[Pinguicula]

Hello! I'm in the Seattle area, and very excited to set up my first vivarium. I've hugely appreciated all the helpful threads, resources and inspiration offered here!

I've got a 18x18x24 ExoTerra, with tentative plans for a Ranitomeya species, possibly R. imitator. I know it's not recommended as a first species, but I'm hoping enough research and questioning will make it work?

I'm coming to frog keeping from the houseplant and fishkeeping worlds (with time doing reptile/amphibian care in my college's natural history museum), so I'm extremely excited about the plants as well! I'm hugely passionate about gesneriads and epiphytic orchids - all epiphytes, actually. I also love pinguicula, obviously, along with some other carnivores, although not in the frog tank!

Looking forward to get to know you all!

 

[fishingguy12345]

Hello and welcome.

 

[Harpspiel]

I'm coming to frog keeping from the houseplant and fishkeeping worlds (with time doing reptile/amphibian care in my college's natural history museum), so I'm extremely excited about the plants as well! I'm hugely passionate about gesneriads and epiphytic orchids - all epiphytes, actually. I also love pinguicula, obviously, along with some other carnivores, although not in the frog tank!

Have you been bitten by the micro Sinningia bug yet? They're a tiny gesneriad that works well in terrariums and frog tanks. I've been working on collecting all four species but there are also lots of hybrids.

 

[Pinguicula]

@Harpspiel - I absolutely have been! I'm planning on joining the Gesneriad Society, apparently they sell seeds of at least some species, and a bunch of hybrids. They are just so gorgeous!

Have you had any luck growing them epiphytically?

 

[Stroopwafel_Falafel]

I'm hugely passionate about gesneriads and epiphytic orchids - all epiphytes, actually. I also love pinguicula, obviously, along with some other carnivores, although not in the frog tank!

Not to derail the thread, but I just looked up gesneriads (I didn’t know what they were off the top of my head), and I found out that saintpaulia isn’t a genus anymore?? It’s a section of Streptocarpus??? I thought that we had moved on from ranked taxonomy to cladistics.

 

[Harpspiel]

@Harpspiel - I absolutely have been! I'm planning on joining the Gesneriad Society, apparently they sell seeds of at least some species, and a bunch of hybrids. They are just so gorgeous!

Have you had any luck growing them epiphytically?

My muscicola liberally self-seeds and there’s one growing out of some Ficus thunbergii, with absolutely no soil, on my background. With enough moisture I think they should all grow epiphytically, they are all some variety of lithophytes in the wild (not sure what you call it when a plant grows out of a thin layer of detritus on rock faces).

I’ve been considering joining the Gesneriad society, I finally got my hands on a minima and then promptly killed it, it may have seeded itself but I’m not sure. I also only have concinna ‘Seropedica’ and I want the more spotted variety of concinna.

 

[Sai]

Hello! I'm in the Seattle area, and very excited to set up my first vivarium. I've hugely appreciated all the helpful threads, resources and inspiration offered here!

I've got a 18x18x24 ExoTerra, with tentative plans for a Ranitomeya species, possibly R. imitator. I know it's not recommended as a first species, but I'm hoping enough research and questioning will make it work?

I'm coming to frog keeping from the houseplant and fishkeeping worlds (with time doing reptile/amphibian care in my college's natural history museum), so I'm extremely excited about the plants as well! I'm hugely passionate about gesneriads and epiphytic orchids - all epiphytes, actually. I also love pinguicula, obviously, along with some other carnivores, although not in the frog tank!

Looking forward to get to know you all!

Hello, Im also new here

 

[Pinguicula]

Not to derail the thread, but I just looked up gesneriads (I didn’t know what they were off the top of my head), and I found out that saintpaulia isn’t a genus anymore?? It’s a section of Streptocarpus??? I thought that we had moved on from ranked taxonomy to cladistics.

Streptocarpus subg. Streptocarpella sect. Saintpaulia, which obviously just rolls off the tongue! And makes it so easy to search things. I also love how Chirita tamiana was Primulina tamiana is now Deinostigma tamiana.

My muscicola liberally self-seeds and there’s one growing out of some Ficus thunbergii, with absolutely no soil, on my background. With enough moisture I think they should all grow epiphytically, they are all some variety of lithophytes in the wild (not sure what you call it when a plant grows out of a thin layer of detritus on rock faces).

I’ve been considering joining the Gesneriad society, I finally got my hands on a minima and then promptly killed it, it may have seeded itself but I’m not sure. I also only have concinna ‘Seropedica’ and I want the more spotted variety of concinna.

Very helpful, thank you! I love the idea of branches just lined with little mini-gesneriads and moss and micro ferns and orchids. Double check if they actually have Streptocarpus concinna, though? I was looking last night at the available list (it's on their website) and only remember seeing 'Seropedica.'

@Sai - hello! Nice to meet another new person.

 

[thenoblescone]

@Pinguicula oh hey! I'm out of the tri-cities. I envy you and everyone else over there--what with the green scenery and not just cheatgrass.

 

[niputidea]

@Pinguicula - Hey there, I'm in Seattle too! I just got a single S. pusilla 'Itaoca' tuber that I'm gonna try to grow and propagate. Mini orchids have always been my favorites, but I'm trying to branch out a little more (pardon the pun) for the new builds I'm working on.

 

[Pinguicula]

@niputidea - Nice to meet another Seattleite! Good luck with your Sinningia pusilla tuber, that's super exciting. Keep me updated!

What kind of mini orchids do you have? What are you thinking about branching out into?

 

[niputidea]

@Pinguicula - I have about 50 orchids right now. About 1/3 are old world orchids - a handful of Bulbophyllum, a few Angraecoids, jewels, and various other monopodials in the Aeridinae subtribe (Phalaenopsis-like). The other 2/3 are neotropical orchids, most of which are Pleurothallids.

For non-orchids, I’ve been collecting a bunch of aroids (especially seedlings of species that are otherwise too expensive and too big), marcgravias, broms (mostly Neo hybrids), and some odds and ends.

I’m trying to use species rather than hybrids (the Neos are the exception), and for the two thumbnail tanks I’m working on, I’m trying to limit to species from Central/South America. Probably what I need most are epiphytes that will do well in the darker and/or wetter spots. Any suggestions?

 

[niputidea]

I joined the Gesneriad Society to try getting some mini Sinningia seeds - it sounds like they’re in pretty short supply. I’ll keep you posted if I manage to get my hands on some though!

 

[Stefus_Prime]

Welcome! I'm new myself but I have similar interests to yours.

 

[2Lorenzoss]

hello there. I'm not in Seattle.

 

[PlantNation]

Hello! I’m about 2 hours away from Seattle. If you ever wanted to trade plant cutting or something lmk