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 February 14, 2007
         First, a few updates:
    • The Dendrobium is no longer dropping leaves, but I am not seeing very much new growth either. I have shaded the Masdevallias a little bit going on the assumption that it was getting too much light. Since I have done that the leaves have darkened some.
    •  I was concerned about the Selaginella growing  without soil. Both species I have placed in the terrarium are doing well. What I believe might be Selaginella kraussiana is starting to grow up the back wall and I have had to trim it several times.
    • Out of the plants to try, only the Rhaphidophora pachyphylla is having trouble and I believe that was due to its location. I have moved it and hope it will do better in its new spot.
    • The Streptocarpella put out a few blooms. There is a picture posted in the gallery. It grew quite a bit while I was gone so I pinched it in half and replanted the top. Both pieces are filling in very well.

        Now for what's new:
    • I've added three new Tillandsia. All three are in bloom. They are really easy for me to grow so I guess that is why I keep buying them.
    • I added a small clipping of Campanula. We'll see how it does. I have a bare spot on one side of the terrarium and I hope it will grow low and dense.


January 31, 2007
        It is hard to believe that it is the new year. I have been running ragged for the last month and a half.  I spent three weeks of that outside of the country: England and India; holiday and work respectively. While I was in India my terrarium didn't get a whole lot of care beyond the basics.  While I was gone the Heart Fern has taken off and the rest of the new plants are slowly starting to fill in - even the Episcia seems to be recovering from the cold damage that occured during shipping.

        I am still having trouble with two of the orchids: The Dendrobium and the Masdevallias. No matter what I do with them they just aren't happy. If anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear from you (email me). The Masdevallias is fading like it is getting too much light and the Dendrobium is really picky about the amount of water it receives. I've shortened the photo-period so I'll watch and see if over the next month that helps.

        When I have more time I'll post pictures of the two orchids. For now, I'll post a new picture of the terrarium on the main page.


December 10, 2006
        Well... I hope I have made the right choice.. I have switched our ISP from ATT to QWest DSL. This means that I no longer have a place to host this web site that is free of advertising. I decided to go with Tripod for now. Later on I may explore a paid service that doesn't have the annoying advertisements. Please accept my apology.


December 1, 2006
Just a few notes:
        One of the Tillandsia has begun bloom. One flower is opening each day. I've posted a picture in the gallery. Just as exciting is the arrival of some new plants from Cloud Jungle Epiphytes. Here's the amazing thing... when the plants arrived, it was 14 °F (-10 °C). All but one seems to have made it unscathed, and the rest looked great when I unpacked them. I  have posted pictures in the gallery of these as well. The new plants are:
  • Cissus amazonica
  • Episcia sp. "Silver Skies" - This one may have been a little damaged
  • Ficus pumilia var. quadrifolia - Compare this to the other ficus in the gallery... it is a world of difference from the piece from Black Jungle.
  • Microgramma porcussa
  • Neoregelia pauciflora
  • Peperomia metallica "Columbiana" 
  • Peperomia prostrata - If you look closely, several inflorescence are visible; very cool!
  • Rhaphidophora pachyphylla
  • Streptocarpella sp. "Concord Blue"
        The Episcia, Microgramma porcussa, Ficus, and Rhaphidophora pachyphylla were given to me to try out to see how they would do in my terrarium. Here is hoping they do very well, try to take over, and require a lot of trimming. :) I think I am now maxed out on vines. Hmmm... what to add next?

        Finally, I have posted pictures of both Selaginella in the gallery.

November 23, 2006
Just a few notes:
  • The Dendrobium  still seems to be having trouble. I have moved it once again so it is not misted directly. 
  • The heart fern has come back very well. I was going to trim a couple of the old leaves, but noticed that new leaves were growing out of them. I'll wait to trim it until it is really strong.

November 19, 2006
        There is always that feeling of walking into a place with the intention of buying one thing and knowing that you will end up walking out with a little more than you intended. I paid a visit with my wife to City Floral for some tree wrap for our very little Linden. While we were there, we saw the following species of Selaginella:
  • Selaginella kraussiana
  • Selaginella sp. - perhaps apoda
        I asked a clerk about removing the soil from the rhizomes and growing them in spagnum. He told me that since he didn ’t have experience with with doing that, he didn’t know how it would work. Needless to say, I gave it a try anyway. I removed the soil and they are in spaghnum. I guess I’ll just have to see what happens. You can see them in the picture on the main page. I’ll add pictures of them to the gallery later on.


