Ridding Plants of Fertilizer

[flybyferns]

I buy many plants from local greenhouse and nurseries and I basically take the plants to either a bucket or my shower (don't tell my wife) and rinse the plant clean of any dirt around the roots, wipe down all the leaves, and rinse a few times to get the dormant bugs out. I just use tap water unless they are going straight into the viv. If so, just do a good final rinse with some spring water or declorinated tap water.

Autumn,
I do exactly the same thing Don does. However, since I am obsessive compulsive ( lol ),
I wait 2 weeks or so before putting them into the enclosure.
I keep all my plants in 4 " pots w/ Zoo-Med, eco-earth.
( Remember - I'm that annoying one that has NO substrate in my enclosure )

"Don't tell " my husband. Actually , once I clogged the drain really good- needed the plumber ! Oh Boy !
Lynn

[DonLisk]

While removing the old substrate and Hydroballs from the Exo 18 x 18, I found tons of tiny 1 inch long centipedes living on the bottom in the Hydroballs. They had to be there for quite a long time since there were no plant changes since early last spring.

As for showering with your plants, as long as your using AXE body soap your other half should be good with that. :-)

[frogluver]

While removing the old substrate and Hydroballs from the Exo 18 x 18, I found tons of tiny 1 inch long centipedes living on the bottom in the Hydroballs. They had to be there for quite a long time since there were no plant changes since early last spring.

As for showering with your plants, as long as your using AXE body soap your other half should be good with that. :-)

Haha, I’ll keep that in mind Don lol !
Are centipedes bad or harmful to frogs? I found several in my Wood frog viv a while ago…..

[DonLisk]

You definitely don't want them in there from what I hear.

[frogluver]

You definitely don't want them in there from what I hear.

Oh, I guess it's good that I removed them then!! Phew! o.o haha

[frogluver]

A gentle wipe down with alcohol (baby wipes work well for this) or a very mild dish soap solution can help kill unwanted pests but I'd avoid anything with even a minor infestation unless really desperate for the plant or it's an amazing deal. Rinse again with water a few times before letting your frogs at it of course.

You can actually do that? I didn't know....
Thank you for your tips as well !

Autumn,
I do exactly the same thing Don does. However, since I am obsessive compulsive ( lol ),
I wait 2 weeks or so before putting them into the enclosure.
I keep all my plants in 4 " pots w/ Zoo-Med, eco-earth.
( Remember - I'm that annoying one that has NO substrate in my enclosure )

"Don't tell " my husband. Actually , once I clogged the drain really good- needed the plumber ! Oh Boy !
Lynn

Hahahaha !! Too funny!!
Thanks Lynn! I too can get obsessive compulsive (and my brother and sis get so annoyed with me sometimes lol) :P