Help! Possibly urgent about plants

[awelcome]

I received my order of plants from Josh's Frogs today for my rebuild but I don't know if I will be doing the rebuild until Saturday at least.... what do I do with them in the meantime? Currently they are wrapped up in newspaper for shipping. Thanks. I would hate for them to die before I could plant them.

[awelcome]

also... I don't want to make too many new posts.... the leaves are HUGE! How will I put those in?

[awelcome]

also found this in the bag.... a feather... is that an issue? I know feathers can be quite dirty and carry parasites and whatnot.

[deranged chipmunk]

Put then on a windowsill that gets some sun. Treat them as you would a houseplant until you are ready to plant them.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[deranged chipmunk]

The leaves you can break up. Boil them first though since you found a feather in the packaging to avoid the possibility of parasites.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[awelcome]

if I boil the leaves won't they completely break up though? I know they are huge now, but I assume they need to be fairly good sized to provide hiding and whatnot.

I haven't opened one up, but I am not fabulous with house plants..... (I know, I know... I will have to get better fast lol) but if they aren't in any sort of pot, what would I do with them?

[deranged chipmunk]

They won't break down. They'll be fine.

All your plants should be potted. If not, you can place them in something as simple as a solo cup (or similar) with some of the ABG mix for your soil.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[awelcome]

ok... and because I am REALLY plant dumb... how much water should I put in the cups? Like misting or will they need more after being shipped? I will try to boil SOME leaves first to make sure they don't all break if I put too many together. Thanks again.

oh and can I use the coco fiber I already have out?

[deranged chipmunk]

You just want to moisten the soil. If they are in pots, water until you have water come out of the bottom.

You can use the coco fiber, but it has zero nutritional value for the plants. Remember that is only if the plants are not potted already. If they are, leave them in their pots until you are ready to plant them in your Viv.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[awelcome]

they weren't potted... just wrapped. So I did put them in cups with coco fiber figuring it will do ok until Saturday at least. One thing though... one of the bromeliads has quite spiky sides... is that going to be safe?! I will take a pic and share in a minute.

[awelcome]

here is the spiky bromeliad



and here are all of them... I think I will put them on a tray or something and water them in case they leak.



Hope they are good ones!

[awelcome]

on a positive note... boiled about half the leaves carefully and only minimal breakage because they were so dang big they didn't fit down into even my biggest pot. They smelled like tea lol.

[DiggenEm]

The spiky bromeliads are ok. Your frogs will do fine with them. Make sure that you treat your plants before placing them in the tank, you don't want to introduce any nasties in your new build. I soak mines in the sink with dishwashing liquid and about two capfuls of bleach for about 30 mind and then rinse them very thourougly.

My wife loves when I boil leaves, she likes the way it makes the house smell!

[awelcome]

I have to treat these plants?! Shouldn't they be safe coming from Josh's Frogs? I was told I would only maybe have to do that if I bought from other places like home depot or something similar.

[DiggenEm]

I have to treat these plants?! Shouldn't they be safe coming from Josh's Frogs? I was told I would only maybe have to do that if I bought from other places like home depot or something similar.

You should treat plants coming from any place. I'm certain that Josh Frogs does not use fertilizer or chemicals on their plants, but I'm sure that they are not grown in an sterilized environment.

[awelcome]

so I did more digging.. I am getting mixed thoughts on the spiny ones... some say they do, some say they won't chance it. I hate to NOT have one since I only have 6 plants to put in there, but I do have some fakes I was considering leaving in as well that might help beef it up and provide hiding or sitting on depending on where they are set up. Can I go through and fairly easily put new plants in after the fact? I may search for a different bromeliad to put in that one's place because I am paranoid lol.

[DiggenEm]

The ones who say don't try it probably never used any spiny ones. Frogs encounter spiny bromeliads in the wild so they should be given a little bit more credit about handling them in captivity. I prefer spiny bromeliads over non-stick ones so I guess I'm biased. I may have miss it, but what type of frogs are going in this?

[awelcome]

cobalt tinc

[DiggenEm]

Oh ok. Do you have a build thread?

[awelcome]

not exactly... I do have a thread started that discusses my build, but it's not going to be anything elaborate.