November 4, 2006
I added two new plants today purchased from Fantasy Orchids.
  • Neofinetia falcata
  • Masdevallias sp. “Maui Gold”
        I think I am just about maxed out on orchids for the terrarium. I need some plants to grow on the wood and a few that I can grow in the substrate. I am thinking about Peperomia prostrata, a creeping species for the wood and some emersed Cryptocoryne sp. if I can find them.

        I spoke with one of the clerks at Fantasy Orchids about the Dendrobium aggregatum and he thought it may be rotting from too much water. Tonight I directed the spray nozzle away from it and placed it in a drier place. Hopefully that will help. I have also made accomodations for the new orchids to be in appropriately moist places —per their instructions.

October 7, 2006
Just a few notes:
  • The heart fern seems to be doing better. The leaves are not nearly as discolored as they were before.
  • The jewel orchid has sent up two new leaves and is sending out “roots” into the substrate.
  • The Dendrobium aggregatum has grown several new leaves, but one died after reaching about an inch long. This despite the pseudobulb looking to be in excellent shape. I have changed the circulation to see if it will help at all for the other leaves.

October 7, 2006
Today I added several new plants purchased from Echter’s Garden Center
  • Tillandsia sp. - Purple Flower
  • Tillandsia sp.  - Red foliage
  • Tillandsia sp.  - Long thick foliage

October 7, 2006
Today I added several new plants:
  • Ludisia discolor "Jewel Orchid" from Black Jungle (this plant is growing like a weed!)
  • Tillandsia ionantha  from Black Jungle (It seems to be doing well during the first month)
  • Hemionitis arifolia "Heart Fern"  from Black Jungle ( I had to move it because it seemed to be getting too wet)
  • Ficus pumila "Climbing ficus: oak leaf" from Black Jungle. (This plant is a disappointment. The “plant” I received is a rooted stem with six leaves.)

September 30, 2006
I added one new plant today: Dendrobium aggregatum.  I purchased it from Fantasy Orchids.

 
September 30, 2006
Now a bit about my maintenance routine...
  • The terrarium is misted four times per day for one minute, spraying a total of 2 ounces of distilled water each time. The water collects in the false bottom and is drained off once per week.
  • The lights are on for twelve hours each day.
  • I feed the terrarium using DynaGrow as a very dilute solution.

May 31, 2006
        I’m not actually sure which day I started working on the terrarium again. I had it set up for quite some time with a water feature, but it wasn’t what I had hoped for. Actually, I had it set up one time before then as well. I’m hoping that the third time is a charm. I think it will be. Most of the supplies I used this time were purchased for me as Christmas gifts (from my own list).

The supplies used are:
  • Cork Panels from Black Jungle
  • Long fiber sphagnum from City Floral Greenhouse
  • Tree fern panel from Cloud Jungle Epiphytes
  • Misting system from Ecologic Technologies
  • Silicone sealant and Great Stuff™ from Home Depot
  • Egg crate and fiberglass screen (to construct false bottom) from Home Depot
  • Pea gravel from Home Depot - substrate
  • Two sets of double shop lights from Home Depot
  • Deluxe Nozzles from Mist King
  • 75 gallon aquarium and stand from Oceanic Systems
  • Coco fiber from PetsMart
  • Flat polished rocks from Walmart
  • Driftwood and rocks from the mountains

The plants I started with are:
  • Variegated Ivy - clipping
  • Neoregelia sp. (3) from Cloud Jungle Epiphytes
  • Cryptanthus sp. "Black Mystic" (2) from Cloud Jungle Epiphytes
  • Oxalis sp. (1) from Cloud Jungle Epiphytes
  • Tropical Dicranum sp. Moss from T&C Terrariums
        I put everything together using the technique described on the Black Jungle web site. Everything went together without much trouble. I decided to strictly use gravel for the substrate. The worst part of setting up was rinsing and rinsing and rinsing and rinsing the gravel. I never thought it would end! My rational for using gravel was that I wanted something that would drain very well in addition to something that wouldn’t decompose.

        The fun part was figuring out where to place the wood, rocks, and decorative stones. It took me a while to decide on how to position the wood. My wife lent her opinions, which turned out to be spot-on. Once the rocks and wood were placed, the moss went in. Finally, I attached (or planted) the plants.

The beginnings...
Terrarium June 23, 2006