the ultimate (?) plant thread

[tinkgirl77]

Ok questions for the plant experts... my viv is getting a false bottom( with eggcrate) put in right now, but in prep of planting... potted or not? My false bottom will have a moat/pond in the front of my exoterra with large pebble stones( so my retfs wont try to swim). The water table will be 3 inches tall ( for my reptifilter that will create a 1/2 cork tube brook that empties into moat). I will build up back of tank and create a hillside effect to allow plants sufficient soil. What y'all think? Plants potted or no? How many inches of plantation soil/ coconut fiber for plants? These are the plants...

[deranged chipmunk]

i don't leave any of my plants in the pots, especially if i buy them from big box store, like i did today. normally, they are in a pot that is too small for them anyway, that's why when you remove them, it seems like there are more roots than dirt. can you say root bound? i then give the plants a nice, quick bath to remove any stuff that may have been on them from the store, trim the roots a bit to allow for new root growth and then plant. if you are using just cocofiber, i would recommend adding a layer of peat moss below the cocofiber, a bit of laterite would also be helpful, but not necessary. plantation soil/cocofiber have no nutritional value for the plants. and until your frogs start creating waste and your biofilter gets up and running, the peat will help give them a bit of nourishment until it does. don't forget, you can add springtails and isopods as a cleaning crew and will make maintenance even easier