped me was really into terrariums and miniatures and pointed me to a orchid expo coming up in a few months. I guess my next questions for you veterans are what kind of fern should I look at or should I forget one all together? (I kinda thought the staghorn was cool for the background and they have a few tiny ones) What about a wandering jew or smaller philodendron so there is a visual thing making it appear larger than it really is?

Thanks again.

[Dartfrogfreak]

Make sure you get that club moss in high humidity as soon as possible..

Smaller Philodendron are great.

Their are Philo wend imbe
Philo SP Ecuador Small
Philo burle-marx fantasy
And several other cultivars

However a ton of the larger varieties are sold as small starts giving them anh appearance of a small plant.. but eventually many Philos get huge
The 3 I listed stay within the terrarium size.

Staghorn ferns and Elkhorn ferns get huge.. it make take some time but they get massive. Ultimately they arent trainable and they will need ripped out of the tank. This can cause stress on the animals.

Rabbits foot ferns seem to do alright from my understanding.. but my knowledge of ferns unfortunately is limited.
I believe alot of the Microgramma species do well in our tanks

Again Selaginella love our tanks once they are established... how ever.. they tend to like their feet wet a bit but they dont necessarily like their leaves wet all the time... A mist once in a while shouldnt hurt them .. but if your getting their leaves wet everyday... that may be a problem

Wandering jew can be awesome... but ultimately can be a pain to cut back all the time LOL
Same with Ficus pumila (Creeping fig)
But they are both wonderful plants if you dont mind cutting upto once every other week

Todd

[Frogtofall]

Have you had a chance to peruse the Good Plant Threads sticky? You might find this helpful...

A Guide to Popular Terrarium Plants

[boabab95]

another GREAT plant is peperomia orba. they sometimes sell 12 plants in 1 for inch pot for $2 at home depot.